Related papers: Enhanced laser-driven proton acceleration via impr…
This dissertation explores the interaction between high-intensity lasers and plasmas to accelerate electrons and produce radiation via experimental and computational efforts. The laser pulses used in this dissertation have ultrashort…
Efficient laser ion acceleration requires high laser intensities, which can only be obtained by tightly focusing laser radiation. In the radiation pressure acceleration regime, where the tightly focused laser driver leads to the appearance…
We study the onset of electron heating in intense laser-solid interactions and its impact on the spectral quality of radiation pressure accelerated ions in both hole boring and light sail regimes. Two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell…
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…
During the past decade, the interaction of high-intensity lasers with solid targets has attracted much interest, regarding its potential in accelerating charged particles. In spite of tremendous progress in laser-plasma based acceleration,…
We investigated plasma heating enhancement using a high-intensity, high-contrast laser and a cone-attached target. Fast electron spectra and X-ray emission were measured with an electron spectrometer and a Bragg crystal spectrometer. The…
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…
Direct laser acceleration (DLA) offers a compact source of high-charge, energetic electrons for generating secondary radiation or neutrons. While DLA in high-density plasma optimizes the energy transfer from a laser pulse to electrons, it…
The idea of using a gas-mixture comprising atoms with high mass number in order to increase proton energies in laser induced plasma acceleration at under critical density is investigated by means of 2D PIC (Particle-In-Cell) simulations.…
Ion acceleration resulting from the interaction of 11 fs laser pulses of ~35 mJ energy with ultrahigh contrast (<10^-10), and 10^19 W/cm^2 peak intensity with foil targets made of various materials and thicknesses at normal (0-degree) and…
The interaction of a high-intensity ultrashort laser pulse with a few microns-thick hydrocarbon target is known to accelerate protons/ions to multi-MeV, on the rear side of the target, via the mechanism of target normal sheath acceleration.…
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.…
Surface plasmon (SP) excitation in intense laser interaction with solid target can be exploited for enhancing secondary emissions, in particular efficient acceleration of high charge electron bunches. Previous studies have mostly used…
A short overview of laser-plasma acceleration of ions is presented. The focus is on some recent experimental results and related theoretical work on advanced regimes. These latter include in particular target normal sheath acceleration…
Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results of sustained acceleration of electron-positron (e+e-) plasmas by comoving electromagnetic (EM) pulses are presented. When a thin slab of overdense e+e- plasma is irradiated with linear-polarized…
Laser-plasma accelerators represent a promising technology for future compact accelerating systems, enabling the acceleration of tens of pC to above $1\,$GeV over just a few centimeters. Nonetheless, these devices currently lack the…
An unprecedented increase of kinetic energy of laser accelerated heavy ions is demonstrated. Ultra thin gold foils have been irradiated by an ultra short laser pulse at an intensity of $6\times 10^{19}$ W/cm$^{2}$. Highly charged gold ions…
Understanding the interaction of kilojoule, picosecond laser pulse with long-scale length preplasma or homogeneous near critical density (NCD) plasma is crucial for guiding experiments at national short-pulse laser facilities. Using full…
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…
Proton acceleration by using a 620-TW, 18-J laser pulse of peak intensity of $5\times 10^{21}$ W/cm$^{2}$ irradiating a disk target is examined using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that protons are accelerated…