Direct acceleration of solid-density plasma bunch by ultraintense laser.
The interaction of a petawatt laser with a small solid-density plasma bunch is studied by particle-in-cell simulation. It is shown that when irradiated by a laser of intensity >10(21) W/cm2, a dense plasma bunch of micrometer size can be efficiently accelerated. The kinetic energy of the ions in the high-density region of the plasma bunch can exceed ten MeV at a density in the 10(23)-cm(-3) level. Having a flux density orders of magnitude higher than that of the traditional charged-particle pulses, the laser-accelerated plasma bunch can have a wide range of applications. In particular, such a dense energetic plasma bunch impinging on the compressed fuel in inertial fusion can significantly enhance the nuclear-reaction cross section and is thus a promising alternative for fast ignition.
Yu
Wei
W
National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki-shi 509-5292, Japan.
Xu
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H
He
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Yu
M Y
MY
Ishiguro
S
S
Zhang
J
J
Wong
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AY