Laser wakefield acceleration of ions with a transverse flying focus
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866929650269159424 |
|---|---|
| author | Gong, Zheng Cao, Sida Palastro, John P. Edwards, Matthew R. |
| author_facet | Gong, Zheng Cao, Sida Palastro, John P. Edwards, Matthew R. |
| contents | The extreme electric fields created in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions could generate energetic ions far more compactly than traditional accelerators. Despite this promise, laser-plasma accelerators have remained stagnant at maximum ion energies of 100 MeV/nucleon for the last twenty years. The central challenge is the low charge-to-mass ratio of ions, which has precluded one of the most successful approaches used for electrons: laser wakefield acceleration. Here we show that a laser pulse with a focal spot that moves transverse to the laser propagation direction enables wakefield acceleration of ions to GeV energies in underdense plasma. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that this relativistic-intensity "transverse flying focus" can trap ions in a comoving electrostatic pocket, producing a monoenergetic collimated ion beam. With a peak intensity of $10^{20}\,$W/cm$^2$ and an acceleration distance of $0.44\,$cm, we observe a proton beam with $23.1\,$pC charge, $1.6\,$GeV peak energy, and $3.7\,$% relative energy spread. This approach allows for compact high-repetition-rate production of high-energy ions, highlighting the capability of more generalized spatio-temporal pulse shaping to address open problems in plasma physics. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_02690 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Laser wakefield acceleration of ions with a transverse flying focus Gong, Zheng Cao, Sida Palastro, John P. Edwards, Matthew R. Plasma Physics Accelerator Physics Applied Physics Optics The extreme electric fields created in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions could generate energetic ions far more compactly than traditional accelerators. Despite this promise, laser-plasma accelerators have remained stagnant at maximum ion energies of 100 MeV/nucleon for the last twenty years. The central challenge is the low charge-to-mass ratio of ions, which has precluded one of the most successful approaches used for electrons: laser wakefield acceleration. Here we show that a laser pulse with a focal spot that moves transverse to the laser propagation direction enables wakefield acceleration of ions to GeV energies in underdense plasma. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that this relativistic-intensity "transverse flying focus" can trap ions in a comoving electrostatic pocket, producing a monoenergetic collimated ion beam. With a peak intensity of $10^{20}\,$W/cm$^2$ and an acceleration distance of $0.44\,$cm, we observe a proton beam with $23.1\,$pC charge, $1.6\,$GeV peak energy, and $3.7\,$% relative energy spread. This approach allows for compact high-repetition-rate production of high-energy ions, highlighting the capability of more generalized spatio-temporal pulse shaping to address open problems in plasma physics. |
| title | Laser wakefield acceleration of ions with a transverse flying focus |
| topic | Plasma Physics Accelerator Physics Applied Physics Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.02690 |