Scaling of proton acceleration driven by petawatt-laser-plasma interactions
Author
Summary, in English
The possibility of using high-power lasers to generate high-quality beams of energetic ions is attracting large global interest. The prospect of using laser-accelerated protons in medicine attracts particular interest, as these schemes may lead to compact and relatively low-cost sources. Among the challenges remaining before these sources can be used in medicine is to increase the numbers
and energies of the ions accelerated. Here, we extend the energy and intensity range over which proton scaling is experimentally investigated, up to 400 J and 6×10^20 Wcm−2 respectively, and find a slower proton scaling than previously predicted. With the aid of plasma-expansion simulation tools, our results suggest the importance of time-dependent andmultidimensional effects in predicting
the maximum proton energy in this ultrahigh-intensity regime. The implications of our new understanding of proton scaling for potential medical applications are discussed.
and energies of the ions accelerated. Here, we extend the energy and intensity range over which proton scaling is experimentally investigated, up to 400 J and 6×10^20 Wcm−2 respectively, and find a slower proton scaling than previously predicted. With the aid of plasma-expansion simulation tools, our results suggest the importance of time-dependent andmultidimensional effects in predicting
the maximum proton energy in this ultrahigh-intensity regime. The implications of our new understanding of proton scaling for potential medical applications are discussed.
Department/s
Publishing year
2007
Language
English
Pages
58-62
Publication/Series
Nature Physics
Volume
3
Issue
58
Full text
- Available as PDF - 202 kB
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Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Topic
- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1745-2473