Study of the plasma wave excited by intense femtosecond laser pulses in a dielectric capillary

Laser wakefield in a gas-filled capillary driven by a 1-TW femtosecond Ti:Sa laser pulse is studied experimentally by observing driving pulse spectrum modifications, which are caused by the combined action of the optical field ionization and the plasma density oscillations. Good agreement between the results of extensive numerical simulations and the experimental data allows us to estimate the accelerating gradients in the wake, which range from 5 to 10 MV/cm for typical experimental conditions.