Channel guided lasers for plasma accelerators
The recent demonstration of optical guiding of high intensity laser pulses in plasma waveguides [C.G. Durfee III and H.M. Milchberg, Phys. Rev. Lett 71, 2409 (1993)] has opened the way to new advances in the development of compact laser-driven electron particle accelerators. We review plasma waveguide properties relevant to intense pulse guiding and electron acceleration and show that the shock driven channels described here are well suited for stabilization of a large class of laser-plasma instabilities deleterious to high intensity guiding over long distances.