Laser-driven proton acceleration: source optimization and radiographic applications

Year: 2008

Authors: Borghesi M., Bigongiari A., Kar S., Macchi A., Romagnani L., Audebert P., Fuchs J., Toncian T., Willi O., Bulanov S.V., MacKinnon A.J, Gauthier J.C.

Autors Affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK; polyLAB, CNR-INFM, Pisa, Italy; Laboratoire pour l’Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI), UMR 7605 CNRS-CEA-Ecole Polytechnique-Univ, 91128 Palaiseau, France; Institute for Laser and Plasma Physics, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Germany; Advanced Photon Research Center, Japanese Atomic Energy Agency, Kizu, Japan; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA; Universite Bordeaux 1, CNRS; CEA, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, 33405 Talence, France

Abstract: Ion acceleration from solid targets irradiated by high-intensity pulses is a burgeoning area of research, currently attracting large interest worldwide. The properties of laser-driven ion beams (high brightness and laminarity, high-energy cut-off, ultrashort burst duration) are, in several respects, markedly different from those of ‘conventional’ accelerator beams. In view of these properties, laser-driven ion beams have the potential to be employed in a number of innovative applications in the scientific, technological and medical areas. The scope of this paper is to briefly review the state of the art in this area and discuss in this context some recent results obtained by our group and collaborators, aimed at studying the acceleration mechanism, optimizing the source properties and applying the beams as a diagnostic tool in scientific experiments. An application that has already produced important results is the use of laser-accelerated protons as a particle probe for the detection of electric and magnetic fields in plasmas. Examples of these results will be presented and discussed.

Journal/Review: PLASMA PHYSICS AND CONTROLLED FUSION

Volume: 50 (12)      Pages from: 124040  to: 124040

KeyWords: laser-plasma interactions; ion acceleration by laser beams; proton probing
DOI: 10.1088/0741-3335/50/12/124040

ImpactFactor: 2.304
Citations: 68
data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-11-24
References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)

Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click here
Connecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here