Related papers: Non-Thermal Electron Energization from Magnetic Re…
Exact closed-form solutions to Maxwell's equations are used to investigate the acceleration of electrons in vacuum driven by ultrashort and nonparaxial radially polarized laser pulses. We show that the threshold power above which…
A high-intensity laser beam propagating through a dense plasma drives a strong current that robustly sustains a strong quasi-static Mega Tesla-level azimuthal magnetic field. The transverse laser field efficiently accelerates electrons in…
Magnetic field-aligned electric fields are characteristic features of magnetic reconnection processes operating in externally agitated magnetized plasmas. An especially interesting environment for such a process are the coronae of accretion…
The interaction of two laser pulses in an underdense plasma has proven to be able to inject electrons in plasma waves, thus providing a stable and tunable source of electrons. Whereas previous works focused on the "beatwave" injection…
Colliding collisionless shocks appear in a great variety of astrophysical phenomena and are thought to be possible sources of particle acceleration in the Universe. To investigate the detailed dynamics of this phenomenon, we have performed…
We describe magnetic reconnection experiments using a new, pulsed-power driven experimental platform in which the inflows are super-sonic but sub-Alfv\'enic.The intrinsically magnetised plasma flows are long lasting, producing a…
Reconnection of the self-generated magnetic fields in laser-plasma interaction was first investigated experimentally by Nilson {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 255001 (2006)] by shining two laser pulses a distance apart on a solid target…
The radiative acceleration of particles and the electrostatic potential fields that arise in low density plasmas hit by radiation produced by a transient, compact source are investigated. We calculate the dynamical evolution and asymptotic…
Recent observations of excess radiation at extreme ultraviolet and hard X-ray energies straddling the well known thermal soft X-ray emission have provided new tools and puzzles for investigation of the acceleration of nonthermal particles…
While observations have suggested that power-law electron energy spectra are a common outcome of strong energy release during magnetic reconnection, e.g., in solar flares, kinetic simulations have not been able to provide definite evidence…
Laser accelerated protons can be a complimentary source for treatment of oncological diseases to the existing hadron therapy facilities. We demonstrate how the protons, accelerated from near-critical density plasmas by laser pulses having…
Ultracold plasmas are a promising candidate for the creation of strongly-coupled Coulomb systems. Unfortunately, the values of the coupling parameter Gamma_e actually achieved after photoionization of the neutral atoms remain relatively…
We discuss the mechanism of electron energization in the upstream region of relativistic e/i shock. By using particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate the electrons interacting with enhanced electric and magnetic fields of the magnetic…
We describe a versatile pulsed-power driven platform for magnetic reconnection experiments, based on exploding wire arrays driven in parallel [Suttle, L. G. et al. PRL, 116, 225001]. This platform produces inherently magnetised plasma flows…
Laser-plasma accelerators offer a compact means of producing high-energy electron beams, but their performance is fundamentally limited by dephasing between the accelerated electrons and the plasma wave. To overcome this limitation, we…
In addition to the ponderomotive acceleration of highly relativistic electrons at interaction of very short and very intense laser pulses, a further acceleration is derived from the interaction of these electron beams with the spontaneous…
In moderately-coupled plasmas, a significant fraction of the internal energy resides in electric fields. As these plasmas are heated or compressed, the shifting partition of energy between particles and fields leads to surprising effects,…
A remarkable ion energy increase is demonstrated by several-stage post-acceleration in a laser plasma interaction. Intense short-pulse laser generates a strong current by high-energy electrons accelerated, when an intense short-pulse laser…
We investigate the distribution of particle acceleration sites, independently of the actual acceleration mechanism, during plasmoid-dominated, relativistic collisionless magnetic reconnection by analyzing the results of a particle-in-cell…
Photoionization by high-energy photons creates nonthermal electrons with a broad range of energies that heat and chemically transform the atmospheres of planets. The specifics of the interactions are notably different when the gas is atomic…