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Propagation issues and energetic particle production in laser–plasma interactions at intensities exceeding 1019 W/cm2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2002

M. BORGHESI ,
D.H. CAMPBELL ,
A. SCHIAVI ,
O. WILLI ,
M. GALIMBERTI ,
L.A. GIZZI ,
A.J. MACKINNON ,
R.D. SNAVELY ,
P. PATEL  and
S. HATCHETT
...Show all authors
M. BORGHESI
Affiliation:
The Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
D.H. CAMPBELL
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2BZ, UK
A. SCHIAVI
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2BZ, UK
O. WILLI
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2BZ, UK
M. GALIMBERTI
Affiliation:
Istituto di Fisica Atomica e Molecolare, CNR, 56100 Pisa, Italy
L.A. GIZZI
Affiliation:
Istituto di Fisica Atomica e Molecolare, CNR, 56100 Pisa, Italy
A.J. MACKINNON
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550-9234, USA
R.D. SNAVELY
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550-9234, USA
P. PATEL
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550-9234, USA
S. HATCHETT
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550-9234, USA
M. KEY
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550-9234, USA
W. NAZAROV
Affiliation:
University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK
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Abstract

A series of experiments recently carried out at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory investigated various aspects of the laser–plasma interaction in the relativistic intensity regime. The propagation of laser pulses through preformed plasmas was studied at intensities exceeding 1019 W/cm2. The transmission of laser energy through long-scale underdense plasmas showed to be inefficient unless a plasma channel is preformed ahead of the main laser pulse. The study of the interaction with overdense plasmas yielded indication of collimated energy transport through the plasma. The production of fast particles during the interaction with solid density targets was also investigated. The measurements revealed the presence of a small-sized directional source of multi-megaelectron volt protons, which was not observed when a plasma was preformed at the back of the solid target. The properties of the source are promising in view of its use in radiographic imaging of dense matter, and preliminary tests were carried out.

Keywords

Laser-plasma interactionLaser-produced ionsProtonRadiographyRelativistic propagation
Type
Research Article
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , January 2002 , pp. 31 - 38
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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