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Three-dimensional dynamics of break-out afterburner ion acceleration using high-contrast short-pulse laser and nano-scale targets

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TLDR
In this article, the first-ever kinetic simulations of the Breakout Afterburner (BOA) in three dimensions are presented, showing that the ion beam forms lobes in the direction orthogonal to laser polarization and propagation.
Abstract
Breakout afterburner (BOA) laser-ion acceleration has been demonstrated for the first time in the laboratory. In the BOA, an initially solid-density target undergoes relativistically induced transparency, initiating a period of enhanced ion acceleration. First-ever kinetic simulations of the BOA in three dimensions show that the ion beam forms lobes in the direction orthogonal to laser polarization and propagation. Analytic theory presented for the electron dynamics in the laser ponderomotive field explains how azimuthal symmetry breaks even for a symmetric laser intensity profile; these results are consistent with recent experiments at the Trident laser facility.

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Journal ArticleDOI

Ion acceleration by superintense laser-plasma interaction

TL;DR: An overview of the state of the art of ion acceleration by laser pulses as well as an outlook on its future development and perspectives are given in this article. But the main features observed in the experiments, the observed scaling with laser and plasma parameters, and the main models used both to interpret experimental data and to suggest new research directions are described.
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Dynamics of relativistic transparency and optical shuttering in expanding overdense plasmas

TL;DR: When electrons are accelerated to near light-speeds through an overdense plasma by an intense laser beam, the usually opaque plasma becomes optically transparent as discussed by the authors, and high-speed laser experiments provide unprecedented insight into the dynamics of this process.
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Fast ignition with laser-driven proton and ion beams

TL;DR: Fusion fast ignition (FI) initiated by a laser-driven particle beam promises a path to high-yield and high-gain for inertial fusion energy as discussed by the authors, while leveraging the extensive recent progress in generating ion beams with high-power density on existing laser facilities.
Journal ArticleDOI

Efficient quasi-monoenergetic ion beams from laser-driven relativistic plasmas

TL;DR: The experimental demonstration of laser-driven ion beams with narrow energy spread and energies up to 18 MeV per nucleon and ∼5% conversion efficiency and a self-organizing scheme that reduces the ion energy spread after the laser exits the plasma is reported.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Ion acceleration by superintense laser-plasma interaction

TL;DR: An overview of the state of the art of ion acceleration by laser pulses as well as an outlook on its future development and perspectives are given in this article. But the main features observed in the experiments, the observed scaling with laser and plasma parameters, and the main models used both to interpret experimental data and to suggest new research directions are described.
Journal ArticleDOI

Dynamics of relativistic transparency and optical shuttering in expanding overdense plasmas

TL;DR: When electrons are accelerated to near light-speeds through an overdense plasma by an intense laser beam, the usually opaque plasma becomes optically transparent as discussed by the authors, and high-speed laser experiments provide unprecedented insight into the dynamics of this process.
Journal ArticleDOI

Fast ignition with laser-driven proton and ion beams

TL;DR: Fusion fast ignition (FI) initiated by a laser-driven particle beam promises a path to high-yield and high-gain for inertial fusion energy as discussed by the authors, while leveraging the extensive recent progress in generating ion beams with high-power density on existing laser facilities.
Journal ArticleDOI

Efficient quasi-monoenergetic ion beams from laser-driven relativistic plasmas

TL;DR: The experimental demonstration of laser-driven ion beams with narrow energy spread and energies up to 18 MeV per nucleon and ∼5% conversion efficiency and a self-organizing scheme that reduces the ion energy spread after the laser exits the plasma is reported.
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