Self-sustaining relativistic ionization wave launched by a sheath field

We present experimental evidence supported by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a self-sustaining relativistic ionization wave launched into a surrounding gas by the sheath field of a high energy density plasma. We create a plasma filament with hot electrons by irradiating a supersonic clustering gas jet with a short pulse laser (115 fs) at an intensity of $5 \times 10^{17}$ W/cm$^2$. In contrast with a single atom, a cluster of atoms produces super-ponderomotive electrons in the field of the laser. These electrons generate a sheath field at the edge of the plasma filament strong enough to ionize the gas atoms in the sheath. We observe that a collisionless ionization wave is launched in this regime, propagating radially through the gas at up to 0.5 $c$ after the laser has passed. The expansion of the resulting plasma filament due to the ionization wave occurs in about 2 ps, more than doubling the initial radius of the filament. The remarkable longevity of the wave without continuous energy deposition into the electron population is explained by a moving field structure that traps the hot electrons near the boundary. 2D PIC simulations confirm that the trapped hot electrons maintain a sheath field required for the ionization despite the significant expansion of the filament.