18,841 research outputs found
The ion motion in self-modulated plasma wakefield accelerators
The effects of plasma ion motion in self-modulated plasma based accelerators
is examined. An analytical model describing ion motion in the narrow beam limit
is developed, and confirmed through multi-dimensional particle-in-cell
simulations. It is shown that the ion motion can lead to the early saturation
of the self-modulation instability, and to the suppression of the accelerating
gradients. This can reduce the total energy that can be transformed into
kinetic energy of accelerated particles. For the parameters of future
proton-driven plasma accelerator experiments, the ion dynamics can have a
strong impact. Possible methods to mitigate the effects of the ion motion in
future experiments are demonstrated.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Bound state techniques to solve the multiparticle scattering problem
Solution of the scattering problem turns to be very difficult task both from
the formal as well as from the computational point of view. If the last two
decades have witnessed decisive progress in ab initio bound state calculations,
rigorous solution of the scattering problem remains limited to A4 case.
Therefore there is a rising interest to apply bound-state-like methods to
handle non-relativistic scattering problems. In this article the latest
theoretical developments in this field are reviewed. Five fully rigorous
methods will be discussed, which address the problem of nuclear collisions in
full extent (including the break-up problem) at the same time avoiding
treatment of the complicate boundary conditions or integral kernel
singularities. These new developments allows to use modern bound-state
techniques to advance significantly rigorous solution of the scattering
problem.Comment: To appear in Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physic
A global simulation for laser driven MeV electrons in -diameter fast ignition targets
The results from 2.5-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations for the
interaction of a picosecond-long ignition laser pulse with a plasma pellet of
50- diameter and 40 critical density are presented. The high density
pellet is surrounded by an underdense corona and is isolated by a vacuum region
from the simulation box boundary. The laser pulse is shown to filament and
create density channels on the laser-plasma interface. The density channels
increase the laser absorption efficiency and help generate an energetic
electron distribution with a large angular spread. The combined distribution of
the forward-going energetic electrons and the induced return electrons is
marginally unstable to the current filament instability. The ions play an
important role in neutralizing the space charges induced by the the temperature
disparity between different electron groups. No global coalescing of the
current filaments resulted from the instability is observed, consistent with
the observed large angular spread of the energetic electrons.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Physics of Plasmas (May 2006
Ion motion in the wake driven by long particle bunches in plasmas
We explore the role of the background plasma ion motion in self-modulated
plasma wakefield accelerators. We employ J. Dawson's plasma sheet model to
derive expressions for the transverse plasma electric field and ponderomotive
force in the narrow bunch limit. We use these results to determine the on-set
of the ion dynamics, and demonstrate that the ion motion could occur in
self-modulated plasma wakefield accelerators. Simulations show the motion of
the plasma ions can lead to the early suppression of the self-modulation
instability and of the accelerating fields. The background plasma ion motion
can nevertheless be fully mitigated by using plasmas with heavier plasmas.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure
Controlled Shock Shells and Intracluster Fusion Reactions in the Explosion of Large Clusters
The ion phase-space dynamics in the Coulomb explosion of very large ( atoms) deuterium clusters can be tailored using two consecutive
laser pulses with different intensities and an appropriate time delay. For
suitable sets of laser parameters (intensities and delay), large-scale shock
shells form during the explosion, thus highly increasing the probability of
fusion reactions within the single exploding clusters. In order to analyze the
ion dynamics and evaluate the intracluster reaction rate, a one-dimensional
theory is used, which approximately accounts for the electron expulsion from
the clusters. It is found that, for very large clusters (initial radius
100 nm), and optimal laser parameters, the intracluster fusion yield becomes
comparable to the intercluster fusion yield. The validity of the results is
confirmed with three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, to appear in Physical Review
Berry phases and zero-modes in toroidal topological insulator
An effective Hamiltonian describing the surface states of a toroidal
topological insulator is obtained, and it is shown to support both bound-states
and charged zero-modes. Actually, the spin connection induced by the toroidal
curvature can be viewed as an position-dependent effective vector potential,
which ultimately yields the zero-modes whose wave-functions harmonically
oscillate around the toroidal surface. In addition, two distinct Berry phases
are predicted to take place by the virtue of the toroidal topology.Comment: New version, accepted for publication in EPJB, 6 pages, 1 figur
New calculation schemes for proton-deuteron scattering including the Coulomb interaction
The Coulomb interaction between the protons is included in the description of
proton-deuteron scattering using the screening and renormalization approach in
the framework of momentum-space integral equations. Two new calculational
schemes are presented that confirm the reliability of the perturbative approach
for treating the screened Coulomb interaction in high partial waves, used by us
in earlier works.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev.
All-optical trapping and acceleration of heavy particles
A scheme for fast, compact, and controllable acceleration of heavy particles
in vacuum is proposed, in which two counterpropagating lasers with variable
frequencies drive a beat-wave structure with variable phase velocity, thus
allowing for trapping and acceleration of heavy particles, such as ions or
muons. Fine control over the energy distribution and the total charge of the
beam is obtained via tuning of the frequency variation. The acceleration scheme
is described with a one-dimensional theory, providing the general conditions
for trapping and scaling laws for the relevant features of the particle beam.
Two-dimensional, electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations confirm the
validity and the robustness of the physical mechanism.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, to appear in New Journal of Physic
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