Light fan driven by a relativistic laser pulse

Phys Rev Lett. 2014 Jun 13;112(23):235001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.235001. Epub 2014 Jun 10.

Abstract

When a relativistic laser pulse with a high photon density interacts with a specially tailored thin foil target, a strong torque is exerted on the resulting spiral-shaped foil plasma, or "light fan." Because of its structure, the latter can gain significant orbital angular momentum (OAM), and the opposite OAM is imparted to the reflected light, creating a twisted relativistic light pulse. Such an interaction scenario is demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulation as well as analytical modeling, and should be easily verifiable in the laboratory. As an important characteristic, the twisted relativistic light pulse has a strong torque and ultrahigh OAM density.