Ultraintense laser interaction with nanoscale target: a simple model for layer expansion and ion acceleration

Title: Ultraintense laser interaction with nanoscale target: a simple model for layer expansion and ion acceleration

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Abstract

A simple model has been derived for the expansion of a thin (up to 100s of nm thickness), solid-density target driven by an u.ltraintense laser. In this regime, new ion acceleration mechanisms, such as the Break-Out Afterburner (BOA) [1], emerge with the potential to dramatically improve energy, efficiency, and energy spread of laser-driven ion beams. Such beams have been proposed [2] as drivers for fast ignition inertial confinement fusion [3]. Analysis of kinetic simulations of the BOA shows two dislinct times that bound the period of enhanced acceleration: t{sub 1}, when the target becomes relativistically transparent to the laser, and t{sub 2}, when the target becomes classically underdense and the enhanced acceleration terminates. A silllple dynamical model for target expansion has been derived that contains both the early, one-dimensional (lD) expansion of the target as well as three-dimensional (3D) expansion of the plasma at late times, The model assumes that expansion is slab-like at the instantaneous ion sound speed and requires as input target composition, laser intensity, laser spot area, and the efficiency of laser absorption into electron thermal energy.

Authors:

Albright, Brian J ^[1]; Yin, Lin ^[1]; Hegelich, Bjoorn M ^[1]; Bowers, Kevin J ^[1]; Huang, Chengkun ^[1]; Fernandez, Juan C ^[1]; Flippo, Kirk A ^[1]; Gaillard, Sandrine ^[1]; Kwan, Thomas J T ^[1]; Henig, Andreas ^[2]; Yan, Xue Q ^[2]; Tajima, Toshi ^[3]; Habs, Dieter ^[2]

Los Alamos National Laboratory
GERMANY
JAEA, KYOTO, JAPAN

Publication Date:: 2009-01-01

Research Org.:: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE

OSTI Identifier:: 974297

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-09-07049; LA-UR-09-7049
TRN: US1002267

DOE Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

Resource Type:: Conference

Resource Relation:: Conference: Inertial Fusion Science and Applications conference ; September 6, 2009 ; San Francisco, CA

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 70; ABSORPTION; ACCELERATION; AFTERBURNERS; EFFICIENCY; ELECTRONS; IGNITION; INERTIAL CONFINEMENT; ION BEAMS; KINETICS; LASERS; PLASMA; TARGETS; THICKNESS; VELOCITY

Citation Formats


                    Albright, Brian J, Yin, Lin, Hegelich, Bjoorn M, Bowers, Kevin J, Huang, Chengkun, Fernandez, Juan C, Flippo, Kirk A, Gaillard, Sandrine, Kwan, Thomas J T, Henig, Andreas, Yan, Xue Q, Tajima, Toshi, and Habs, Dieter. Ultraintense laser interaction with nanoscale target: a simple model for layer expansion and ion acceleration.  United States: N. p., 2009. 
        Web.

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                    Albright, Brian J, Yin, Lin, Hegelich, Bjoorn M, Bowers, Kevin J, Huang, Chengkun, Fernandez, Juan C, Flippo, Kirk A, Gaillard, Sandrine, Kwan, Thomas J T, Henig, Andreas, Yan, Xue Q, Tajima, Toshi, & Habs, Dieter. Ultraintense laser interaction with nanoscale target: a simple model for layer expansion and ion acceleration.  United States.

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                    Albright, Brian J, Yin, Lin, Hegelich, Bjoorn M, Bowers, Kevin J, Huang, Chengkun, Fernandez, Juan C, Flippo, Kirk A, Gaillard, Sandrine, Kwan, Thomas J T, Henig, Andreas, Yan, Xue Q, Tajima, Toshi, and Habs, Dieter. Thu .  
        "Ultraintense laser interaction with nanoscale target: a simple model for layer expansion and ion acceleration".  United States.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/974297.

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@article{osti_974297,

  title        = {Ultraintense laser interaction with nanoscale target: a simple model for layer expansion and ion acceleration},

  author       = {Albright, Brian J and Yin, Lin and Hegelich, Bjoorn M and Bowers, Kevin J and Huang, Chengkun and Fernandez, Juan C and Flippo, Kirk A and Gaillard, Sandrine and Kwan, Thomas J T and Henig, Andreas and Yan, Xue Q and Tajima, Toshi and Habs, Dieter},

  abstractNote = {A simple model has been derived for the expansion of a thin (up to 100s of nm thickness), solid-density target driven by an u.ltraintense laser. In this regime, new ion acceleration mechanisms, such as the Break-Out Afterburner (BOA) [1], emerge with the potential to dramatically improve energy, efficiency, and energy spread of laser-driven ion beams. Such beams have been proposed [2] as drivers for fast ignition inertial confinement fusion [3]. Analysis of kinetic simulations of the BOA shows two dislinct times that bound the period of enhanced acceleration: t{sub 1}, when the target becomes relativistically transparent to the laser, and t{sub 2}, when the target becomes classically underdense and the enhanced acceleration terminates. A silllple dynamical model for target expansion has been derived that contains both the early, one-dimensional (lD) expansion of the target as well as three-dimensional (3D) expansion of the plasma at late times, The model assumes that expansion is slab-like at the instantaneous ion sound speed and requires as input target composition, laser intensity, laser spot area, and the efficiency of laser absorption into electron thermal energy.},

  doi          = {},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/974297},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2009},

  month        = {1}

}

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