Applied Physics Seminar, High-intensity laser-plasma interactions: the relativistic regime and beyond

Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) won Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland the 2018 Nobel prize in Physics and is a technique that has been transformative for generating extremely large electric fields in the laboratory. I will present an overview of the work taking place in the High Field Science group at the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Sciences (CUOS). We use high-intensity laser pulses as a tool to generate highly relativistic electron beams, bright and directional x-ray sources, proton, ion and neutron beams as well as creating conditions to test extreme plasma physics processes. Then I will present in more detail recent experiments investigating laser generated magnetic field generation and dynamics and how magnetic reconnection can be studied in the laboratory. To conclude I will describe future plans for using the upgraded Hercules laser facility and beyond.