Theoretical and computational studies of the ion energy scaling of the radiation pressure acceleration of an ultra-thin foil by short pulse intense laser irradiation are presented. To obtain a quasi-monoenergetic ion beam with an energy spread of less than 20%, two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that the maximum energy of the quasi-monoenergetic ion beam is limited by self-induced transparency at the density minima caused by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. For foils of optimal thickness, the time over which Rayleigh-Taylor instability fully develops and transparency occurs is almost independent of the laser amplitude. With a laser power of about one petawatt, quasi-monogenetic protons with 200 MeV and carbon ions with 100 MeV per nucleon can be obtained, suitable for particle therapy applications

Abstract:The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) uses a solar diffuser (SD) as its radiometric calibrator for the reflective solar band calibration. The SD is made of Spectralon™ (one type of fluoropolymer) and was chosen because of its controlled reflectance in the Visible/Near-Infrared/Shortwave-Infrared region and its near-Lambertian reflectance property. On-orbit changes in VIIRS SD reflectance as monitored by the Solar Diffuser Stability Monitor showed faster degradation of SD reflectance for 0.4 to 0.6 µm channels than the longer wavelength channels. Analysis of VIIRS SD reflectance data show that the spectral dependent degradation of SD reflectance in short wavelength can be explained with a SD Surface Roughness (length scale << wavelength) based Rayleigh Scattering (SRRS) model due to exposure to solar UV radiation and energetic particles. The characteristic length parameter of the SD surface roughness is derived from the long term reflectance data of the VIIRS SD and it changes at approximately the tens of nanometers level over the operational period of VIIRS. This estimated roughness length scale is consistent with the experimental result from radiation exposure of a fluoropolymer sample and validates the applicability of the Rayleigh scattering-based model. The model is also applicable to explaining the spectral dependent degradation of the SDs on other satellites. This novel approach allows us to better understand the physical processes of the SD degradation, and is complementary to previous mathematics based models.

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Recent experiments and simulations have demonstrated effective CO 2 laser acceleration of quasimonoenergetic protons from thick gaseous hydrogen target (of thickness tens of laser wavelengths) via hole boring and shock accelerations. We present here an alternative novel acceleration scheme by combining laser radiation pressure acceleration with shock acceleration of protons in a thin gaseous target of thickness several laser wavelengths. The laser pushes the thin gaseous plasma forward while compressing it with protons trapped in it. We demonstrated the combined acceleration with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation and obtained quasi-monoenergetic protons $44 MeV in a gas target of thickness twice of the laser wavelength irradiated by circularly polarized CO 2 laser with normalized laser amplitude a 0 ¼ 10. V C 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.