Abstract
Generation of large amplitude plasma waves using high-power lasers in either the wakefield or beat-wave scheme is considered. We show how the nonlinear behavior of the plasma wave may make it advantageous to split the total energy into more than one pulse in the wavefield scheme. When a beat wave is generated by a pulse of finite length, we show how the final wave amplitude may be enhanced if the frequency of one or both pulses is chirped in such a way that the wavelength of the beat increases from the front to the back of the pulse.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 451-458 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Laser and Particle Beams |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 1995 |