A detailed examination of laser-ion acceleration mechanisms in the relativistic transparency regime using tracers
Abstract
We present a particle-in-cell study of linearly polarized laser-ion acceleration systems, in which we use both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulations to characterize the ion acceleration mechanisms in targets which become transparent to the laser pulse during irradiation. First, we perform a target length scan to optimize the peak ion energies in both 2D and 3D, and the predictive capabilities of 2D simulations are discussed. Tracer analysis allows us to isolate the acceleration into stages of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA), hole boring (HB), and break-out afterburner (BOA) acceleration, which vary in effectiveness based on the simulation parameters. The thinnest targets reveal that enhanced TNSA is responsible for accelerating the most energetic ions, whereas the thickest targets have ions undergoing successive phases of HB and TNSA (in 2D) or BOA and TNSA (in 3D); HB is not observed to be a dominant acceleration mechanism in the 3D simulations. It is in the intermediate optimal regime, both when the laser breaks through the target with appreciable amplitude and when there is enough plasma to form a sustained high density flow, that BOA is most effective and is responsible for the most energetic ions. Eliminating the transverse laser spot size effectsmore »
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE; LANL Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1482934
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1434053
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-18-21781
Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Physics of Plasmas
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 25; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; plasma flows; wave mechanics; ion accelerator; plasma waves; velocity gradient tensor; particle-in-cell method; laser plasma interactions; electrostatics; plasma instabilities
Citation Formats
Stark, David J., Yin, Lin, Albright, Brian J., Nystrom, William, and Bird, Robert. A detailed examination of laser-ion acceleration mechanisms in the relativistic transparency regime using tracers. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1063/1.5028129.
Stark, David J., Yin, Lin, Albright, Brian J., Nystrom, William, & Bird, Robert. A detailed examination of laser-ion acceleration mechanisms in the relativistic transparency regime using tracers. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5028129
Stark, David J., Yin, Lin, Albright, Brian J., Nystrom, William, and Bird, Robert. Thu .
"A detailed examination of laser-ion acceleration mechanisms in the relativistic transparency regime using tracers". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5028129. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1482934.
@article{osti_1482934,
title = {A detailed examination of laser-ion acceleration mechanisms in the relativistic transparency regime using tracers},
author = {Stark, David J. and Yin, Lin and Albright, Brian J. and Nystrom, William and Bird, Robert},
abstractNote = {We present a particle-in-cell study of linearly polarized laser-ion acceleration systems, in which we use both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulations to characterize the ion acceleration mechanisms in targets which become transparent to the laser pulse during irradiation. First, we perform a target length scan to optimize the peak ion energies in both 2D and 3D, and the predictive capabilities of 2D simulations are discussed. Tracer analysis allows us to isolate the acceleration into stages of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA), hole boring (HB), and break-out afterburner (BOA) acceleration, which vary in effectiveness based on the simulation parameters. The thinnest targets reveal that enhanced TNSA is responsible for accelerating the most energetic ions, whereas the thickest targets have ions undergoing successive phases of HB and TNSA (in 2D) or BOA and TNSA (in 3D); HB is not observed to be a dominant acceleration mechanism in the 3D simulations. It is in the intermediate optimal regime, both when the laser breaks through the target with appreciable amplitude and when there is enough plasma to form a sustained high density flow, that BOA is most effective and is responsible for the most energetic ions. Eliminating the transverse laser spot size effects by performing a plane wave simulation, we can isolate with greater confidence the underlying physics behind the ion dynamics we observe. Specifically, supplemented by wavelet and FFT analyses, we match the post-transparency BOA acceleration with a wave-particle resonance with a high-amplitude low-frequency electrostatic wave of increasing phase velocity, consistent with that predicted by the Buneman instability.},
doi = {10.1063/1.5028129},
journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
number = 4,
volume = 25,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Apr 19 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Thu Apr 19 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
Harnessing the relativistic Buneman instability for laser-ion acceleration in the transparency regime
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