Ion acceleration in a solitary wave by an intense picosecond laser pulse

Acceleration of ions in a solitary wave produced by shock-wave decay in a plasma slab irradiated by an intense picosecond laser pulse is studied via particle-in-cell simulation. Instead of exponential distribution as in known mechanisms of ion acceleration from the target surface, these ions acceler...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 89; no. 21; p. 215002
Main Authors Zhidkov, A, Uesaka, M, Sasaki, A, Daido, H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 18.11.2002
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Summary:Acceleration of ions in a solitary wave produced by shock-wave decay in a plasma slab irradiated by an intense picosecond laser pulse is studied via particle-in-cell simulation. Instead of exponential distribution as in known mechanisms of ion acceleration from the target surface, these ions accelerated forwardly form a bunch with relatively low energy spread. The bunch is shown to be a solitary wave moving over expanding plasma; its velocity can exceed the maximal velocity of ions accelerated forward from the rear side of the target.
ISSN:0031-9007
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.89.215002