Powerful Terahertz Emission from Relativistic Laser Plasma Interaction and Its Potential Applications

Plasma as a nonlinear optical medium has the potential to produce extremely powerful terahertz (THz) emission when irradiated by ultrashort high-intensity laser pulses. Different schemes to produce THz emission associated with laser wakefield excitation will be discussed, which include THz emission from inhomogeneous plasma via linear mode conversion, emission from magnetized plasma, as well as from a plasma channel and a homogeneous plasma slab. Potential applications include diagnostic of laser wakefields, particle acceleration, and nonlinear THz spectroscopy, etc.