FASTELECTRONSOPTICS · Optics of Relativistic Electrons in Dense Plasmas for High Energy Density Physics Applications

During the interaction of high intensity lasers against solid materials, ultra-high magnetic fields (on the order of kiloTesla) are produced on picosecond timescales at the interface that separates regions of different electrical resistivity. Multi-MeV electrons can be reflected or refracted by these fields.The purpose of this proposed research is to study if these fields can be used to manipulate the phase space of a beam of relativistic electrons, just as linear and nonlinear optical elements can manipulate the phase space of photons.Applications that will benefit from this research are in the field of High Energy Density Physics (HEDP), including enhanced proton acceleration, warm dense matter studies and laboratory astrophysics.