Enhancement of Maximum Attainable Ion Energy in the Radiation Pressure Acceleration Regime Using a Guiding Structure

Year: 2015

Authors: Bulanov S.S., Esarey E, Schroeder C.B., Bulanov S.V., Esirkepov T.Zh., Kando M., Pegoraro F., Leemans W.P.

Autors Affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Kansai Photon Science Institute, JAEA, Kizugawa, Kyoto 619-0215, Japan
Prokhorov Institute of General Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region 141700, Russia
Physics Department, University of Pisa and Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Pisa 56127, Italy

Abstract: Radiation pressure acceleration is a highly efficient mechanism of laser-driven ion acceleration, with the laser energy almost totally transferrable to the ions in the relativistic regime. There is a fundamental limit on the maximum attainable ion energy, which is determined by the group velocity of the laser. In the case of tightly focused laser pulses, which are utilized to get the highest intensity, another factor limiting the maximum ion energy comes into play, the transverse expansion of the target. Transverse expansion makes the target transparent for radiation, thus reducing the effectiveness of acceleration. Utilization of an external guiding structure for the accelerating laser pulse may provide a way of compensating for the group velocity and transverse expansion effects.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Volume: 114 (10)      Pages from: 105003-1  to: 105003-5

More Information: We acknowledge support from the NSF under Grant No. PHY-0935197 and the Office of Science of the US DOE under Contracts No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and No. DE-FG02-12ER41798 and Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic under the Project No. CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0061. The authors would like to thank C. Benedetti, M. Chen, C. G. R. Geddes, and L. Yu for discussions.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.105003

Citations: 30
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