320 research outputs found
Radiation Pressure Dominate Regime of Relativistic Ion Acceleration
The electromagnetic radiation pressure becomes dominant in the interaction of
the ultra-intense electromagnetic wave with a solid material, thus the wave
energy can be transformed efficiently into the energy of ions representing the
material and the high density ultra-short relativistic ion beam is generated.
This regime can be seen even with present-day technology, when an exawatt laser
will be built. As an application, we suggest the laser-driven heavy ion
collider.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Proton acceleration in analytic reconnecting current sheets
Particle acceleration provides an important signature for the magnetic collapse that accompanies a solar flare. Most particle acceleration studies, however, invoke magnetic and electric field models that are analytically convenient rather than solutions of the governing magnetohydrodynamic equations. In this paper a self-consistent magnetic reconnection solution is employed to investigate proton orbits, energy gains, and acceleration timescales for proton acceleration in solar flares. The magnetic field configuration is derived from the analytic reconnection solution of Craig and Henton. For the physically realistic case in which magnetic pressure of the current sheet is limited at small resistivities, the model contains a single free parameter that specifies the shear of the velocity field. It is shown that in the absence of losses, the field produces particle acceleration spectra characteristic of magnetic X-points. Specifically, the energy distribution approximates a power law ~ξ-3/2 nonrelativistically, but steepens slightly at the higher energies. Using realistic values of the “effective” resistivity, we obtain energies and acceleration times that fall within the range of observational data for proton acceleration in the solar corona
On the breaking of a plasma wave in a thermal plasma: I. The structure of the density singularity
The structure of the singularity that is formed in a relativistically large
amplitude plasma wave close to the wavebreaking limit is found by using a
simple waterbag electron distribution function. The electron density
distribution in the breaking wave has a typical "peakon" form. The maximum
value of the electric field in a thermal breaking plasma is obtained and
compared to the cold plasma limit. The results of computer simulations for
different initial electron distribution functions are in agreement with the
theoretical conclusions.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figure
Transverse Dynamics and Energy Tuning of Fast Electrons Generated in Sub-Relativistic Intensity Laser Pulse Interaction with Plasmas
The regimes of quasi-mono-energetic electron beam generation were
experimentally studied in the sub-relativistic intensity laser plasma
interaction. The observed electron acceleration regime is unfolded with
two-dimensional-particle-in-cell simulations of laser-wakefield generation in
the self-modulation regime.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Tunable high-energy ion source via oblique laser pulse incidence on a double-layer target
The laser-driven acceleration of high quality proton beams from a
double-layer target, comprised of a high-Z ion layer and a thin disk of
hydrogen, is investigated with three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations
in the case of oblique incidence of a laser pulse. It is shown that the proton
beam energy reaches its maximum at a certain incidence angle of the laser
pulse, where it can be much greater than the energy at normal incidence. The
proton beam propagates at some angle with respect to the target surface normal,
as determined by the proton energy and the incidence angle
Excitation of nonlinear two-dimensional wake waves in radially-nonuniform plasma
It is shown that an undesirable curvature of the wave front of
two-dimensional nonlinear wake wave excited in uniform plasma by a relativistic
charged bunch or laser pulse may be compensated by radial change of the
equilibrium plasma density.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
On the production of flat electron bunches for laser wake field acceleration
We suggest a novel method for injection of electrons into the acceleration
phase of particle accelerators, producing low emittance beams appropriate even
for the demanding high energy Linear Collider specifications. In this paper we
work out the injection into the acceleration phase of the wake field in a
plasma behind a high intensity laser pulse, taking advantage of the laser
polarization and focusing. With the aid of catastrophe theory we categorize the
injection dynamics. The scheme uses the structurally stable regime of
transverse wake wave breaking, when electron trajectory self-intersection leads
to the formation of a flat electron bunch. As shown in three-dimensional
particle-in-cell simulations of the interaction of a laser pulse in a
line-focus with an underdense plasma, the electrons, injected via the
transverse wake wave breaking and accelerated by the wake wave, perform
betatron oscillations with different amplitudes and frequencies along the two
transverse coordinates. The polarization and focusing geometry lead to a way to
produce relativistic electron bunches with asymmetric emittance (flat beam). An
approach for generating flat laser accelerated ion beams is briefly discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figure
Relativistic Laser-Matter Interaction and Relativistic Laboratory Astrophysics
The paper is devoted to the prospects of using the laser radiation
interaction with plasmas in the laboratory relativistic astrophysics context.
We discuss the dimensionless parameters characterizing the processes in the
laser and astrophysical plasmas and emphasize a similarity between the laser
and astrophysical plasmas in the ultrarelativistic energy limit. In particular,
we address basic mechanisms of the charged particle acceleration, the
collisionless shock wave and magnetic reconnection and vortex dynamics
properties relevant to the problem of ultrarelativistic particle acceleration.Comment: 58 pages, 19 figure
Damping of electromagnetic waves due to electron-positron pair production
The problem of the backreaction during the process of electron-positron pair
production by a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave propagating in a
plasma is investigated. A model based on the relativistic Boltzmann-Vlasov
equation with a source term corresponding to the Schwinger formula for the pair
creation rate is used. The damping of the wave, the nonlinear up-shift of its
frequency due to the plasma density increase and the effect of the damping on
the wave polarization and on the background plasma acceleration are
investigated as a function of the wave amplitude.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures; revtex
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