Modification of laser energy deposition in a gas of deuterium clusters

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Abstract
The modification of energy deposition by a 70 fs laser pulse focused to an intensity of 10 17 W cm −2 in a medium of deuterium clusters with mean atomic density of 10 19 cm −3 has been investigated using short-pulse interferometry. A low-power (<10 15 W cm −2 ) beam propagating transverse to the heating beam was used to destroy clusters in the low-density wings of the medium prior to the arrival of the main heating pulse. Images of the plasma channels produced by the heating beam show that the transverse beam can strongly modify the spatial deposition of laser energy. Using this effect, we have demonstrated a 15-fold enhancement of energy coupling to the densest regions of the cluster medium.