Ion acceleration from micrometric targets immersed in an intense laser field

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Elkind, Michal, Popper, Noam, Cohen, Itamar, Levinson, Aviv, Alaluf, Nitzan, Levanon, Assaf, Pomerantz, Ishay
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Elkind, Michal
Popper, Noam
Cohen, Itamar
Levinson, Aviv
Alaluf, Nitzan
Levanon, Assaf
Pomerantz, Ishay
author_facet Elkind, Michal
Popper, Noam
Cohen, Itamar
Levinson, Aviv
Alaluf, Nitzan
Levanon, Assaf
Pomerantz, Ishay
contents We report on an experimental study of proton acceleration by intense laser irradiation of micrometric bar targets, whose dimensions are transversely immersed in the laser focal volume and are longitudinally smaller than half its wavelength. With only 120 mJ of laser energy, we recorded proton energies in excess of 6~MeV, three times higher than those achieved with flat-foil irradiation using similar pulse energies. 3D particle-in-cell simulations revealed that the efficient energy transfer from the diffracted laser fields to electrons on both sides of the target, combined with its reduced surface area, results in a thicker electron sheath and higher acceleration gradients. We demonstrated numerically how this technique opens up the possibility of laser-ion acceleration in a cascaded manner, allowing manipulation of the ion spectrum by optical means.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_11135
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ion acceleration from micrometric targets immersed in an intense laser field
Elkind, Michal
Popper, Noam
Cohen, Itamar
Levinson, Aviv
Alaluf, Nitzan
Levanon, Assaf
Pomerantz, Ishay
Plasma Physics
We report on an experimental study of proton acceleration by intense laser irradiation of micrometric bar targets, whose dimensions are transversely immersed in the laser focal volume and are longitudinally smaller than half its wavelength. With only 120 mJ of laser energy, we recorded proton energies in excess of 6~MeV, three times higher than those achieved with flat-foil irradiation using similar pulse energies. 3D particle-in-cell simulations revealed that the efficient energy transfer from the diffracted laser fields to electrons on both sides of the target, combined with its reduced surface area, results in a thicker electron sheath and higher acceleration gradients. We demonstrated numerically how this technique opens up the possibility of laser-ion acceleration in a cascaded manner, allowing manipulation of the ion spectrum by optical means.
title Ion acceleration from micrometric targets immersed in an intense laser field
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.11135