Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Investigation of Early Plasma Evolution Induced by Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Published on: July 2, 2012
Nonlinear pulse propagation and phase velocity of laser-driven plasma waves
C B Schroeder1, C Benedetti, E Esarey
1Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Abstract:
Laser evolution and plasma wave excitation by a relativistically intense short-pulse laser in underdense plasma are investigated in the broad pulse limit, including the effects of pulse steepening, frequency redshifting, and energy depletion. The nonlinear plasma wave phase velocity is shown to be significantly lower than the laser group velocity and further decreases as the pulse propagates owing to laser evolution. This lowers the thresholds for trapping and wave breaking and reduces the energy gain and efficiency of laser-plasma accelerators that use a uniform plasma profile.
Related Concept Videos
Propagation of Waves
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Propagation Speed of Electromagnetic Waves
Standing Waves in a Cavity
Velocity and Acceleration of a Wave
The velocity of the particles can be obtained by taking the partial derivative of the position equation with respect to time. We can...
Traveling Waves: Lossless Lines
Speed of a Transverse Wave
One of the key properties of any wave is the wave speed. Light...

