Related papers: Laser-plasma interactions for fast ignition
We demonstrate laser-plasma acceleration of high charge electron beams to the ~10 MeV scale using ultrashort laser pulses with as little energy as 10 mJ. This result is made possible by an extremely dense and thin hydrogen gas jet. Total…
High-power lasers are at the forefront of science in many domains. While their fields are still far from reaching the Schwinger limit, they have been used in extreme regimes, to successfully accelerate particles at high energies, or to…
Longitudinal ion acceleration from high-intensity (I ~ 10^20 Wcm^-2) laser interactions with helium gas jet targets (n_e ~ 0.04 n_c) have been observed. The ion beam has a maximum energy for He^2+ of approximately 40 MeV and was directional…
We use PIC modeling to identify the acceleration mechanism responsible for the observed generation of super-hot electrons in ultra-intense laser-plasma interactions with solid targets with pre-formed plasma. We identify several features of…
The fast ignition paradigm for inertial fusion offers increased gain and tolerance of asymmetry by compressing fuel at low entropy and then quickly igniting a small region. Because this hotspot rapidly disassembles, the ions must be heated…
Ultra-strong laser pulses can be so intense that an electron in the focused beam loses significant energy due to gamma-photon emission while its motion deviates via the radiation back-reaction. Numerical methods and tools designed to…
The propagation and energy coupling of intense laser beams in plasmas are critical issues in laser-driven inertial confinement fusion. Applying magnetic fields to such a setup has been evoked to enhance fuel confinement and heating, and…
The extreme electric fields created in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions could generate energetic ions far more compactly than traditional accelerators. Despite this promise, laser-plasma accelerators have remained stagnant at…
A pulse shape designer for direct drive inertial confinement fusion has been developed, it aims at high compression of the fusion fuel while keeping hydrodynamics instability within tolerable level. Fast linear analysis on implosion…
Ion acceleration in laser-produced dense plasmas is a key topic of many recent investigations thanks to its potential applications. Indeed, at forthcoming laser intensities ($I \gtrsim 10^{23} \text{W}\,\text{cm}^{-2}$) interaction of laser…
Apart from maximizing the strength of optical electromagnetic fields achievable at high-intensity laser facilities, the collision of several phase-matched laser pulses has been theoretically identified as a trigger of and way to study…
A new mechanism of enhanced laser energy absorption in plasma microglobules is demonstrated with the help of two-dimensional Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations. The mechanism relies on the excitation of surface and bulk waves and the…
We present a parametric study based on 1-D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations conducted with the objective of understanding the interaction of intense lasers with near-critical non-uniform density gas targets. Specifically, we aim to find…
When a finite contrast petawatt laser pulse irradiates a micron-thick foil, a prepulse (including amplified spontaneous emission) creates a preplasma, where an ultrashort relativistically strong portion of the laser pulse (the main pulse)…
A paradigm shift in the physics of laser-plasma interactions is approaching with the commissioning of multi-petawatt laser facilities world-wide. Radiation reaction processes will result in the onset of electron-positron pair cascades and,…
Laser ion acceleration is a promising concept for generation of fast ions using a compact laser-solid interaction setup. In this study, we theoretically investigate the feasibility of ion acceleration from the interaction of petawatt-scale…
Ultra-short high-power lasers can deliver extreme light intensities ($\ge 10^{20}$ W/cm$^2$ and $\leq 30 f$s) and drive large amplitude Surface Plasma Wave (SPW) at over-dense plasma surface. The resulting current of energetic electron has…
We report results and modelling of an experiment performed at the TAW Vulcan laser facility, aimed at investigating laser-plasma interaction in conditions which are of interest for the Shock Ignition scheme to Inertial Confinement Fusion,…
A recent neutron analysis of experiments conducted at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) has revealed deviations from the Maxwellian distributions in the ion relative kinetic energy of burning plasmas, with the surprising emergence of…
Laser-induced ionization is a fundamental tool for the frequency conversion of lasers into spectral regions so far inaccessible, including both extreme ultraviolet and terahertz. The low-frequency currents induced by laser-driven ionization…