Terahertz pulse generation by laser-created, magnetized plasmas

Terahertz (THz) emitters attract more and more interest due to their various applications, e.g., in molecular spectroscopy. Whereas THz sources driven by two-color laser-based photocurrents have been widely exploited [1] , the question of enhancing their performances still remains. Better efficiency can be expected from the action of external, uniform magnetic fields ( B ), with 10-100 T strengths currently achievable in laser-plasma experiments [2] . The associated electron cyclotron frequency ( ω ce ) ranges from 1 to 10 THz, rendering it appropriate to modulate THz spectral contents. Here we describe the effect of strong magnetic fields depending on their orientation, for single- or two-color intense laser pulses linearly polarized along the z -axis.