Effects of energetic electrons on ion acceleration in a quasi-static model

Bahache, Abdelkadrer; Bennaceur-Doumaz, D.; Djebli, M.

doi:10.1063/1.4994706

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The non-relativistic Cairns distribution function [85] has been proposed to describe the non-thermal electrons in TNSA modelling [86] however its non-relativistic character is an intrinsic limitation as far as hot, relativistic electrons are concerned. Here we make use of a relativistically correct Cairns-like distribution function, namely: 2…”

Section: Role Of Non-thermal Electrons In Tnsamentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced laser-driven ion sources and their applications in materials and nuclear science

Passoni

Arioli

Cialfi

et al. 2019

Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The investigation of superintense laser-driven ion sources and their potential applications offers unique opportunities for multidisciplinary research. Plasma physics can be combined with materials and nuclear science, radiation detection and advanced laser technology, leading to novel research challenges of great fundamental and applicative interest. In this paper we present interesting and comprehensive results on nanostructured low density (near-critical) foam targets for TW and PW-class lasers, obtained in the framework of the European Research Council ENSURE project. Numerical simulations and experimental activities carried out at 100 s TW and PW-class laser facilities have shown that targets consisting of a solid foil coated with a nanostructured low-density (near-critical) foam can lead to an enhancement of the ion acceleration process. This stimulated a thorough numerical investigation of superintense laser-interaction with nanostructured near-critical plasmas. Thanks to a deep understanding of the foam growth process via the pulsed laser deposition technique and to the complementary capabilities of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering, advanced multi-layer targets based on near-critical films with carefully controlled properties (e.g. density gradients over few microns length scales) can now be manufactured, with applications outreaching the field of laser-driven ion acceleration. Additionally, comprehensive numerical and theoretical work has allowed the design of dedicated experiments and a realistic table-top apparatus for laser-driven materials irradiation, ion beam analysis and neutron generation, that exploit a double-layer target to reduce the requirements for the laser system.

show abstract

Section: Role Of Non-thermal Electrons In Tnsamentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced laser-driven ion sources and their applications in materials and nuclear science

Passoni

Arioli

Cialfi

et al. 2019

Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Here, we choose a Cairns-like distribution function. The Cairns distribution function was first introduced to explain soliton structures observed in cold space plasmas [35] and then employed in a non-relativistic TNSA model [31]. We extend the Cairns distribution function [35] to the relativistic regime, which, in a manifestly covariant form, reads:…”

Section: Non-equilibrium Relativistic Distribution Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This allows us to interpret α as a knob that moves the distribution function from equilibrium (α = 0) to a higher degree of non-equilibrium (α → ∞). Second, when plugging f α into the sheath model, computations in the non-relativistic [31] and ultra-relativistic limits can be partially carried out analytically. In addition, as we will detail in section 4, f α is consistent with 3D PIC simulations of TNSA.…”

Section: Non-equilibrium Relativistic Distribution Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One way to describe the TNSA process relies on a quasi-static sheath model that can take into account kinetic effects in a self-consistent and relativistically-correct way [28]. Nevertheless, in some cases the theory is developed in the non-relativistic [29][30][31] or ultra-relativistic limit [32] and, what is more, in most cases the hot electron population is considered to be in thermal equilibrium [28,30,32,33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This modeling approach allows one to directly explore the role of non-equilibrium by letting α vary, something that is not easily done by means of conventional numerical simulations, e.g Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations [34]. Among possible reasonable choices for f, we choose a relativistic generalization of the Cairns distribution function [35], also with the goal of extending a previous non-relativistic treatment proposed to model the effects of energetic electrons on TNSA [31]. In section 2 we introduce all the ingredients needed to define our approach and we show that the proposed Cairns-like distribution function fully satisfies the principles of special relativity by writing the main expressions in a manifestly Lorentz-covariant form.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Non-equilibrium effects in a relativistic plasma sheath model

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plasma sheaths characterized by electrons with relativistic energies and far from thermodynamic equilibrium are governed by a rich and largely unexplored physics. A reliable kinetic description of relativistic non-equilibrium plasma sheaths-besides its interest from a fundamental point of view-is crucial to many application, from controlled nuclear fusion to laser-driven particle acceleration. Sheath models proposed in the literature adopt either relativistic equilibrium distribution functions or non-relativistic non-equilibrium distribution functions, making it impossible to properly capture the physics involved when both relativistic and non-equilibrium effects are important. Here we tackle this issue by solving the electrostatic Vlasov-Poisson equations with a new class of fully-relativistic distribution functions that can describe non-equilibrium features via a real scalar parameter. After having discussed the general properties of the distribution functions and the resulting plasma sheath model, we establish an approach to investigate the effect of non-equilibrium solely. Then, we apply our approach to describe laser-plasma ion acceleration in the target normal sheath acceleration scheme. Results show how different degrees of non-equilibrium lead to the formation of sheaths with significantly different features, thereby having a relevant impact on the ion acceleration process. We believe that this approach can offer a deeper understanding of relativistic plasma sheaths, opening new perspectives in view of their applications.2 In a kinetic description, an equilibrium plasma state is any stationary state that cancels out the collision integral in the transport equation (or, equivalently, that makes the entropy production rate vanish) and is solution of the transport equation itself. Any other state-even if stationary-is of non-equilibrium.

show abstract