Radiation reaction effects on radiation pressure acceleration

Year: 2010

Authors: Tamburini M., Pegoraro F., Di Piazza A., Keitel C.H., Macchi A.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Pisa, Dipartimento Fis Enrico Fermi, I-56127 Pisa, Italy; Max Planck Inst Kernphys, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany; CNR, Ist Nazl Ott, Res Unit Adriano Gozzini, I-56100 Pisa, Italy.

Abstract: Radiation reaction (RR) effects on the acceleration of a thin plasma foil by a superintense laser pulse in the radiation pressure-dominated regime are investigated theoretically. A simple suitable approximation of the Landau-Lifshitz equation for the RR force and a novel leap-frog pusher for its inclusion in particle-in-cell simulations are provided. Simulations for both linear and circular polarization of the laser pulse are performed and compared. It is found that at intensities exceeding 10(23) W cm(-2) the RR force strongly affects the dynamics for a linearly polarized laser pulse, reducing the maximum ion energy but also the width of the spectrum. In contrast, no significant effect is found for circularly polarized laser pulses whenever the laser pulse does not break through the foil.

Journal/Review: NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS

Volume: 12      Pages from: 123005-1  to: 123005-14

KeyWords: radiation reaction; laser-plasma interactions; radiation pressure; particle-in-cell simulations;
DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/12/12/123005

Citations: 208
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