Theory of Light Sail Acceleration by Intense Lasers: an Overview
Plasma Physics
2014-03-26 v1
Abstract
A short overview of the theory of acceleration of thin foils driven by the radiation pressure of superintense lasers is presented. A simple criterion for radiation pressure dominance at intensities around is given, and the possibility for fast energy gain in the relativistic regime is discussed.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1403.6273,
title = {Theory of Light Sail Acceleration by Intense Lasers: an Overview},
author = {Andrea Macchi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1403.6273},
year = {2014}
}
Comments
To appear in High Power Laser Science and Engineering, invited paper for special issue on "Large-scale Laser and Laser Acceleration"