Stable relativistic/charge-displacement channels in ultrahigh power density (≈1021 W/cm3) plasmas

Robust stability is a chief characteristic of relativistic/charge-displacement self-channeling. Theoretical analysis of the dynamics of this stability (i) reveals a leading role for the eigenmodes in the development of stable channels, (ii) suggests a technique using a simple longitudinal gradient in the electron density to extend the zone of stability into the high electron density/high power density regime, (iii) indicates that a situation approaching unconditional stability can be achieved, (iv) demonstrates the efficacy of the stable dynamics in trapping severely perturbed beams in single uniform channels, and (v) predicts that approximate to 10(4) critical powers can be trapped in a single stable channel. The scaling of the maximum power density with the propagating wavelength lambda is shown to be proportional to lambda(-4)or a given propagating power and a fixed ratio of the electron plasma density to the critical plasma density. An estimate of the maximum power density that can be achieved in these channels with a power of approximate to 2 TW at a UV (248 nm) wavelength gives a value of approximate to 10(21) W/cm(3) with a corresponding atomic specific magnitude of approximate to 60 W/atom. The characteristic intensity propagating in the channel under these conditions exceeds 10(21) W/cm(2).