Steady state ion acceleration by a circularly polarized laser pulse

The steady state ion acceleration at the front of a cold solid target by a circularly polarized flat-top laser pulse is studied with one-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. A model that ions are reflected by a steady laser-driven piston is used by comparing with the electrostatic shock acceleration. A stable profile with a double-flat-top structure in phase space forms after ions enter the undisturbed region of the target with a constant velocity.     

Generating monoenergetic heavy-ion bunches with laser-induced electrostatic shocks

A method for efficient laser acceleration of heavy ions by electrostatic shock is investigated using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation and analytical modeling. When a small number of heavy ions are mixed with light ions, the heavy ions can be accelerated to the same velocity as the light ions so that they gain much higher energy because of their large mass. Accordingly, a sandwich target design with a thin compound ion layer between two light-ion layers and a micro-structured target design are proposed for obtaining monoenergetic heavy-ion beams.     

Unlimited relativistic shock surfing acceleration

Nonrelativistic shock surfing acceleration at quasiperpendicular shocks is usually considered to be a preacceleration mechanism for slow pickup ions to initiate diffusive shock acceleration. In shock surfing, the particle accelerates along the shock front under the action of the convective electric field of the plasma flow. However, the particle also gains kinetic energy normal to the shock and eventually escapes downstream. We consider the case when ions are accelerated to relativistic velocities. In this case, the ions are likely to be trapped for infinitely long times, because the energy of bounce oscillations tends to decrease during acceleration. This suggests the possibility of unlimited acceleration by shock surfing.     

利用成像型速度干涉仪进行聚苯乙烯材料中冲击波调速的实验研究

利用一维实验,模拟了惯性约束聚变中烧蚀层中冲击波传输和多次冲击追赶过程.针对聚苯乙烯材料(CH)容易被X射线离化的问题,通过较详细的数值模拟,分析了用Au和Cu做阻挡层对冲击波信号的影响.利用两种不同的辐射源,研究了辐射源两个台阶强度变化对两次冲击信号的影响.经过分析,使用在Al基底上面加厚度为5 μm的Au膜以挡X射线的办法,获得了单次冲击在CH材料中加载和减速的清晰条纹图.利用在Al基底上加厚度为2 μm的Au膜和厚度为3 μm的Cu膜的方法,获得了两次冲击在CH材料中加速、减速和二次加载的条纹图.实 关键词： 光学诊断 冲击波调速 离化效应     

Finite spot effects on radiation pressure acceleration from intense high-contrast laser interactions with thin targets

Short pulse laser interactions at intensities of 2×10(21) W cm(-2) with ultrahigh contrast (10(-15)) on submicrometer silicon nitride foils were studied experimentally by using linear and circular polarizations at normal incidence. It was observed that, as the target decreases in thickness, electron heating by the laser begins to occur for circular polarization leading to target normal sheath acceleration of contaminant ions, while at thicker targets no acceleration or electron heating is observed. For linear polarization, all targets showed exponential energy spreads with similar electron temperatures. Particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the heating is due to the rapid deformation of the target that occurs early in the interaction. These experiments demonstrate that finite spot size effects can severely restrict the regime suitable for radiation pressure acceleration.     

Ion acceleration in a solitary wave by an intense picosecond laser pulse

Acceleration of ions in a solitary wave produced by shock-wave decay in a plasma slab irradiated by an intense picosecond laser pulse is studied via particle-in-cell simulation. Instead of exponential distribution as in known mechanisms of ion acceleration from the target surface, these ions accelerated forwardly form a bunch with relatively low energy spread. The bunch is shown to be a solitary wave moving over expanding plasma; its velocity can exceed the maximal velocity of ions accelerated forward from the rear side of the target.     

高密度平面靶等离子体中激光驱动冲击波加速离子的能谱展宽

本文对超短超强激光脉冲辐照高密度等离子体产生的静电冲击波加速离子的能谱展宽机理进行了数值研究.着重讨论了三种冲击波加速离子的能谱展宽机理:能量沉积到离子中使得冲击波前沿不断减速,被加速离子与背景粒子的碰撞,以及高能离子到达靶背面时受到鞘层场进一步加速.还研究了驱动激光脉冲宽度对冲击波加速离子能谱宽度的影响. 关键词： 激光等离子体 冲击波加速 能谱展宽     

强激光与稠密等离子体作用引起的冲击波加速离子的研究

用二维PIC（Particle-in-Cell）程序模拟研究了强激光与稠密等离子体靶作用产生的无碰撞静电冲击波的结构和这种冲击波对离子的加速过程,研究发现由于冲击波前沿附近的双极电场的作用,具有一定初速度的离子能被该双极场俘获并获得加速,最终能够被加速到两倍冲击波速度.冲击波加速可以得到准单能的离子能谱,叠加在通过鞘层加速机理产生的宽度离子能谱上.还对不同激光强度和不同等离子体密度情况下形成的冲击波进行了比较.研究表明,强度相对较低的激光在高密度等离子体中可以产生以一定速度传播的静电孤波结构,后者只能加速 关键词： 强激光 稠密等离子体 无碰撞静电冲击波 离子加速     

Generation of Ultrahigh-Velocity Collisionless Electrostatic Shocks Using an Ultra-Intense Laser Pulse Interacting with Foil-Gas Target

Ultra high-velocity collisionless shocks are generated using an ultra-intense laser interacting with foil-gas target,which consists of copper foil and helium gas.The energy of helium ions accelerated by shock and the proton probing image of the shock electrostatic field show that the shock velocity is 0.02c,where c is the light speed.The numerical and theory studies indicate that the collisionless shock velocity exceeding 0.1 c can be generated by a laser pulse with picosecond duration and an intensity of 10~(20) W/cm~2.This system may be relevant to the study of mildly relativistic velocity collisionless shocks in astrophysics.     

Time evolution of collisionless shock in counterstreaming laser-produced plasmas

We investigated the time evolution of a strong collisionless shock in counterstreaming plasmas produced using a high-power laser pulse. The counterstreaming plasmas were generated by irradiating a CH double-plane target with the laser. In self-emission streaked optical pyrometry data, steepening of the self-emission profile as the two-plasma interaction evolved indicated shock formation. The shock thickness was less than the mean free path of the counterstreaming ions. Two-dimensional snapshots of the self-emission and shadowgrams also showed very thin shock structures. The Mach numbers estimated from the flow velocity and the brightness temperatures are very high.     

Experimental observations of flame acceleration and transition to detonation following shock-flame interaction

Observations are presented from experiments where laminar flame bubbles were perturbed successively by incident and reflected shock waves. Significant flame acceleration was observed in many instances, with the flame closely coupled to the reflected shock wave. The coupled waves are interpreted using a generalized Hugoniot analysis. As the incident shock velocity increased, detonation emerged near the highly convolved reaction zone. Prior to detonation the external visual attributes of the combustion fronts appear identical to turbulent combustion. However, they cannot be due to classical isotropic turbulence. The overall conclusion is that the observed enhancement of combustion is driven by chemi-acoustic interactions and related gas-dynamic effects. An analysis of the prevailing thermodynamic states suggests that thermal auto-ignition chemistry could also play a significant role prior to the onset of detonation.     

Laser-accelerated protons with energy-dependent beam direction

The spatial distribution of protons, accelerated by intense femtosecond laser pulses interacting with thin target foils under oblique irradiation are investigated. Under certain conditions, the proton beams are directed away from the target normal. This deviation is towards the laser forward direction, with an angle that increases with the level and duration of the amplified spontaneous emission pedestal before the main laser pulse. In addition, for a given laser pulse, this beam deviation increases with proton energy. The observations are discussed in terms of different electron acceleration mechanisms and target normal sheath acceleration, in combination with a laser-controllable shock wave locally deforming the target rear surface.     

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采用PIC/MCC模型,通过数值模拟的方法研究了束线离子和靶台复合加速离子注入过程中靶台偏压大小对注入过程离子动力学行为的影响,重点考察了不同偏压作用下离子的注入能量、注入剂量、注入角度以及注入范围的变化.结果表明,靶台上施加脉冲偏压后,在束流离子的作用下空间电荷分布发生变化,束流正下方的电势线会发生凹曲,凹曲的电场同时又作用于空间中的带电粒子,影响粒子的运动;靶台偏压越高,零电势线距离靶台越远,靶台电场对离子的作用范围越大.离子的注入剂量、注入能量随着靶台偏压的增大而增大,而偏压对离子注入角度的影响并不大,大部分离子都以垂直入射的方式注入到靶台表面.另外,离子注入到靶台上的面积会因束流离子在靶台电场中飞行偏转而增大,并且偏压越大注入面积增大越明显.     

Particle drift in a resonance tube--a numerical study

The paper considers longitudinal drift of small particles in a resonance tube, caused by periodic shock waves, and its effect on particle agglomeration. It is found that depending on particle size, drift is caused by shock waves and/or gas acceleration and compression. It is also shown that the drift velocity and direction can be controlled by the frequency of the piston that causes gas oscillations in the resonance tube. The obtained numerical solutions indicate that particle drift in a resonance tube enhances aerosol agglomeration. An agglomeration kernel is derived for this case, accounting for particle drift, leading to an estimate of agglomeration time. The time predicted by present model is of the same order of magnitude as that obtained from experiments in the literature.     

整形脉冲驱动下透明材料离化现象

 利用成像型速度干涉仪研究了大型激光原型装置整形脉冲驱动实验中产生的预热效应。对冲击波传输过程进行了分析,发现第１和第２个冲击波的起始时刻都在胶层里面,第３个冲击波的起始时刻在熔石英窗口里面。实验发现,由于X光离化效应的影响,第１和第２个冲击波传输引起的条纹跳变并没有观察到。第２和第３个激光脉冲前半部分产生的离化效应将透明窗口完全漂白,导致成像型速度干涉仪获得的条纹图出现了间断。实验观察到了第３个激光脉冲驱动的冲击波在熔石英中产生的加速和减速过程。对整形脉冲获得的实验结果进行了初步解释,得出现有条件下整形脉冲驱动应注意的问题为：控制最高辐射温度,选用带隙大的窗口材料,尽量减小胶层的厚度。     

一种新的线成像激光干涉测速系统

 设计并搭建了一种新的线成像激光干涉测速系统,用于小样品材料的冲击波诊断或飞片速度测量。系统采用梳状干涉条纹做为信号载体,利用1维光纤阵列＋光电倍增管＋数字示波器替代变像管扫描相机作为记录设备,记录伪推挽四路干涉信号,实现1 ns时间分辨和86 μm空间分辨。用它测量了脉冲激光驱动铝膜飞片的速度场,获得对比度较好的信号,数据处理结果揭示了飞片加速过程将近20 ns,飞片的平面度为14.8 mrad。实验证明,该线成像激光干涉测速系统具有一定实用性。     

Proton shock acceleration in laser-plasma interactions

The formation of strong, high Mach number (2-3), electrostatic shocks by laser pulses incident on overdense plasma slabs is observed in one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, for a wide range of intensities, pulse durations, target thicknesses, and densities. The shocks propagate undisturbed across the plasma, accelerating the ions (protons). For a dimensionless field strength parameter a(0)=16 (Ilambda(2) approximately 3 x 10(20) W cm(-2) microm(2), where I is the intensity and lambda the wavelength), and target thicknesses of a few microns, the shock is responsible for the highest energy protons. A plateau in the ion spectrum provides a direct signature for shock acceleration.     

Shock-timing experiments in polystyrene target

Direct-drive and indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion （ICF） targets use temporally shaped drive pulses to optimize target performance. The timing of multiple shock waves is crucial to the performance of ICF ignition targets. Velocity interferometer system for any refiector （VISAR） is the principal diagnostic tool for shock-timing experiments. We present velocity measurements from the shock waves in polystyrene targets driven by two 200-ps pulses separated by 1–2 ns. These pulses drive two shock waves that coalescence in the target. Coalescence time and transit times are observed by VISAR.     

Dynamic imaging and hydrodynamics study of high velocity, laser-accelerated thin foil targets using multiframe optical shadowgraphy

The main aim of the study of thin target foil–laser interaction experiments is to understand the physics of hydrodynamics of the foil acceleration, which is highly relevant to inertial confinement fusion (ICF). This paper discusses a simple, inexpensive multiframe optical shadowgraphy diagnostics developed for dynamic imaging of high velocity laser-accelerated target foils of different thicknesses. The diagnostic has a spatial and temporal resolution of 12 μm and 500 ps respectively in the measurements. The target velocity is in the range of 10⁶–10⁷ cm/s. Hydrodynamic efficiency of such targets was measured by energy balance experiments together with the measurement of kinetic energy of the laser-driven targets. Effect of target foil thickness on the hydrodynamics of aluminum foils was studied for determining the optimum conditions for obtaining a directed kinetic energy transfer of the accelerated foil. The diagnostics has also been successfully used to study ablatively accelerated targets of other novel materials.