Driving laser pulse evolution in a laser wakefield accelerator

A numerical study of the coupling between a high intensity laser pulse and a plasma wake is presented, in the context of laser wakefield acceleration in a hollow channel. One dimensional self-consistent equations are derived and numerically solved to provide a more detailed description of the laser pulse evolution for the case of propagation in a uniform plasma. The model obtained provides a simple method for inferring the plasma wake characteristics from measurement of changes in phase and amplitude of the driving laser pulse.