Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency
Ion acceleration driven by the interaction of an ultraintense (2 × 10 ^20 W cm ^−2 ) laser pulse with an ultrathin ( $\leqslant 40$ nm) foil target is experimentally and numerically investigated. Protons accelerated by sheath fields and via laser radiation pressure are angularly separated and identi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2015-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/17/10/103033 |
| _version_ | 1797751098590625792 |
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| author | H W Powell M King R J Gray D A MacLellan B Gonzalez-Izquierdo L C Stockhausen G Hicks N P Dover D R Rusby D C Carroll H Padda R Torres S Kar R J Clarke I O Musgrave Z Najmudin M Borghesi D Neely P McKenna |
| author_facet | H W Powell M King R J Gray D A MacLellan B Gonzalez-Izquierdo L C Stockhausen G Hicks N P Dover D R Rusby D C Carroll H Padda R Torres S Kar R J Clarke I O Musgrave Z Najmudin M Borghesi D Neely P McKenna |
| author_sort | H W Powell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ion acceleration driven by the interaction of an ultraintense (2 × 10 ^20 W cm ^−2 ) laser pulse with an ultrathin ( $\leqslant 40$ nm) foil target is experimentally and numerically investigated. Protons accelerated by sheath fields and via laser radiation pressure are angularly separated and identified based on their directionality and signature features (e.g. transverse instabilities) in the measured spatial-intensity distribution. A low divergence, high energy proton component is also detected when the heated target electrons expand and the target becomes relativistically transparent during the interaction. 2D and 3D particle-in-cell simulations indicate that under these conditions a plasma jet is formed at the target rear, supported by a self-generated azimuthal magnetic field, which extends into the expanded layer of sheath-accelerated protons. Electrons trapped within this jet are directly accelerated to super-thermal energies by the portion of the laser pulse transmitted through the target. The resulting streaming of the electrons into the ion layers enhances the energy of protons in the vicinity of the jet. Through the addition of a controlled prepulse, the maximum energy of these protons is demonstrated experimentally and numerically to be sensitive to the picosecond rising edge profile of the laser pulse. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:42:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67cfc83891514720816cc5109f4b7b53 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1367-2630 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:42:28Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Journal of Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-67cfc83891514720816cc5109f4b7b532023-08-08T14:22:15ZengIOP PublishingNew Journal of Physics1367-26302015-01-01171010303310.1088/1367-2630/17/10/103033Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparencyH W Powell0M King1R J Gray2D A MacLellan3B Gonzalez-Izquierdo4L C Stockhausen5G Hicks6N P Dover7D R Rusby8D C Carroll9H Padda10R Torres11S Kar12R J Clarke13I O Musgrave14Z Najmudin15M Borghesi16D Neely17P McKenna18SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UKSUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UKSUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UKSUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UKSUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UKCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), M5 Parque Científico , E-37185 Salamanca, SpainThe John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science , Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UKThe John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science , Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UKSUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UK; Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, UKCentral Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, UKSUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UKCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), M5 Parque Científico , E-37185 Salamanca, SpainCentre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UKCentral Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, UKCentral Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, UKThe John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science , Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UKCentre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UKCentral Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, UKSUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G4 0NG, UKIon acceleration driven by the interaction of an ultraintense (2 × 10 ^20 W cm ^−2 ) laser pulse with an ultrathin ( $\leqslant 40$ nm) foil target is experimentally and numerically investigated. Protons accelerated by sheath fields and via laser radiation pressure are angularly separated and identified based on their directionality and signature features (e.g. transverse instabilities) in the measured spatial-intensity distribution. A low divergence, high energy proton component is also detected when the heated target electrons expand and the target becomes relativistically transparent during the interaction. 2D and 3D particle-in-cell simulations indicate that under these conditions a plasma jet is formed at the target rear, supported by a self-generated azimuthal magnetic field, which extends into the expanded layer of sheath-accelerated protons. Electrons trapped within this jet are directly accelerated to super-thermal energies by the portion of the laser pulse transmitted through the target. The resulting streaming of the electrons into the ion layers enhances the energy of protons in the vicinity of the jet. Through the addition of a controlled prepulse, the maximum energy of these protons is demonstrated experimentally and numerically to be sensitive to the picosecond rising edge profile of the laser pulse.https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/17/10/103033laser–plasma interactionsrelativistic transparencyion accelerationplasma jet |
| spellingShingle | H W Powell M King R J Gray D A MacLellan B Gonzalez-Izquierdo L C Stockhausen G Hicks N P Dover D R Rusby D C Carroll H Padda R Torres S Kar R J Clarke I O Musgrave Z Najmudin M Borghesi D Neely P McKenna Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency New Journal of Physics laser–plasma interactions relativistic transparency ion acceleration plasma jet |
| title | Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency |
| title_full | Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency |
| title_fullStr | Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency |
| title_short | Proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency |
| title_sort | proton acceleration enhanced by a plasma jet in expanding foils undergoing relativistic transparency |
| topic | laser–plasma interactions relativistic transparency ion acceleration plasma jet |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/17/10/103033 |
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