Related papers: Relativistic light sails need to billow
We consider the acceleration of particles due to a velocity shear in relativistic astrophysical flows. The basic physical picture and the formation of power law momentum spectra is discussed for a non-relativistic velocity field using a…
Relativistic electron beams produced by intense lasers over short distances have important applications in high energy density physics and medical technologies. Vacuum laser acceleration with plasma mirrors injectors has garnered…
Laser-accelerated lightsails enable new types of missions that are very different from the Breakthrough Starshot mission to the Centauri system that aims to send 1 gram of payload at 0.2 c. The present work widens the mission design space…
Achieving relativistic flight to enable extrasolar exploration is one of the dreams of humanity and the long term goal of our NASA Starlight program. We derive a fully relativistic solution for the motion of a spacecraft propelled by…
Shear flows are naturally expected to occur in astrophysical environments and potential sites of continuous non-thermal Fermi-type particle acceleration. Here we investigate the efficiency of expanding relativistic outflows to facilitate…
Microwave propelled sails are a new class of spacecraft using photon acceleration. It is the only method of interstellar flight that has no physics issues. Laboratory demonstrations of basic features of beam-driven propulsion, flight,…
Radio maps of AGNs often show linear features, called jets, both on pc as well as kpc scales. These jets supposedly possess relativistic motion and are oriented close to the line of sight of the observer and accordingly the relativistic…
In the effort of achieving high-energetic ion beams from the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with a plasma, volumetric acceleration mechanisms beyond Target Normal Sheath Acceleration have gained attention. A relativisticly intense…
The two outer triangular caustics (regions of infinite magnification) of a close binary microlens move much faster than the components of the binary themselves, and can even exceed the speed of light. When $\epsilon > 1$, where $\epsilon c$…
In this paper, we propose novel methods to increase total luminosity and decrease error propagation during subluminal or luminal interstellar transits by navigation with star maps. We demonstrate with theoretical and simulation models in…
Exploring and traveling to distant stars has long fascinated humanity but has been limited due to the vast distances. The Breakthrough Starshot Program aims at eliminating this limitation by traveling to Alpha Centauri, which is 4.37…
Space exploration is of paramount importance to advancing fundamental science and providing global services, such as navigation and communications. However, today's space missions are hindered by limitations of existing propulsion…
We investigate the motion of free relativistic particles relative to the ambient medium around a gravitationally collapsed system. If the relative speed exceeds a critical value given by c/sqrt(2), the gravitational tidal effects exhibit…
Accelerating particles to relativistic energies over very short distances using lasers has been a long standing goal in physics. Among the various schemes proposed for electrons, vacuum laser acceleration has attracted considerable interest…
The resonant laser cooling of circular accelerator beams of relativistic charged particle is studied. It is shown that in the approximation of the given external electromagnetic wave amplitude (small gain free electron laser) the emittance…
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…
The dynamics of radiation pressure acceleration in the relativistic light sail regime are analysed by means of large scale, three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. Differently to other mechanisms, the 3D dynamics leads to…
Fiber lasers entered numerous applications due to their high efficiency and superior stability. Particularly in space, those lasers have to fulfill additional requirements set by the harsh environment, typically characterized by large…
We perform fully relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of the deceleration and lateral expansion of a relativistic jet as it expands into an ambient medium. The hydrodynamic calculations use a 2D adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code, which…
Coherent lidars promise a number of advantages over traditional time-of-flight lidars for autonomous vehicles. These include the direct measurement of target approach velocities via the Doppler effect, and near-immunity to interference from…