Measurements of the growth and saturation of electron Weibel instability in optical-field ionized plasmas

Abstract

The temporal evolution of the magnetic field associated with electron thermal Weibel instability in optical-field ionized plasmas is measured using ultrashort (1.8 ps), relativistic (45 MeV) electron bunches from a linear accelerator. The self-generated magnetic fields are found to self-organize into a quasi-static structure consistent with a helicoid topology within a few ps and such a structure lasts for tens of ps in underdense plasmas. The measured growth rate agrees well with that predicted by the kinetic theory of plasmas taking into account collisions. Magnetic trapping is identified as the dominant saturation mechanism.

Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

References in corpus (2)

• Capturing relativistic wake eld structures in plasmas using ultrashort high-energy electrons as a probe
• High-brilliance synchrotron radiation induced by the plasma magnetostatic mode

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