Related papers: Enhancing laser-driven proton acceleration by usin…
A coated hollow core microsphere is introduced as a novel target in ultra-intense laser-matter interaction experiments. In particular, it facilitates staged laser-driven proton acceleration by combining conventional target normal sheath…
In this work, we investigate the application of the plasma shutters for heavy ion acceleration driven by a high-intensity laser pulse. We use particle-in-cell (PIC) and hydrodynamic simulations. The laser pulse, transmitted through the…
The concept of a laser-guided $e^+e^-$ collider in the high-energy regime is presented and its feasibility discussed. Ultra-intense laser pulses and strong static magnetic fields are employed to unite in one stage the electron and positron…
Compact, stable, and versatile laser-driven ion sources hold great promise for applications ranging from medicine to materials science and fundamental physics. While single-shot sources have demonstrated favorable beam properties, including…
An overview of research on laser-plasma based acceleration of ions is given. The experimental state of the art is summarized and recent progress is discussed. The basic acceleration processes are briefly reviewed with an outlook on hybrid…
Ultra-intense laser-matter interactions are often difficult to predict from first principles because of the complexity of plasma processes and the many degrees of freedom relating to the laser and target parameters. An important approach to…
Efficient coupling of intense laser pulses to solid-density matter is critical to many applications including ion acceleration for cancer therapy. At relativistic intensities, the focus has been mainly on investigating various laser beams…
Electron acceleration has been optimized based on 3D PIC simulations of a short laser pulse interacting with low-density plasma targets to find the pulse propagation regime that maximizes the charge of high-energy electron bunches. This…
The generation of compact, high-energy ion beams is one of the most promising applications of intense laser-matter interactions, but the control of the beam spectral quality remains an outstanding challenge. We show that in radiation…
A continuous cryogenic hydrogen cluster-jet target has been developed for laser-plasma interaction studies, in particular as a source for the acceleration of protons. Major advantages of the cluster-jet target are the compatibility with…
The generation of 200 MeV class protons by irradiating a 25 J laser pulse onto a water target using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation is shown. Two types of targets -- foil and disk -- are evaluated and compared. Disks, which…
A scenario for the enhanced laser-driven ion acceleration from a thin solid target at high laser intensity is considered, where the target is enclosed in a reflecting cavity. The laser pulse reflected from the target is redirected towards…
We review recent PIC simulation results which show that double-sided irradiation of a thin over- dense plasma slab by ultra-intense laser pulses from both sides can lead to sustained comoving acceleration of surface electrons to energies…
Using particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate an improvement of the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) of protons in non-periodically nanostructured targets with micron-scale thickness. Compared to standard flat foils, an…
Laser pulses of extreme intensities ($I>10^{22}~ \mathrm{W/cm^2}$) are about to become available in the laboratory. The prepulse of such a laser can induce a plasma expansion that generates a low-density channel in near-critical gas jets.…
When a circularly polarized laser pulse interacts with a foil target, there are three stages: pre-hole-boring, hole-boring and the light sail acceleration. We study the electron and ion dynamics in the first stage and find the minimum foil…
A novel regime is proposed where, employing linearly polarized laser pulses at intensities $10^{21}\textrm{Wcm}^{-2}$ as two order of magnitude lower than earlier predicted [T. Esirkepov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 175003 (2004)], ions are…
To this day the interaction of high-intensity lasers with matter is considered to be a possible candidate for next generation particle accelerators. Within the LIGHT collaboration crucial work for the merging of a high-intensity laser…
We present a numerical study, based on two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, of the synchrotron emission induced during the interaction of femtosecond laser pulses of intensities $I=10^{21}-10^{23}\,\mathrm{Wcm}^{-2}$ with nanowire…
Aneutronic and nonradioactive properties make the proton-boron fusion a prospective candidate for fusion energy production through reactions following p+$^{11}$B$\rightarrow$3${\alpha}$ (p-$^{11}$B). However, it is difficult to achieve a…