Generation of secondary particles from subnanosecond laser irradiation of targets at intensities of 1016W cm}-2

Josef Krása, Daniele Margarone, Daniel Klír, Andriy Velyhan, Antonino Picciotto, Eduard Krouský, Karel Jungwirth, J̌irí Skala, Miroslav Pfeifer, Jiri Ullschmied, Jozef Kravárik, Karel Řezáč, Pavel Kubeš, Piotr Parys, Leszek Ryć

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Emission of several tens of \mA}cm2 currents carried by MeV-protons is reported for plasmas produced by a beam of the 3-TW kJ-class Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) focused onto foil targets of various thicknesses. The maximum proton energy of 4.2 MeV is observed at a modest irradiance (Iλ2∼ 2× 1016 W cm -2μm2). According to the maximum ion energy scaling EM∼ (Iλ2)0.4 found for picosecond lasers such a value should be reached at Iλ23×10 18 W cm-2μ m2. Enhancement of the maximum proton energy can be explained by nonlinear interaction of the PALS laser beam with the generated plasma. Nonlinear effects also result in enhancement in the yield of fusion neutrons from CD2 plasma. The obtained yield of 4× 105 DD-neutrons per laser energy is comparable to those obtained by the use of ps- and fs-lasers irradiating targets with Iλ2∼1019 W cm-2μ m2.

Original languageEnglish
Article number6504780
Pages (from-to)2819-2824
Number of pages6
JournalIEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
Volume41
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Oct 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Deuterium
  • Ion bursts
  • Laser-produced plasma
  • MultiMeV protons
  • Yield of fusion neutrons

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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