Particle acceleration using intense laser produced plasmas

Recent results from high intensity (up to 5 × 10 20 W/cm 2 ) laser plasma interaction experiments at Imperial College London have shown that the plasmas produced during such interactions can be efficient sources of relativistic electron beams and also of high quality beams of non-relativistic ions. These beams may be important for the development of compact sources of energetic particles for applications in science, medicine and technology. (© 2007 by Astro Ltd., Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57406/1/847_ftp.pd

Coherent control of plasma dynamics

Coherent control of a system involves steering an interaction to a final coherent state by controlling the phase of an applied field. Plasmas support coherent wave structures that can be generated by intense laser fields. Here, we demonstrate the coherent control of plasma dynamics in a laser wakefield electron acceleration experiment. A genetic algorithm is implemented using a deformable mirror with the electron beam signal as feedback, which allows a heuristic search for the optimal wavefront under laser-plasma conditions that is not known a priori. We are able to improve both the electron beam charge and angular distribution by an order of magnitude. These improvements do not simply correlate with having the `best' focal spot, since the highest quality vacuum focal spot produces a greatly inferior electron beam, but instead correspond to the particular laser phase that steers the plasma wave to a final state with optimal accelerating fields

High Flux Femtosecond X-ray Emission from the Electron-Hose Instability in Laser Wakefield Accelerators

Bright and ultrashort duration X-ray pulses can be produced by through betatron oscillations of electrons during Laser Wakefield Acceleration (LWFA). Our experimental measurements using the \textsc{Hercules} laser system demonstrate a dramatic increase in X-ray flux for interaction distances beyond the depletion/dephasing lengths, where the initial electron bunch injected into the first wake bucket catches up with the laser pulse front and the laser pulse depletes. A transition from an LWFA regime to a beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) regime consequently occurs. The drive electron bunch is susceptible to the electron-hose instability and rapidly develops large amplitude oscillations in its tail, which leads to greatly enhanced X-ray radiation emission. We measure the X-ray flux as a function of acceleration length using a variable length gas cell. 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations using a Monte Carlo synchrotron X-ray emission algorithm elucidate the time-dependent variations in the radiation emission processes.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Accel. Beam

Laser acceleration of protons from near critical density targets for application to radiation therapy

Laser accelerated protons can be a complimentary source for treatment of oncological diseases to the existing hadron therapy facilities. We demonstrate how the protons, accelerated from near-critical density plasmas by laser pulses having relatively small power, reach energies which may be of interest for medical applications. When an intense laser pulse interacts with near-critical density plasma it makes a channel both in the electron and then in the ion density. The propagation of a laser pulse through such a self-generated channel is connected with the acceleration of electrons in the wake of a laser pulse and generation of strong moving electric and magnetic fields in the propagation channel. Upon exiting the plasma the magnetic field generates a quasi-static electric field that accelerates and collimates ions from a thin filament formed in the propagation channel. Two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations show that a 100 TW laser pulse tightly focused on a near-critical density target is able to accelerate protons up to energy of 250 MeV. Scaling laws and optimal conditions for proton acceleration are established considering the energy depletion of the laser pulse.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figure

Swarm of ultra-high intensity attosecond pulses from laser-plasma interaction

We report on the realistic scheme of intense X-rays and γ-radiation generation in a laser interaction with thin foils. It is based on the relativistic mirror concept, i.e., a flying thin plasma slab interacts with a counterpropagating laser pulse, reflecting part of it in the form of an intense ultra-short electromagnetic pulse having an up-shifted frequency. A series of relativistic mirrors is generated in the interaction of the intense laser with a thin foil target as the pulse tears off and accelerates thin electron layers. A counterpropagating pulse is reflected by these flying layers in the form of a swarm of ultra-short pulses resulting in a significant energy gain of the reflected radiation due to the momentum transfer from flying layers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/85400/1/jpconf10_244_022029.pd

An ultracompact X-ray source based on a laser-plasma undulator

International audienceThe capability of plasmas to sustain ultrahigh electric fields has attracted considerable interest over the last decades and has given rise to laser-plasma engineering. Today, plasmas are commonly used for accelerating and collimating relativistic electrons, or to manipulate intense laser pulses. Here we propose an ultracompact plasma undulator that combines plasma technology and nanoengineering. When coupled with a laser-plasma accelerator, this undulator constitutes a millimetre-sized synchrotron radiation source of X-rays. The undulator consists of an array of nanowires, which are ionized by the laser pulse exiting from the accelerator. The strong charge-separation field, arising around the wires, efficiently wiggles the laser-accelerated electrons. We demonstrate that this system can produce bright, collimated and tunable beams of photons with 10-100 keV energies. This concept opens a path towards a new generation of compact synchrotron sources based on nanostructured plasmas

Photonuclear physics - Laser light splits atom

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62874/1/404239a0.pd

High‐Intensity Laser Triggered Proton Acceleration from Ultrathin Foils

The recently developed PIC code MANDOR features arbitrary target design including 3D preplasma and the 6‐component laser fields of a tightly focused laser beam. The 3D simulations have been performed to model recent HERCULES experiments on proton acceleration, where protons with energy greater than 20 MeV were produced using just 1.5 J laser pulses focused to intensity of 2 × 10 21 W/cm 2 . By adapting the 3D target geometry relating to ps‐prepulse effect, reasonable agreement with experimental data for the proton energy spectrum has been achieved. The effect of the 3D preplasma shape on efficiency of proton acceleration is discussed. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96347/1/161_ftp.pd