Proton acceleration mechanisms in high-intensity laser interaction with thin foils
- Departement de Physique Theorique et Appliquee, CEA/DAM Ile-de-France, Boite Postale 12, 91680 Bruyeres-le-Chatel (France)
The interaction of short and intense laser pulses with plasmas or solids is a very efficient source of high-energy ions. This paper reports the detailed study, with particle-in-cell simulations, of the interaction of such a laser pulse with thin, dense targets, and the resulting proton acceleration. Depending on the laser intensity and pulse duration, the most energetic protons are found to come from the front, the core, or the back of the target. The main accelerating mechanisms discussed in this paper are plasma expansion acceleration, where proton acceleration is driven by the hot electron population, and shock acceleration, originating from the laser ponderomotive potential imposed at the front target surface. Three main regimes of proton acceleration are defined and the parameters for which each regime is dominant are obtained. For irradiances close to 10{sup 20} W/cm{sup 2}, the highest proton energies are obtained from thin foils efficiently heated by relativistic transparency. At larger intensities, a complex interplay between collisionless shock acceleration and plasma expansion acceleration is evidenced.
- OSTI ID:
- 20764330
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 12, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1927097; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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