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Manipulation of laser-generated energetic proton spectra in near critical density plasma

Part of: Culham Thesis Prize Winners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2014

Charlotte A. J. Palmer ,
Nicholas P. Dover ,
Igor Pogorelsky ,
Matthew J. V. Streeter  and
Zulfikar Najmudin
Charlotte A. J. Palmer*
Affiliation:
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), D-22607 Hamburg, Germany The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Nicholas P. Dover
Affiliation:
The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Igor Pogorelsky
Affiliation:
Accelerator Test Facility, Brookhaven National Laboratory, P.O. Box 5000, Upton NY 11973, USA
Matthew J. V. Streeter
Affiliation:
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
Zulfikar Najmudin
Affiliation:
The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
*
†Email address for correspondence: charlotte.palmer@desy.de
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Abstract

We present simulations that demonstrate the production of quasi-monoenergetic proton bunches from the interaction of a CO2 laser pulse train with a near-critical density hydrogen plasma. The multi-pulse structure of the laser leads to a steepening of the plasma density gradient, which the simulations show is necessary for the formation of narrow-energy spread proton bunches. Laser interactions with a long, front surface, scale-length (≫ c/ωp ) plasma, with linear density gradient, were observed to generate proton beams with a higher maximum energy, but a much broader spectrum compared to step-like density profiles. In the step-like cases, a peak in the proton energy spectra was formed and seen to scale linearly with the ratio of laser intensity to plasma density.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 81 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , 365810103
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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