McKenna P, Carroll D C, Clarke R J, Evans R G, Ledingham K W D, Lindau F, Lundh O, McCanny T, Neely D, Robinson A P L, Robson L, Simpson P T, Wahlström C-G, Zepf M
SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom.
Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Apr 6;98(14):145001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.145001. Epub 2007 Apr 4.
An experimental investigation of lateral electron transport in thin metallic foil targets irradiated by ultraintense (>or=10(19) W/cm2) laser pulses is reported. Two-dimensional spatially resolved ion emission measurements are used to quantify electric-field generation resulting from electron transport. The measurement of large electric fields ( approximately 0.1 TV/m) millimeters from the laser focus reveals that lateral energy transport continues long after the laser pulse has decayed. Numerical simulations confirm a very strong enhancement of electron density and electric field at the edges of the target.
