MEASUREMENTS OF INVERSE FARADAY-EFFECT AND ABSORPTION OF CIRCULARLY-POLARIZED LASER-LIGHT IN PLASMAS

Measurements of the inverse Faraday effect and of the absorption of ci rcularly polarized laser light in plasmas are reported. The experiment s were performed with a Nd:YAG laser system. For the laser irradiance range studied here, 9 x 10(13)-2.5 x 10(14) W/cm(2), the absorption of circularly polarized light was higher by 14% relative to the absorpti on of linear polarize-a light. It is suggested that the above increase in the laser absorption is related to the axial magnetic field in the plasma created by the circularly polarized laser light. Axial magneti c fields of tens of kilogauss were measured at irradiances in the rang e of 10(12)-10(13) W/cm(2) using the Faraday rotation diagnostic.