Signatures of resonantly driven laser-wakefield excitation by a pulse train generated by an optical delay mask

A. Marasciulli, L. Labate, P. Tomassini and L. A. Gizzi

Appl. Opt. 62, 9368 (2023)

Abstract

Electron plasma waves can be efficiently excited by a resonant train of ultrashort pulses, spatially separated by a plasma wavelength. Generating a pulse train from a single amplified ultrashort pulse may be challenging when dealing with large beams. Here we discuss a pulse splitting technique using a simple delay mask that can be adapted to large diameter petawatt beams. We show via detailed numerical simulations that unique signatures of electrons accelerated by a resonantly excited wakefield can be obtained from realistic focused double-pulse trains obtained from a single-region delay mask.