Ion acceleration in near-critical plasmas driven by intense laser pulses is investigated theoretically and numerically. A theoretical model has been given for clarification of the ion acceleration dynamics in relation to different laser and target parameters. Two distinct regimes have been identified, where ions are accelerated by, respectively, the laser-induced shock wave in the weakly driven regime (comparatively low laser intensity) and the nonlinear solitary wave in the strongly driven regime (comparatively high laser intensity). Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that quasi-monoenergetic proton beams with a peak energy of 94.6 MeV and an energy spread 15.8% are obtained by intense laser pulses at intensity I0 = 3 × 1020 W/cm2 and pulse duration τ = 0.5 ps in the strongly driven regime, which is more advantageous than that got in the weakly driven regime. In addition, 233 MeV proton beams with narrow spread can be produced by extending τ to 1.0 ps in the strongly driven regime.
Laser-driven ion acceleration potentially offers a compact, cost-effective alternative to conventional accelerators for scientific, technological, and health-care applications. A novel scheme for heavy ion acceleration in near-critical plasmas via staged shock waves driven by intense laser pulses is proposed, where, in front of the heavy ion target, a light ion layer is used for launching a high-speed electrostatic shock wave. This shock is enhanced at the interface before it is transmitted into the heavy ion plasmas. Monoenergetic heavy ion beam with much higher energy can be generated by the transmitted shock, comparing to the shock wave acceleration in pure heavy ion target. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that quasi-monoenergetic + C 6 ion beams with peak energy 168 MeV and considerable particle number2.1 10 11 are obtained by laser pulses at intensity of1.66 10 20 -W cm 2 in such staged shock wave acceleration scheme. Similarly a high-quality + Al 10 ion beam with a well-defined peak with energy 250 MeV and spread d = E E 30% 0 can also be obtained in this scheme. s e p , where T e is the electron temperature and m p is the proton mass. In addition, the condition for ion reflection, i.e.,
A method to maintain ion stable radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) from laser-irradiated thin foils is proposed, where a series of high-Z nanofilms are placed behind to successively replenish co-moving electrons into the accelerating foil as electron charging stations (ECSs). Such replenishment of comoving electrons, on the one hand, helps to keep a dynamic balance between the electrostatic pressure in the accelerating slab and the increasing laser radiation pressure with a Gaussian temporal profile at the rising front, i.e. dynamically matching the optimal condition of RPA; on the other hand, it aids in suppressing the foil Coulomb explosion due to loss of electrons induced by transverse instabilities during RPA. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that a monoenergetic Si 14+ beam with a peak energy of 3.7 GeV and particle number 4.8 10 9(charge 11 nC) can be obtained at an intensity of 7×10 21 W cm −2 and the conversion efficiency from laser to high energy ions is improved significantly by using the ECSs in our scheme.
An advanced target for production of high-energy monoenergetic ion beams by intense laser pulses is proposed, in which the near-critical plasma is transversely confined between the high-Z dense wires. It is found that the ion acceleration is significantly enhanced due to the strong magnetic dipole vortex formed at the rear of the target, where large electron current density gradients from the wires to the vacuum exist. The magnetic dipole vortex helps to realize the contraction of ion momentum phase spaces and reduction of the beam divergence so that monenergetic, highly directed, and collimated ion beams can be obtained. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations have shown that monoenergetic proton beams with a peak energy of 105 MeV and particle number about 2.2 × 1011 are produced by using the advanced target at a laser intensity of 2.7 × 1020 W/cm2 and a pulse duration of 0.65 ps.
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