A "lighthouse" laser-driven staged proton accelerator allowing for ultrafast angular and spectral control
Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: Compact laser-plasma acceleration of fast ions has made great strides since its discovery over two decades ago, resulting in the current generation of high-energy ($\geq 100\,\rm MeV$) ultracold beams over ultrashort ($\leq 1\,\rm ps$) durations. To unlock broader applications of these beams, we need the ability to tailor the ion energy spectrum. Here, we present a scheme that achieves precisely this by accelerating protons in a "lighthouse" fashion, whereby the highest-energy component of the beam is emitted in a narrow cone, well separated from the lower-energy components. This is made possible by a two-stage interaction in which the rear surface of the target is first set into rapid motion before the main acceleration phase. This approach offers the additional advantages of leveraging a robust sheath acceleration process in standard micron-thick targets and being optically controllable.
Institutions: École Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay, Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, CEA DAM Île-de-France, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire d’Etudes du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères, Horia Hulubei National Institute for R and D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEA Paris-Saclay - Etablissement de Saclay, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4394947388