An efficient scheme for generating ultrabright γ-rays from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a near-criticaldensity plasma is studied by using the two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation including qu...An efficient scheme for generating ultrabright γ-rays from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a near-criticaldensity plasma is studied by using the two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation including quantum electrodynamic effects.We investigate the effects of target shape on γ-ray generation efficiency using three configurations of the solid foils attached behind the near-critical-density plasma:a flat foil without a channel(target 1),a flat foil with a channel(target 2),and a convex foil with a channel(target 3).When an intense laser propagates in a near-critical-density plasma,a large number of electrons are trapped and accelerated to GeV energy,and emit γ-rays via nonlinear betatron oscillation in the first stage.In the second stage,the accelerated electrons collide with the laser pulse reflected from the foil and emit high-energy,high-density γ-rays via nonlinear Compton scattering.The simulation results show that compared with the other two targets,target 3 affords better focusing of the laser field and electrons,which decreases the divergence angle of g-photons.Consequently,denser and brighter γ-rays are emitted when target 3 is used.Specifically,a dense γ-ray pulse with a peak brightness of 4.6×10^(26) photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW(at 100 MeV)and 1.8×1023 photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW(at 2 GeV)are obtained at a laser intensity of 8.5×10^(22) W/cm2 when the plasma density is equal to the critical plasma density nc.In addition,for target 3,the effects of plasma channel length,foil curvature radius,laser polarization,and laser intensity on the γ-ray emission are discussed,and optimal values based on a series of simulations are proposed.展开更多
Generation of nonlinear structures,such as stimulated Raman side scattering waves,post-solitons and electron vortices,during ultra-short intense laser pulse transportation in near-critical-density(NCD)plasmas is studi...Generation of nonlinear structures,such as stimulated Raman side scattering waves,post-solitons and electron vortices,during ultra-short intense laser pulse transportation in near-critical-density(NCD)plasmas is studied by using multidimensional particle-in-cell(PIC)simulations.In two-dimensional geometries,both P-and S-polarized laser pulses are used to drive these nonlinear structures and to check the polarization effects on them.In the S-polarized case,the scattered waves can be captured by surrounding plasmas leading to the generation of post-solitons,while the main pulse excites convective electric currents leading to the formation of electron vortices through Kelvin-Helmholtz instability(KHI).In the P-polarized case,the scattered waves dissipate their energy by heating surrounding plasmas.Electron vortices are excited due to the hosing instability of the drive laser.These polarization dependent physical processes are reproduced in two different planes perpendicular to the laser propagation direction in three-dimensional simulation with linearly polarized laser driver.The current work provides inspiration for future experiments of laser-NCD plasma interactions.展开更多
Laser-driven ion accelerators have the advantages of compact size,high density,and short bunch duration over conventional accelerators.Nevertheless,it is still challenging to generate ion beams with quasi-monoenergeti...Laser-driven ion accelerators have the advantages of compact size,high density,and short bunch duration over conventional accelerators.Nevertheless,it is still challenging to generate ion beams with quasi-monoenergetic peak and low divergence in experiments with the current ultrahigh intensity laser and thin target technologies.Here we propose a scheme that a Laguerre–Gaussian laser irradiates a near-critical-density(NCD)plasma to generate a quasi-monoenergetic and low-divergence proton beam.The Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulse in an NCD plasma excites a moving longitudinal electrostatic field with a large amplitude,and it maintains the inward bowl-shape for dozens of laser durations.This special distribution of the longitudinal electrostatic field can simultaneously accelerate and converge the protons.Our particle-in-cell(PIC)simulation shows that the efficient proton acceleration can be realized with the Laguerre–Gaussian laser intensity ranging from 3.9×10^(21)W·cm^(-2)–1.6×10^(22)W·cm^(-2)available in the near future,e.g.,a quasi-monoenergetic proton beam with peak energy~115 MeV and divergence angles less than 5°can be generated by a 5.3×10^(21)W·cm^(-2)pulse.This work could provide a reference for the high-quality ion beam generation with PWclass laser systems available recently.展开更多
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11664039,11875007,and 11664040).
文摘An efficient scheme for generating ultrabright γ-rays from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a near-criticaldensity plasma is studied by using the two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation including quantum electrodynamic effects.We investigate the effects of target shape on γ-ray generation efficiency using three configurations of the solid foils attached behind the near-critical-density plasma:a flat foil without a channel(target 1),a flat foil with a channel(target 2),and a convex foil with a channel(target 3).When an intense laser propagates in a near-critical-density plasma,a large number of electrons are trapped and accelerated to GeV energy,and emit γ-rays via nonlinear betatron oscillation in the first stage.In the second stage,the accelerated electrons collide with the laser pulse reflected from the foil and emit high-energy,high-density γ-rays via nonlinear Compton scattering.The simulation results show that compared with the other two targets,target 3 affords better focusing of the laser field and electrons,which decreases the divergence angle of g-photons.Consequently,denser and brighter γ-rays are emitted when target 3 is used.Specifically,a dense γ-ray pulse with a peak brightness of 4.6×10^(26) photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW(at 100 MeV)and 1.8×1023 photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW(at 2 GeV)are obtained at a laser intensity of 8.5×10^(22) W/cm2 when the plasma density is equal to the critical plasma density nc.In addition,for target 3,the effects of plasma channel length,foil curvature radius,laser polarization,and laser intensity on the γ-ray emission are discussed,and optimal values based on a series of simulations are proposed.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11991074,11774227,12005287,and 12135009)NSAF of China(Grant No.U1930111)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province,China(Grant No.ZR2019ZD44)the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant Nos.XDA25000000 and XDA25050800)。
文摘Generation of nonlinear structures,such as stimulated Raman side scattering waves,post-solitons and electron vortices,during ultra-short intense laser pulse transportation in near-critical-density(NCD)plasmas is studied by using multidimensional particle-in-cell(PIC)simulations.In two-dimensional geometries,both P-and S-polarized laser pulses are used to drive these nonlinear structures and to check the polarization effects on them.In the S-polarized case,the scattered waves can be captured by surrounding plasmas leading to the generation of post-solitons,while the main pulse excites convective electric currents leading to the formation of electron vortices through Kelvin-Helmholtz instability(KHI).In the P-polarized case,the scattered waves dissipate their energy by heating surrounding plasmas.Electron vortices are excited due to the hosing instability of the drive laser.These polarization dependent physical processes are reproduced in two different planes perpendicular to the laser propagation direction in three-dimensional simulation with linearly polarized laser driver.The current work provides inspiration for future experiments of laser-NCD plasma interactions.
基金Project supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDA25050300)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.12205366)+2 种基金the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2018YFA0404801)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.2020MS138)the Research Funds of Renmin University of China(Grant No.20XNLG01)。
文摘Laser-driven ion accelerators have the advantages of compact size,high density,and short bunch duration over conventional accelerators.Nevertheless,it is still challenging to generate ion beams with quasi-monoenergetic peak and low divergence in experiments with the current ultrahigh intensity laser and thin target technologies.Here we propose a scheme that a Laguerre–Gaussian laser irradiates a near-critical-density(NCD)plasma to generate a quasi-monoenergetic and low-divergence proton beam.The Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulse in an NCD plasma excites a moving longitudinal electrostatic field with a large amplitude,and it maintains the inward bowl-shape for dozens of laser durations.This special distribution of the longitudinal electrostatic field can simultaneously accelerate and converge the protons.Our particle-in-cell(PIC)simulation shows that the efficient proton acceleration can be realized with the Laguerre–Gaussian laser intensity ranging from 3.9×10^(21)W·cm^(-2)–1.6×10^(22)W·cm^(-2)available in the near future,e.g.,a quasi-monoenergetic proton beam with peak energy~115 MeV and divergence angles less than 5°can be generated by a 5.3×10^(21)W·cm^(-2)pulse.This work could provide a reference for the high-quality ion beam generation with PWclass laser systems available recently.
