Article abstract
Nature Physics 3, 58 - 62 (2007)
doi:10.1038/nphys476
Subject Category: Plasma physics
Scaling of proton acceleration driven by petawatt-laser–plasma interactions
L. Robson1,2, P. T. Simpson3, R. J. Clarke1,4, K. W. D. Ledingham1,2, F. Lindau5, O. Lundh5, T. McCanny1, P. Mora6, D. Neely4, C.-G. Wahlström5, M. Zepf3 and P. McKenna1,4
Abstract
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
1020 W cm-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 and multidimensional 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.
- SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, UK
- AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 4PR, UK
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
- CCLRC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, OX14 0QX, UK
- Department of Physics, Lund University, PO Box 118, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Centre de Physique Théorique, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, 91128 Palaiseau, France
Correspondence to: P. McKenna1,4 e-mail: p.mckenna@phys.strath.ac.uk
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