Divergence-free transport of laser-produced fast electrons along a meter-long wire target
Hiroaki Nakajima, Shigeki Tokita, Shunsuke Inoue, Masaki Hashida, and Shuji Sakabe
Accepted
We demonstrate that, from 1 a 10-��m metal wire irradiated by a 1019 W/cm2 laser pulse, 2 fast electrons form a nearly perfect circular beam around and propagate along the wire. 3 The total charge and diameter of the electron beam are maintained over a propagation 4 distance of 1 m. Moreover, the electron beam can be guided along a slightly bent wire. 5 Numerical simulations suggest that a relatively weak steady electric field, which does 6 not decay for several nanoseconds, is generated around the wire and plays a key role in 7 the long-distance guidance.