An investigation is made on the influence of the sharpness of the density gradients on the generation of energetic protons in a radially Gaussian density profile of a spherical hydrogen plasma. It is possible to create such density gradients by impinging a solid density target with a secondary lower intensity pulse, which ionizes the target and explodes it to create an expanded plasma target of lower effective density for the high-intensity main pulse to hit on. The density gradients are scanned in the near-critical regime, and separate regimes of proton motion are identified based on the density sharpness. An intermediate-density gradient [[Formula: see text]] favors the generation of high energetic protons with narrow energy spectra that are emitted with better collimation from the target rear surface. Protons with energies exceeding 100 MeVs could be achieved using such modified plasma targets with circularly polarized lasers of peak intensities [Formula: see text] and peak energy [Formula: see text].
The proton acceleration processes involved in the interaction of an ultrashort circularly polarized laser with a near-critical density spherical target are investigated in this paper using three dimensional particles in cell simulations. Both the target size and the target density are varied to understand their influence on the accelerated beam of protons. The target is efficiently heated by relativistic transparency, and a complicated interplay is observed between the participating interaction processes. The electron heating and recirculations help in the formation of shocks which exert a further push to the protons accelerated by the electrostatic sheath formed due to the ponderomotive force. A maximum peak proton energy of about 40 MeV is observed, which is the result of the cumulative effects of various acceleration mechanisms. Electron jets are observed in the forward laser direction for the larger target size, which suppresses the energy of the proton beams.
The use of nano-structured targets has the ability to enhance the energy and quality of accelerated electron and ion beams in comparison to conventional flat foil targets. Ion acceleration from plastic foil target of sub-micron thickness embedded with rods of nano-meter length using ultra-short intense laser pulse of intensity ≥ 1021 W/cm2 is investigated using PIC simulation. The laser and target parameters are tuned to achieve better performance with nano-structured targets compared to flat foil. Several new features of the ion acceleration process are revealed in the present study. A hybrid RPA-TNSA mechanism using a linearly polarised laser is found to play a key role in accelerating protons to ∽ 300 MeV of energy. The effect of multiple ion species on the acceleration of protons has been studied and a narrow peak in the proton energy spectrum around ∽ 100 MeV is observed which is attributed to the presence of heavier ions in the target.
The effect of different density profiles on micron-sized hydrogen plasma spheres is investigated when the plasma gets irradiated with an ultrashort circularly polarized laser. In this study, we show that significant improvement in the characteristics of the accelerated protons viz. maximum proton energy, as well as their monoenergetic behaviour, is possible by using a plasma sphere having a tailored density profile. A linear-shaped density inhomogeneity is introduced in the plasma sphere such that the density is peaked at the centre and gradually dropping outwards. The density gradient is tuned by changing the peak density at the centre. The optimum regime of steepness is found for the maximum energy attained by the protons where the target is opaque enough for the radiation pressure to play its role, however not too opaque to inhibit efficient target heating. A novel Gaussian-shaped density profile is suggested which plays an important role in suppressing the sheath field. With a decreased rear-side field, a visible improvement of the monoenergetic feature of the protons is observed.
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