2011/11/30 by Omri Har-Shemesh, Antonino Di Piazza · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1364/ol.37.001352
published as Opt. Lett. vol. 37, 1352 (2012) · 4 pages, 2 figures
arxiv created 2012/04/11 · arxiv updated 2012/04/12
The measurement of peak laser intensities exceeding 1020 W/cm2 is in general a very challenging task. We suggest a simple method to accurately measure such high intensities up to about 1023 W/cm2, by colliding a beam of ultrarelativistic electrons with the laser pulse. The method exploits the high directionality of the radiation emitted by ultrarelativistic electrons via nonlinear Thomson scattering. Initial electron energies well within the reach of laser wake-field accelerators are required, allowing in principle for an all-optical setup. Accuracies of the order of 10% are theoretically envisaged.