Light reversing and folding based on a superluminal flying mirror in a plasma with increasing density

Ministry of Science and Technology [2011CB808104]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [11125526, 11335013, 11404355, 11127901, 61221064]A superluminal flying mirror (SFM) is proposed using the electron density spike in the tail of a wake-field excited in a plasma with an increasing density profile. The wavelength of the wake-field is shrunk in the direction of the increasing plasma density, which increases the phase velocity of the wake wave-namely the flying mirror velocity-in excess of the speed of light. The SFM exhibits some novel characteristics. When it up-shifts the light frequency, just as with a normal flying mirror, because the velocity of the SFM is quicker than light, the reflected light penetrates the electron density spike and propagates behind it. The transmitted light can gain extra energy from the wake wave so that the transmission coefficient is higher than one. Most interestingly, the reflected light may be reversed or folded in time during the reflection, if the SFM velocity gradually decreases and goes through the speed of light. The proposed SFM mechanism can provide potential applications in the production of highfrequency ultrashort pulses