Ultra intense magnetic fields in laser plasma interaction: their generation an influence on light propagation

Extremely large, quasi-stationary magnetic fields can be generated in plasmas by high intensity laser pulses. These fields can change the plasma dynamics and the pulse propagation. Several aspects of their generation and of their effect on the plasma and on the laser pulse are discussed in the relativistic pulse amplitude regime: (a) the formation of magnetic wakes, (b) the development of longitudinal and transverse Langmuir wake wavebreaks and (c) the magnetic field generation on a thin foil, viewed as a model for overdense plasmas with sharp boundaries. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.