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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.

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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