title: Ion Acceleration Using Relativistic Pulse Shaping in Near-Critical-Density Plasmas.
abstract: Ultraintense laser pulses with a few-cycle rising edge are ideally suited to accelerating ions from ultrathin foils, and achieving such pulses in practice represents a formidable challenge. We show that such pulses can be obtained using sufficiently strong and well-controlled relativistic nonlinearities in spatially well-defined near-critical-density plasmas. The resulting ultraintense pulses with an extremely steep rising edge give rise to significantly enhanced carbon ion energies consistent with a transition to radiation pressure acceleration.
authors: Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany.|Max-Planck-Institute für Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching, Germany.
authors: J H
authors: JH
authors: Bin
authors: Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany.|State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology and Key Lab of High Energy Density Physics Simulation, CAPT, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors: W J
authors: WJ
authors: Ma
authors: Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany.|Max-Planck-Institute für Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching, Germany.|State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology and Key Lab of High Energy Density Physics Simulation, CAPT, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors: H Y
authors: HY
authors: Wang
authors: The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors: M J V
authors: MJ
authors: Streeter
authors: Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Kreuzer
authors: Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Kiefer
authors: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Yeung
authors: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Cousens
authors: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.|Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon 0X11 0QX, United Kingdom.
authors: P S
authors: PS
authors: Foster
authors: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Dromey
authors: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology and Key Lab of High Energy Density Physics Simulation, CAPT, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors: X Q
authors: XQ
authors: Yan
authors: E.T.S.I Aeronáuticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, E-28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Ramis
authors: Max-Planck-Institute für Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching, Germany.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Meyer-ter-Vehn
authors: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.|Helmholtz-Institut-Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Zepf
authors: Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany.|Max-Planck-Institute für Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching, Germany.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Schreiber