The role of the global phase in the spatio-temporal evolution of strong-coupling Brillouin scattering

The role of the global phase in the spatio-temporal evolution of the 3-wave coupled equations for backscattering is analyzed in the strong-coupling regime of Brillouin scattering. This is of particular interest for controlled backscattering in the case of plasma-based amplification to produce short and intense laser pulses. It is shown that the analysis of the envelope equations of the three waves involved, pump, seed, and ion wave, in terms of phase and amplitude fully describes the coupling dynamics. In particular, it helps understanding the role of the chirp of the laser beams and of the plasma density profile. The results can be used to optimize or quench the coupling mechanism. It is found that the directionality of the energy transfer is imposed by the phase relation at the leading edge of the pulse. This actually ensures continued energy transfer even if the intensity of the seed pulse is already higher than the pump pulse intensity.