Wakefield excited by ultrashort laser pulses in near-critical density plasmas

Valenta, Petr; Klimo, O.; Grittani, G.; Esirkepov, Timur Zh.; Korn, G.; Bulanov, Sergei V.

doi:10.1117/12.2521040

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…Regarding keV-order electron beam generation, previous studies have shown that LWFA at a near critical density (ne/nc ∼ 1) can generate such electrons with high conversion efficiency. [28][29][30] At solid targets, Lei et al proposed a foam cone-in-shell solid target design aiming at optimum hot electron production for laser fusion. 31 They demonstrated that a high-Z low-density novel foam cone-in-shell target enhances laser conversion into hot electrons without increasing the electron temperature (Te = 1.5 MeV) and beam divergence.…”

Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental realization of near-critical-density laser wakefield acceleration: Efficient pointing 100-keV-class electron beam generation by microcapillary targets

Mori,

Barraza-Valdez,

Kotaki

et al. 2024

AIP Advances

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We experimentally demonstrated the generation of a pointing stable, low-divergence, low-energy electron beam driven by near-critical-density laser wakefield acceleration using a moderate low-intensity laser pulse. Electron beams with a half-beam divergence angle of ∼30 mrad were generated at laser intensities of 4 × 1016–1 × 1018 W/cm2 from a microcapillary hole. The pointing fluctuation of the electron beam was 1.8 mrad (root-mean-square) at the maximum laser intensity of 1 × 1018 W/cm2. The energies of the electron beam were up to 400 keV at 1 × 1018 W/cm2 and 50 keV even at 1 × 1016 W/cm2. We confirmed that the peak energy of the hump or cutoff energy of the electron beams was reproduced in particle-in-cell simulation. Such low divergence electron beam generation at sub-relativistic intensity (1016 to 1017 W/cm2 order) will lead to various applications of laser-driven keV-class electron beams, such as advanced radiotherapy.

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Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental realization of near-critical-density laser wakefield acceleration: Efficient pointing 100-keV-class electron beam generation by microcapillary targets

Mori,

Barraza-Valdez,

Kotaki

et al. 2024

AIP Advances

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“…If the plasma density is near the laser critical density, the typical physics of LWFA transitions into a qualitatively distinct regime where analytic extensions of conventional wakefield physics [27] may become insufficient. Crucially, as n e approaches n c , the group velocity of the laser pulse, given by v g = c √ 1 − n e /n c , approaches zero.…”

Section: Acceleration In the High-density Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

High-Density Dynamics of Laser Wakefield Acceleration from Gas Plasmas to Nanotubes

et al. 2021

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The electron dynamics of laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is examined in the high-density regime using particle-in-cell simulations. These simulations model the electron source as a target of carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes readily allow access to near-critical densities and may have other advantageous properties for potential medical applications of electron acceleration. In the near-critical density regime, electrons are accelerated by the ponderomotive force followed by the electron sheath formation, resulting in a flow of bulk electrons. This behavior represents a qualitatively distinct regime from that of low-density LWFA. A quantitative entropy index for differentiating these regimes is proposed. The dependence of accelerated electron energy on laser amplitude is also examined. For the majority of this study, the laser propagates along the axis of the target of carbon nanotubes in a 1D geometry. After the fundamental high-density physics is established, an alternative, 2D scheme of laser acceleration of electrons using carbon nanotubes is considered.

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“…Despite LWFA having nearly half a century of history, there has yet to be sufficient exploration of laser-plasma acceleration near the critical density. Valenta et al determined that electron densities of roughly 0.1n c were necessary for high repetition rate, low energy, and short pulse lasers [6]. More recently, Nicks et al further explored how one can achieve bulk acceleration of electrons by exploring the maximum energy achieved for different near-critical densities, laser intensities, and laser pulse widths [4,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laser Beat-Wave Acceleration near Critical Density

et al. 2022

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We consider high-density laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) in the nonrelativistic regime of the laser. In place of an ultrashort laser pulse, we can excite wakefields via the Laser Beat Wave (BW) that accesses this near-critical density regime. Here, we use 1D Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations to study BW acceleration using two co-propagating lasers in a near-critical density material. We show that BW acceleration near the critical density allows for acceleration of electrons to greater than keV energies at far smaller intensities, such as 1014 W/cm2, through the low phase velocity dynamics of wakefields that are excited in this scheme. Near-critical density laser BW acceleration has many potential applications including high-dose radiation therapy.

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Wakefield excited by ultrashort laser pulses in near-critical density plasmas

Cited by 3 publications

References 42 publications

Experimental realization of near-critical-density laser wakefield acceleration: Efficient pointing 100-keV-class electron beam generation by microcapillary targets

Experimental realization of near-critical-density laser wakefield acceleration: Efficient pointing 100-keV-class electron beam generation by microcapillary targets

High-Density Dynamics of Laser Wakefield Acceleration from Gas Plasmas to Nanotubes

Laser Beat-Wave Acceleration near Critical Density

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