Spectral Modification of Shock Accelerated Ions Using a Hydrodynamically Shaped Gas Target.
Phys Rev Lett
; 115(9): 094802, 2015 Aug 28.
Article
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| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26371658
ABSTRACT
We report on reproducible shock acceleration from irradiation of a λ=10 µm CO_{2} laser on optically shaped H_{2} and He gas targets. A low energy laser prepulse (Iâ²10^{14} W cm^{-2}) is used to drive a blast wave inside the gas target, creating a steepened, variable density gradient. This is followed, after 25 ns, by a high intensity laser pulse (I>10^{16} W cm^{-2}) that produces an electrostatic collisionless shock. Upstream ions are accelerated for a narrow range of prepulse energies. For long density gradients (â³40 µm), broadband beams of He^{+} and H^{+} are routinely produced, while for shorter gradients (â²20 µm), quasimonoenergetic acceleration of protons is observed. These measurements indicate that the properties of the accelerating shock and the resultant ion energy distribution, in particular the production of narrow energy spread beams, is highly dependent on the plasma density profile. These findings are corroborated by 2D particle-in-cell simulations.
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Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Phys Rev Lett
Año:
2015
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos