Effect of the Plasma Density Scale Length on the Direction of Fast Electrons in Relativistic Laser-Solid Interactions

Santala, M.; Zepf, Matthew; Watts, I.; Beg, F. N.; Clark, Ε. L.; Tatarakis, M.; Krushelnick, K.; Dangor, A. E.; McCanny, T.; Spencer, I.; Singhal, R.P.; Ledingham, K.W.D.; Wilks, S. C.; Machacek, A.; Wark, J. S.; Allott, R.; Clarke, R. J.; Norreys, P.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.84.1459

Cited by 204 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…If a high-intensity, p-polarized laser pulse is focused onto a target foil at an angle other than target normal, two distributions of electrons (resulting from the two acceleration mechanisms) will thus be driven into the foil in different directions. This has been demonstrated experimentally (Santala et al 2000;Brandl et al 2003). We also note that in order to sustain large currents of hot electrons moving forward, return currents of cold electrons are produced to overcome the Alfvén limit.…”

Section: Ion Acceleration Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 96%

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

McKenna

Lindau²,

Lundh³

et al. 2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Proton acceleration from the interaction of ultra-short laser pulses with thin foil targets at intensities greater than 10 18 W cm −2 is discussed. An overview of the physical processes giving rise to the generation of protons with multi-MeV energies, in well defined beams with excellent spatial quality, is presented. Specifically, the discussion centres on the influence of laser pulse contrast on the spatial and energy distributions of accelerated proton beams. Results from an ongoing experimental investigation of proton acceleration using the 10 Hz multi-terawatt Ti : sapphire laser (35 fs, 35 TW) at the Lund Laser Centre are discussed. It is demonstrated that a window of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) conditions exist, for which the direction of proton emission is sensitive to the ASE-pedestal preceding the peak of the laser pulse, and that by significantly improving the temporal contrast, using plasma mirrors, efficient proton acceleration is observed from target foils with thickness less than 50 nm.

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Section: Ion Acceleration Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 96%

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

McKenna

Lindau²,

Lundh³

et al. 2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…6 Recently, much attention has been raised to laser absorption mechanisms and high-energy electron generation involving overdense plasmas with stepwise density profiles resulting from laser-solid interaction. [7][8][9] Intense ultrashort ͑say 100 fs͒ laser pulses impinging onto a solid target rapidly induce multiple ionization without significant ablation while the hydrodynamic expansion, which is partially reduced by the radiation pressure of the laser, has not enough time to smooth the density gradient. An overdense plasma can thus be created which can keep the steep density profile of the original target.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strongly Enhanced Laser Absorption and Electron Acceleration via Resonant Excitation of Surface Plasma Waves

Raynaud¹,

Riconda²,

Adam³

et al. 2010

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Two-dimensional ͑2D͒ particle-in-cell numerical simulations of the interaction between a high-intensity short-pulse p-polarized laser beam and an overdense plasma are presented. It is shown that, under appropriate physical conditions, a surface plasma wave can be resonantly excited by a short-pulse laser wave, leading to strong relativistic electron acceleration together with a dramatic increase, up to 70%, of light absorption by the plasma. Purely 2D effects contribute to enhancement of electron acceleration. It is also found that the angular distribution of the hot electrons is drastically affected by the surface wave. The subsequent ion dynamics is shown to be significantly modified by the surface plasma wave excitation.

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“…On the other hand, some electron properties, e.g., charge, angular distribution and energy, have been directly measured [36][37][38][39]. Here, we show direct and temporally resolved measurements of the electric field carried by fast electrons.…”

Section: Eos Diagnostics For Fs Resolution Probing High Intensity Lasmentioning

confidence: 84%

Novel Single-Shot Diagnostics for Electrons from Laser-Plasma Interaction at SPARC_LAB

Bisesto

Anania

Botton

et al. 2017

QuBS

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Nowadays, plasma wakefield acceleration is the most promising acceleration technique for compact and cheap accelerators, needed in several fields, e.g., novel compact light sources for industrial and medical applications. Indeed, the high electric field available in plasma structures (>100 GV/m) allows for accelerating electrons at the GeV energy scale in a few centimeters. Nevertheless, this approach still suffers from shot-to-shot instabilities, mostly related to experimental parameter fluctuations, e.g., laser intensity and plasma density. Therefore, single shot diagnostics are crucial in order to properly understand the acceleration mechanism. In this regard, at the SPARC_LAB Test Facility, we have developed two diagnostic tools to investigate properties of electrons coming from high intensity laser-matter interaction: one relying on Electro Optical Sampling (EOS) for the measurement of the temporal profile of the electric field carried by fast electrons generated by a high intensity laser hitting a solid target, the other one based on Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) for single shot measurements of the transverse emittance. In this work, the basic principles of both diagnostics will be presented as well as the experimental results achieved by means of the SPARC high brightness photo-injector and the high power laser FLAME.

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Effect of the Plasma Density Scale Length on the Direction of Fast Electrons in Relativistic Laser-Solid Interactions

Cited by 204 publications

References 21 publications

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

Strongly Enhanced Laser Absorption and Electron Acceleration via Resonant Excitation of Surface Plasma Waves

Novel Single-Shot Diagnostics for Electrons from Laser-Plasma Interaction at SPARC_LAB

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