Related papers: Spectral Control via Multi-Species Effects in PW-C…
The acceleration of ions from ultra-thin foils has been investigated using 250 TW, sub-ps laser pulses, focused on target at intensities up to $3\times10^{20} \Wcm2$. The ion spectra show the appearance of narrow band features for proton…
We demonstrate an ion acceleration scheme capable of simultaneously focusing and accelerating a multispecies ion beam with monoenergetic spectra to a few micron radius. The focal length and ion mean energy can be independently controlled:…
We investigate the different facets of ion acceleration by a relativistically intense circularly polarized laser pulse interacting with thin near-critical density plasma targets. Our simulations establish that plasma density gradient and…
In this paper, we investigate the effect of spectral pulse shaping of the laser driver on the performance of channel-guided, laser-plasma accelerators. The study was carried out with the assistance of Bayesian optimization using…
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…
Ion acceleration driven by superintense laser pulses is attracting an impressive and steadily increasing effort. Motivations can be found in the potential for a number of foreseen applications and in the perspective to investigate novel…
In the past two decades, laser-accelerated ion sources and their applications have been intensely researched. Recently, it has been shown through experiments that proton beams with characteristics comparable to those obtained with solid…
Magnetic reconnection drives multi-species particle acceleration broadly in space and astrophysics. We perform the first 3D hybrid simulations (fluid electrons, kinetic ions) that contain sufficient scale separation to produce nonthermal…
Laser-driven ion accelerators have the advantages of compact size, high density, and short bunch duration over conventional accelerators. Nevertheless, it is still challenging to simultaneously enhance the yield and quality of laser-driven…
This research demonstrates high-repetition-rate laser-accelerated ion beams via dual, intersecting, counterpropagating laser-driven blast waves to precisely shape underdense gas into long-lived near-critical density targets. The collision…
We report on experimental investigations of proton acceleration from solid foils irradiated with PW-class laser-pulses, where highest proton cut-off energies were achieved for temporal pulse parameters that varied significantly from those…
Experimental results, supported by precise modelling, demonstrate optimisation of a plasma-based injector with intermediate laser pulse energy ($<1$ J), corresponding to a normalised vector potential $a_0 = 2.15$, using ionisation injection…
Collisionless shock acceleration of protons and C$^{6+}$ ions has been achieved by the interaction of a 10$^{20}$ W/cm$^2$, 1 $\mu$m laser with a near-critical density plasma. Ablation of the initially solid density target by a secondary…
Adaptive methods of laser irradiation of plasmas are proposed consisting of deterministic, `on-off' amplitude modulations in time, and intermittently changing speckle-patterns. These laser pulses consist of a series of picosecond time-scale…
We study ion acceleration mechanisms in laser-plasma interactions using neutron spectroscopy. We consider different types of ion-collision mechanisms in the plasma, which cause the angular anisotropy of the observed neutron spectra. These…
After the successful fusion ignition at National Ignition Facility, seeking for a high-gain fusion scheme becomes the next hot-spot in inertial confinement fusion community. Fast ignition provides an alternative due to its potential to…
A superintense laser pulse illuminating a thin solid-density foil can, in principle, accelerate the entire foil, therefore yielding dense, collimated, and quasi-monoenergetic ion beams. These unique features render radiation pressure…
High frequency modulations appearing in the kinetic energy distribution of laser accelerated ions are proposed for retrieving the acceleration field dynamics at femtosecond time scale. Such an approach becomes possible if the laser-cycling…
We explore the physics of electron acceleration in a plasma medium in an effective field theory framework. Employing a multiple Compton scattering mechanism, it is found that the acceleration can be sustained in such a medium so as to…
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…