Proton acceleration with high-intensity ultrahigh-contrast laser pulses

We report on simultaneous measurements of backward- and forward-accelerated protons spectra when an ultrahigh intensity (approximately 5 x 10(18) W/cm(20), ultrahigh contrast (>10(10)) laser pulse interacts with foils of thickness ranging from 0.08 to 105 microm. Under such conditions, free of preplasma originating from ionization of the laser-irradiated surface, we show that the maximum proton energies are proportional to the p component of the laser electric field only and not to the ponderomotive force and that the characteristics of the proton beams originating from both target sides are almost identical. All these points have been corroborated by extensive 1D and 2D particle-in-cell simulations showing a very good agreement with the experimental data.     

Instability-free ion acceleration by two laser pulses

We demonstrate the instability-free ion acceleration regime by introducing laser control with two parallel circularly polarized laser pulses at an intensity of I = 6.8 × 10²¹?W/cm², normally incident on a hydrogen foil. The special structure of the equivalent wave front of those two pulses, which contains Gaussian peaks in both sides and a concavity in the centre (2D), can suppress the transverse instabilities and hole boring effects to constrain a high density ion clump in the centre of the foil, leading to an acceleration over a long distance and gain above 1GeV/u for the ion bunches.     

Forward ion acceleration in thin films driven by a high-intensity laser

A collimated beam of fast protons, with energies as high as 1.5 MeV and total number of greater, similar10(9), confined in a cone angle of 40 degrees +/-10 degrees is observed when a high-intensity high-contrast subpicosecond laser pulse is focused onto a thin foil target. The protons, which appear to originate from impurities on the front side of the target, are accelerated over a region extending into the target and exit out the back side in a direction normal to the target surface. Acceleration field gradients approximately 10 GeV/cm are inferred. The maximum proton energy can be explained by the charge-separation electrostatic-field acceleration due to "vacuum heating."     

Electron acceleration and the propagation of ultrashort high-intensity laser pulses in plasmas

Reported are interactions of high-intensity laser pulses ( lambda = 810 nm and I相似文献   

Ion acceleration by superintense laser pulses in plasmas

Ion acceleration by petawatt laser radiation in underdense and overdense plasmas is studied with 2D3V-PIC (Particle in Cell) numerical simulations. These simulations show that the laser pulse drills a channel through the plasma slab, and electrons and ions expand in vacuum. Fast electrons escape first from the electron-ion cloud. Later, ions gain a high energy on account of the Coulomb explosion of the cloud and the inductive electric field which appears due to fast change of the magnetic field generated by the laser pulse. Similarly, when a superintense laser pulse interacts with a thin slab of overdense plasma, its ponderomotive pressure blows all the electrons away from a finite-diameter spot on the slab. Then, due to the Coulomb explosion, ions gain an energy as high as 1 GeV. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 2, 80–86 (25 July 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Analytical models of laser-trigged ion acceleration

We review the recent advances in constructing analytical solutions of self-consistent Vlasov-Poisson equations in plasma. These solutions describe different physical phenomena, such as the ion acceleration in the adiabatic expansion of a plasma bunch and the Coulomb explosion of cluster plasma. The particle distribution function, mean velocity, and density distribution, as well as the energy spectra for accelerated ions, are discussed.     

Ion acceleration at the front and rear surfaces of thin foils with high-intensity 40-fs laser pulses

Ion acceleration from the front and rear sides of a foil target is observed by measurements of the ions’ spectral and spatial emission characteristics when irradiating the targets with ultrashort (40-fs) high-intensity laser pulses. The experimental results show that the origin of accelerated ions, from both the front and rear surfaces of the target, strongly depend on the laser energy absorption mechanism. In particular, laser pulse parameters such as pulse duration and contrast are crucial and determine the entire acceleration scenario. Thus, the experimental outcome can be controlled by selection of the irradiation conditions. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Reflection of high-intensity nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulses by metals

Total reflectivity of silver and molybdenum samples irradiated by high-intensity nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulses in air of atmospheric pressure is experimentally studied as a function of laser fluence in the range of 0.1–100 J/cm². The study shows that at laser fluences below the plasma formation threshold the total reflectivity of both silver and molybdenum remains virtually equal to the table room-temperature reflectivity values. The total reflectivity of these metals begins to decrease at a laser fluence of the plasma formation threshold. As the laser fluence increases above the plasma formation threshold, the reflectivity sharply drops to a low value and then remains unchanged with further increasing laser fluence. Calculation of the surface temperature at the plasma formation threshold fluence shows that the surface temperature value is substantially below the melting point that indicates an important role of the surface nanostructural defects in the plasma formation on a real sample due to their enhanced heating caused by both plasmonic absorption and plasmonic nanofocusing.     

高强度飞秒激光脉冲在空气中的自压缩

利用高重复频率（1kHz）、吉瓦级飞秒激光脉冲实验验证了高强度飞秒脉冲在空气中的自 压缩现象，研究了入射脉冲在不同初始啁啾情况下经空气中聚焦成丝后，时域及频域特性随 入射脉冲能量的变化规律.实验结果表明，在无需后继色散补偿情况下，高强度飞秒脉冲仅 通过在空气中的非线性传输过程就可以实现脉冲压缩；在入射脉冲为负啁啾情况下，实验观 察到脉冲光谱及时域宽度同时得到压缩，并可获得比激光源所能提供的更短的近双曲正割型 变换限脉冲. 关键词： 高强度飞秒激光脉冲 自压缩 自聚焦     

Electron acceleration by tightly focused radially polarized few-cycle laser pulses

Within the framework of plane-wave angular spectrum analysis of the electromagnetic field structure, a solution valid for tightly focused radially polarized few-cycle laser pulses propagating in vacuum is presented. The resulting field distribution is significantly different from that based on the paraxial approximation for pulses with either small or large beam diameters. We compare the electron accelerations obtained with the two solutions and find that the energy gain obtained with our new solution is usually much larger than that with the paraxial approximation solution.     

Parametric transformation and spectral shaping of supercontinuum by high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses

The cascaded nonlinear-optical transformation of high-power ultrashort light pulses in an ionizing gas medium involving supercontinuum generation, followed by a frequency conversion of this radiation in the field of femtosecond laser pulses with an intensity of 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ W/cm² has been demonstrated. Parametric four-wave mixing is shown to allow a highly efficient spectral transformation and shaping of supercontinuum radiation. The maximum efficiency of a parametric frequency conversion of femtosecond laser pulses in an ionizing gas medium achieved under the conditions of our experiments is estimated as 1%.     

Electron acceleration driven by ultrashort and nonparaxial radially polarized laser pulses

Exact closed-form solutions to Maxwell's equations are used to investigate the acceleration of electrons in vacuum driven by ultrashort and nonparaxial radially polarized laser pulses. We show that the threshold power above which significant acceleration takes place is greatly reduced by using a tighter focus. Moreover, electrons accelerated by tightly focused single-cycle laser pulses may reach around 80% of the theoretical energy gain limit, about twice the value previously reported with few-cycle paraxial pulses. Our results demonstrate that the direct acceleration of electrons in vacuum is well within reach of current laser technology.     

Proton acceleration from high-intensity laser interactions with thin foil targets

Measurements of energetic proton production resulting from the interaction of high-intensity laser pulses with foil targets are described. Through the use of layered foil targets and heating of the target material we are able to distinguish three distinct populations of protons. One high energy population is associated with a proton source near the front surface of the target and is observed to be emitted with a characteristic ring structure. A source of typically lower energy, lower divergence protons originates from the rear surface of the target. Finally, a qualitatively separate source of even lower energy protons and ions is observed with a large divergence. Acceleration mechanisms for these separate sources are discussed.     

Motion and acceleration of electrons in high-intensity laser standing waves

The motion and the energy of electrons driven by the ponderomotive force in linearly polarized high-intensity laser standing wave fields are considered. The results show that there exists a threshold laser intensity, above which the motion of electrons incident parallel to the electric field of the laser standing waves undergoes a transition from regulation to chaos. We propose that the huge energy exchange between the electrons and the strong laser standing waves is triggered by inelastic scattering, which is related to the chaos patterns. It is shown that an electron's energy gain of tens of MeV can be realized for a laser intensity of 10²⁰ W/cm².     

激光加速实验超薄类金刚石碳靶的制备

采用过滤阴极真空弧法,制备了满足激光稳相加速机制要求的超薄自支撑类金刚石碳靶。室温下沉积,基片偏压为-32 V,薄膜沉积速率约为每脉冲0.002 nm。选取NaCl膜作脱膜剂,采用漂浮法进行脱膜。打捞板孔径为1 mm时,自支撑厚度范围为5~50 nm,自支撑成功率约为70%。利用拉曼光谱仪及原子力显微镜等仪器,测量了薄膜的结构、表面粗糙度等关键参数。     

激光加速实验超薄类金刚石碳靶的制备

采用过滤阴极真空弧法,制备了满足激光稳相加速机制要求的超薄自支撑类金刚石碳靶。室温下沉积,基片偏压为-32 V,薄膜沉积速率约为每脉冲0.002 nm。选取NaCl膜作脱膜剂,采用漂浮法进行脱膜。打捞板孔径为1 mm时,自支撑厚度范围为5~50 nm,自支撑成功率约为70%。利用拉曼光谱仪及原子力显微镜等仪器,测量了薄膜的结构、表面粗糙度等关键参数。     

Hybrid model of ion acceleration in laser plasma of flat heterogeneous target

We have constructed a two-phase analytical model of acceleration of ions in a two-layer laser target. The first phase of acceleration is isothermic and covers the action time of the laser pulse, while the second phase is adiabatic and occurs after the end of the laser pulse. The maximal ion energy is obtained as a function of parameters of the laser pulse and target. We compare analytical results with PIC calculations and show that the theory is adequate.