title: Three-dimensional dynamics of breakout afterburner ion acceleration using high-contrast short-pulse laser and nanoscale targets.
abstract: Breakout afterburner (BOA) laser-ion acceleration has been demonstrated for the first time in the laboratory. In the BOA, an initially solid-density target undergoes relativistically induced transparency, initiating a period of enhanced ion acceleration. First-ever kinetic simulations of the BOA in three dimensions show that the ion beam forms lobes in the direction orthogonal to laser polarization and propagation. Analytic theory presented for the electron dynamics in the laser ponderomotive field explains how azimuthal symmetry breaks even for a symmetric laser intensity profile; these results are consistent with recent experiments at the Trident laser facility.
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA. lyin@lanl.gov
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Albright
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Bowers
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hegelich