COLLECTIVE THOMSON SCATTERING IN A LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA RESOLVED IN TIME, SPACE, FREQUENCY, OR WAVE NUMBER

Thomson scattering of a probe laser beam is a powerful diagnostic tool used in the study of laser-plasma interactions. Collective Thomson scattering provides a nonperturbing means of detecting waves in the plasma that yields information about the interaction physics. Different types of waves may be resolved in time, space, frequency, or wave number or in combinations of these coordinates. We describe the experimental Thomson-scattering techniques used in the diagnosis of the stimulated Raman- and Brillouin-scattering processes in a laser-produced plasma and the observation of wave harmonics and coupling between waves.