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A monoenergetic proton beam is observed from the interaction of a short-pulse infrared (λ = 10.6 μm) laser at intensity I = 6 × 1015 W cm-2 with a gas jet target. The proton beam is found to have narrow energy spread (∼ 4% ), high spectral brightness (∼ 1012 protons/MeV/sr), low normalized emittance ([variant_greek_epsilon]n ≈ 8 nm rad), and high contrast (> 200 × over noise). The narrow energy spread and low levels of impurity makes this method an interesting route for high-repetition rate high quality proton beam production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments to examine the generation of relativistic plasma waves via a high-intensity short-pulse beat-wave scheme are described in detail. The pulse stretcher of the Vulcan chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system was modified to produce two frequency, 3 ps pulses focusable to intensities up to 1018 W cm-2. Short high-intensity pulses were used to avoid limitations to the plasma-wave amplitude due to the modulational instability. Two experiments were undertaken, at 3 and 10 TW, with the generation of plasma waves diagnosed by measuring the sidebands produced in the spectrum of the forward scattered beam. A resonance in the sideband signal was observed for an initial plasma density higher than expected for the given beat frequency. This resonance shift can be attributed to transverse ponderomotive expulsion of plasma electrons from the laser focal region. A monotonically increasing background was also observed, which was due to nonresonant cross-phase modulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of high intensity laser pulses with underdense plasma is investigated experimentally using a range of laser parameters and energetic electron production mechanisms are compared. It is clear that the physics of these interactions changes significantly depending not only on the interaction intensity but also on the laser pulse length. For high intensity laser interactions in the picosecond pulse duration regime the production of energetic electrons is highly correlated with the production of plasma waves. However as intensities are increased the peak electron acceleration increases beyond that which can be produced from single stage plasma wave acceleration and direct laser acceleration mechanisms must be invoked. If, alternatively, the pulse length is reduced such that it approaches the plasma period of a relativistic electron plasma wave, high power interactions can be shown to enable the generation of quasimonoenergetic beams of relativistic electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of intense laser pulses (power > 30 TW) with underdense plasmas has been studied. In the regime where the pulse length is much longer than the plasma period (τ[SUBl] ≫ 2 &pie;ω[SUP-1,SUBp]), the laser pulse is found to be self-modulated at the plasma frequency by the forward Raman scattering instability. Wavebreaking of the resulting plasma wave results in energetic electrons being accelerated to more than 100 MeV. Reducing the pulse length so that τ[SUBl] ∼ 2 &pie;ω[SUP-1,SUBp], but retaining the same power, also leads to wavebreaking. This is a direct result of a combination of laser beam self-focusing, front-edge laser pulse steepening and relativistic lengthening of the plasma wave wavelength, which can result in a forced growth of the wakefield plasma wave, even for initially nonresonant laser pulses (τ[SUBl] ≠ &pie;ω[SUP-1,SUBp]). Since, in this forced laser wakefield regime, the interaction of the plasma wave and the bunch of accelerated electrons with the laser pulse is reduced, this can result in higher energy gain (to beyond 200 MeV) and better beam quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of an intense laser pulse (intensity, greater than 10 19 W cm -2 ) has been studied with underdense deuterium plasmas. The laser pulse is found to be self-modulated at the plasma frequency by the Raman forward-scatter instability. Wave breaking of the resulting plasma wave causes high-energy electrons to be accelerated beyond 100 MeV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments have been performed using high power laser pulses (up to 50 TW) focused into underdense helium plasmas (ne ≤ 5 × 10[sup 19] cm[sup -3]). Using shadowgraphy, it is observed that the laser pulse can produce irregular density channels, which exhibit features such as long wavelength hosing and "sausage-like" self-focusing instabilities. This phenomenon is a high intensity effect and the characteristic period of oscillation of these instabilities is typically found to correspond to the time required for ions to move radially out of the region of highest intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on an experimental study on high-intensity laser-plasma interaction using high-power laser pulses at wavelength of 527 nanometer. Background of the study; Experimental method; Results; Discussion.

Presents information on a study on the interaction of an intense short pulse laser with underdense plasma. Background of the study; Experiment; Results; Conclusion.

Abstract: We briefly summarize the contribution presented during the working group 1 (WG1) sessions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Studies electron acceleration from the breaking of relativistic plasma waves. Oscillation of electrons in plasma; Wavelengths of plasma waves; Maximum acceleration rate; Onset of wave-breaking.

The rapid progress that plasma wakefield accelerators are experiencing is now posing the question as to whether they could be included in the design of the next generation of high-energy electron-positron colliders. However, the typical structure of the accelerating wakefields presents challenging complications for positron acceleration. Despite seminal proof-of-principle experiments and theoretical proposals, experimental research in plasma-based acceleration of positrons is currently limited by the scarcity of positron beams suitable to seed a plasma accelerator. Here, we report on the first experimental demonstration of a laser-driven source of ultra-relativistic positrons with sufficient spectral and spatial quality to be injected in a plasma accelerator. Our results indicate, in agreement with numerical simulations, selection and transport of positron beamlets containing N e + ≥ 10 5 positrons in a 5% bandwidth around 600 MeV, with femtosecond-scale duration and micron-scale normalised emittance. Particle-in-cell simulations show that positron beams of this kind can be guided and accelerated in a laser-driven plasma accelerator, with favourable scalings to further increase overall charge and energy using PW-scale lasers. The results presented here demonstrate the possibility of performing experimental studies of positron acceleration in a laser-driven wakefield accelerator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picosecond resolution shadowgraphy is a powerful tool for measurement of high-intensity laser propagation instabilities through underdense plasma. It is shown that as the plasma density increases, the laser beam is subject to severe filamentation instabilities-likely due to the effect of stimulated Raman side-scattering. At higher plasma densities, scattering and absorption are so severe that the propagation distance of the high intensity laser pulse is reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in X-ray imaging techniques have been driven by advances in novel X-ray sources. The latest fourth-generation X-ray sources can boast large photon fluxes at unprecedented brightness. However, the large size of these facilities means that these sources are not available for everyday applications. With advances in laser plasma acceleration, electron beams can now be generated at energies comparable to those used in light sources, but in university-sized laboratories. By making use of the strong transverse focusing of plasma accelerators, bright sources of betatron radiation have been produced. Here, we demonstrate phase-contrast imaging of a biological sample for the first time by radiation generated by GeV electron beams produced by a laser accelerator. The work was performed using a greater than 300 TW laser, which allowed the energy of the synchrotron source to be extended to the 10-100 keV range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A machine learning model was created to predict the electron spectrum generated by a GeV-class laser wakefield accelerator. The model was constructed from variational convolutional neural networks, which mapped the results of secondary laser and plasma diagnostics to the generated electron spectrum. An ensemble of trained networks was used to predict the electron spectrum and to provide an estimation of the uncertainty of that prediction. It is anticipated that this approach will be useful for inferring the electron spectrum prior to undergoing any process that can alter or destroy the beam. In addition, the model provides insight into the scaling of electron beam properties due to stochastic fluctuations in the laser energy and plasma electron density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent experiment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Geddes et al 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 215004), electron bunches with about 1MeV mean energy and small absolute energy spread (about 0.3 MeV) were produced by plasma wave breaking on a downward density ramp. It was then speculated that such a bunch might be accelerated further in a plasma of low constant density, while mostly preserving its small absolute energy spread. This would then lead to a bunch with a high mean energy and very low relative energy spread. In this paper, trapping of a low-energy, low-spread electron bunch on a downward density ramp, followed by acceleration in a constant-density plasma, has been explored through particle-in-cell simulations. It has been found that the scheme works best when it is used as a separate injection stage for a laser-wakefield accelerator, where the injection and acceleration stages are separated by a vacuum gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments studying the interaction of high intensity laser pulses (1×1019–5×1020 W/cm2) with underdense plasma are compared. The experiments used lasers that differed in power and focused intensity but had similar pulse duration (∼1 ps). Spectroscopic measurements of the forward scattered light (sidebands) near the fundamental laser frequency produced by the self-modulation instability were performed and the energies of electrons accelerated in the interaction are measured and compared. It is found that at high intensities the sideband intensities and the electron energies were not directly correlated, implying that relativistic plasma wave generation is not the most important mechanism for electron acceleration in the ultrahigh intensity regime. Simulation results for the forward scattered spectrum agree well with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-power lasers that fit into a university-scale laboratory can now reach focused intensities of more than 1019?W?cm-2 at high repetition rates. Such lasers are capable of producing beams of energetic electrons, protons and?-rays. Relativistic electrons are generated through the breaking of large-amplitude relativistic plasma waves created in the wake of the laser pulse as it propagates through a plasma, or through a direct interaction between the laser field and the electrons in the plasma. However, the electron beams produced from previous laser-plasma experiments have a large energy spread, limiting their use for potential applications. Here we report high-resolution energy measurements of the electron beams produced from intense laser-plasma interactions, showing that-under particular plasma conditions-it is possible to generate beams of relativistic electrons with low divergence and a small energy spread (less than three per cent). The monoenergetic features were observed in the electron energy spectrum for plasma densities just above a threshold required for breaking of the plasma wave. These features were observed consistently in the electron spectrum, although the energy of the beam was observed to vary from shot to shot. If the issue of energy reproducibility can be addressed, it should be possible to generate ultrashort monoenergetic electron bunches of tunable energy, holding great promise for the future development of‘table-top’particle accelerators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the characterisation of an x-ray source, generated by a laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerator. The spectrum of the optimised source was consistent with an on-axis synchrotron spectrum with a critical energy of keV and the number of photons per pulse generated above 1 keV was calculated to be. The x-ray beam was used to image a resolution grid placed 37 cm from the source, which gave a measured spatial resolution of 4 µm × 5 µm. The inferred emission region had a radius and length of 0.5 ± 0.2 µm and 3.2 ± 0.9 mm respectively. It was also observed that laser damage to the exit aperture of the gas cell led to a reduction in the accelerated electron beam charge and a corresponding reduction in x-ray flux due to the change in the plasma density profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies high conversion efficiency into second harmonic light generated in the interaction of a short-pulse intense laser with underdense plasma. Interaction of the second harmonic light with the large-amplitude relativistic plasma waves; Radial electron density gradients created by the ionization process and the radial ponderomotive force.

Abstract The experimental study of the dynamics of neutral electron–positron beams is an emerging area of research, enabled by the recent results on the generation of this exotic state of matter in the laboratory. Electron–positron beams and plasmas are believed to play a major role in the dynamics of extreme astrophysical objects such as supermassive black holes and pulsars. For instance, they are believed to be the main constituents of a large number of astrophysical jets, and they have been proposed to significantly contribute to the emission of gamma-ray bursts and their afterglow. However, despite extensive numerical modelling and indirect astrophysical observations, a detailed experimental characterisation of the dynamics of these objects is still at its infancy. Here, we will report on some of the general features of experiments studying the dynamics of electron–positron beams in a fully laser-driven setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a design for a pixelated scintillator based gamma-ray spectrometer for non-linear inverse Compton scattering experiments. By colliding a laser wakefield accelerated electron beam with a tightly focused, intense laser pulse, gamma-ray photons up to 100 MeV energies and with few femtosecond duration may be produced. To measure the energy spectrum and angular distribution, a 33 × 47 array of cesium-iodide crystals was oriented such that the 47 crystal length axis was parallel to the gamma-ray beam and the 33 crystal length axis was oriented in the vertical direction. Using an iterative deconvolution method similar to the YOGI code, modeling of the scintillator response using GEANT4 and fitting to a quantum Monte Carlo calculated photon spectrum, we are able to extract the gamma ray spectra generated by the inverse Compton interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of high intensity short pulse laser beams with plasmas can accelerate electrons to energies in excess of a GeV. These electron beams can subsequently be used to generate short-lived particles such as positrons, muons, and pions. In recent experiments, we have made the first measurements of pion production using 'all optical' methods. In particular, we have demonstrated that the interaction of bremsstrahlung generated by laser driven electron beams with aluminum atoms can produce the long lived isotope of magnesium (27Mg) which is a signature for pion (π+) production and subsequent muon decay. Using a 300TWlaser pulse, we have measured the generation of 150 ± 50 pions per shot.Wealso show that the energetic electron beam is a source of an intense, highly directional neutron beam resulting from (γ, n) reactions which contributes to the 27Mg measurement as background via the (n, p) process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe how active feedback routines can be applied at a limited repetition rate (5 Hz) to optimize high-power ( > 10 TW ) laser interactions with clustered gases. Optimization of x-ray production from an argon cluster jet, using a genetic algorithm, approximately doubled the measured energy through temporal modification of the 150 mJ driving laser pulse. This approach achieved an increased radiation yield through exploration of a multi-dimensional parameter space, without requiring detailed a priori knowledge of the complex cluster dynamics. The optimized laser pulses exhibited a slow rising edge to the intensity profile, which enhanced the laser energy coupling into the cluster medium, compared to the optimally compressed FWHM pulse (40 fs). Our work suggests that this technique can be more widely utilized for control of intense pulsed secondary radiation from petawatt-class laser systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scheme to radiate a highly collimated γ-ray pulse is proposed through the interaction between an ultra-intense laser pulse and a narrow tube target. The γ-ray pulse, with high conversion efficiency, can be generated as a result of electron acceleration in a longitudinal electric field. In a Particle-in-Cell simulation with a 10-PW laser, 18% of the laser energy is transferred into the forward γ-rays in a divergence angle less than 3 °. It is also found that such a highly collimated γ-ray pulse can be produced with a large range of tube diameters and laser intensities. This scheme could be realized in experiment with the coming 10-PW class lasers in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric and magnetic fields responsible for electron acceleration in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator (LWFA) also cause electrons to radiate x-ray photons. Such x-ray pulses have several desirable properties including short duration and being well collimated with tunable high energy. We measure the scaling of this x-ray source experimentally up to laser powers greater than 100 TW. An increase in laser power allows electron trapping at a lower density as well as with an increased trapped charge. These effects resulted in an x-ray fluence that was measured to increase non-linearly with laser power. The fluence of x-rays was also compared with that produced from K-α emission resulting from a solid target interaction for the same energy laser pulse. The flux was shown to be comparable, but the LWFA x-rays had a significantly smaller source size. This indicates that such a source may be useful as a backlighter for probing high energy density plasmas with ultrafast temporal resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic simulations of a variable length gas cell were performed using the open source fluid code OpenFOAM. The gas cell was designed to study controlled injection of electrons into a laser-driven wakefield at the Astra Gemini laser facility. The target consists of two compartments: an accelerator and an injector section connected via an aperture. A sharp transition between the peak and plateau density regions in the injector and accelerator compartments, respectively, was observed in simulations with various inlet pressures. The fluid simulations indicate that the length of the down-ramp connecting the sections depends on the aperture diameter, as does the density drop outside the entrance and the exit cones. Further studies showed, that increasing the inlet pressure leads to turbulence and strong fluctuations in density along the axial profile during target filling, and consequently, is expected to negatively impact the accelerator stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At sufficiently high laser intensities, the rapid heating to relativistic velocities and resulting decompression of plasma electrons in an ultra-thin target foil can result in the target becoming relativistically transparent to the laser light during the interaction. Ion acceleration in this regime is strongly affected by the transition from an opaque to a relativistically transparent plasma. By spatially resolving the laser-accelerated proton beam at near-normal laser incidence and at an incidence angle of 30°, we identify characteristic features both experimentally and in particle-in-cell simulations which are consistent with the onset of three distinct ion acceleration mechanisms: sheath acceleration; radiation pressure acceleration; and transparency-enhanced acceleration. The latter mechanism occurs late in the interaction and is mediated by the formation of a plasma jet extending into the expanding ion population. The effect of laser incident angle on the plasma jet is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Channel formation during the propagation of a high-energy (120 J) and long duration (30 ps) laser pulse through an underdense deuterium plasma has been spatially and temporally resolved via means of a proton imaging technique, with intrinsic resolutions of a few lm and a few ps, respectively. Conclusive proof is provided that strong azimuthally symmetric magnetic fields with a strength of around 0.5 MG are created inside the channel, consistent with the generation of a collimated beam of relativistic electrons. The inferred electron beam characteristics may have implications for the conefree fast-ignition scheme of inertial confinement fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the calibration of Fuji BAS-TR image plate (IP) response to high energy carbon ions of different charge states by employing an intense laser-driven ion source, which allowed access to carbon energies up to 270 MeV. The calibration method consists of employing a Thomson parabola spectrometer to separate and spectrally resolve different ion species, and a slotted CR-39 solid state detector overlayed onto an image plate for an absolute calibration of the IP signal. An empirical response function was obtained which can be reasonably extrapolated to higher ion energies. The experimental data also show that the IP response is independent of ion charge states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray backscatter imaging can be used for a wide range of imaging applications, in particular for industrial inspection and portal security. Currently, the application of this imaging technique to the detection of landmines is limited due to the surrounding sand or soil strongly attenuating the 10s to 100s of keV X-rays required for backscatter imaging. Here, we introduce a new approach involving a 140 MeV short-pulse (< 100 fs) electron beam generated by laser wakefield acceleration to probe the sample, which produces Bremsstrahlung X-rays within the sample enabling greater depths to be imaged. A variety of detector and scintillator configurations are examined, with the best time response seen from an absorptive coated BaF2 scintillator with a bandpass filter to remove the slow scintillation emission components. An X-ray backscatter image of an array of different density and atomic number items is demonstrated. The use of a compact laser wakefield accelerator to generate the electron source, combined with the rapid development of more compact, efficient and higher repetition rate high power laser systems will make this system feasible for applications in the field. Content includes material subject to Dstl (c) Crown copyright (2014). Licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-governmentlicence/ version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@ nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on reproducible shock acceleration from irradiation of a λ=10 μm CO2 laser on optically shaped H2 and He gas targets. A low energy laser prepulse (I≲1014 W cm-2) is used to drive a blast wave inside the gas target, creating a steepened, variable density gradient. This is followed, after 25 ns, by a high intensity laser pulse (I>1016 W cm-2) that produces an electrostatic collisionless shock. Upstream ions are accelerated for a narrow range of prepulse energies. For long density gradients (≳40 μm), broadband beams of He+ and H+ are routinely produced, while for shorter gradients (≲20 μm), quasimonoenergetic acceleration of protons is observed. These measurements indicate that the properties of the accelerating shock and the resultant ion energy distribution, in particular the production of narrow energy spread beams, is highly dependent on the plasma density profile. These findings are corroborated by 2D particle-in-cell simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present few-femtosecond shadowgraphic snapshots taken during the nonlinear evolution of the plasma wave in a laser wakefield accelerator with transverse synchronized few-cycle probe pulses. These snapshots can be directly associated with the electron density distribution within the plasma wave and give quantitative information about its size and shape. Our results show that self-injection of electrons into the first plasma-wave period is induced by a lengthening of the first plasma period. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations support our observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the successful demonstration of selective acceleration of deuterium ions by target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) with a high-energy petawatt laser. TNSA typically produces a multi-species ion beam that originates from the intrinsic hydrocarbon and water vapor contaminants on the target surface. Using the method first developed by Morrison et al. [Phys. Plasmas 19, 030707 (2012)], an ion beam with >99% deuterium ions and peak energy 14 MeV/nucleon is produced with a 200 J, 700 fs, >1020W/cm² laser pulse by cryogenically freezing heavy water (D2O) vapor onto the rear surface of the target prior to the shot. Within the range of our detectors (0°-8.5°), we find laser-to-deuterium-ion energy conversion efficiency of 4.3% above 0.7 MeV/nucleon while a conservative estimate of the total beam gives a conversion efficiency of 9.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the generation of a narrow divergence (θγ < 2.5 mrad), multi-MeV (Emax ≈ 18 MeV) and ultrahigh peak brilliance (> 1.8 x 1020 photons s-1 mm-2 mrad-2 0.1% BW) γ-ray beam from the scattering of an ultrarelativistic laser-wakefield accelerated electron beam in the field of a relativistically intense laser (dimensionless amplitude a0 ≈ 2). The spectrum of the generated γ-ray beam is measured, with MeV resolution, seamlessly from 6 to 18 MeV, giving clear evidence of the onset of nonlinear relativistic Thomson scattering. To the best of our knowledge, this photon source has the highest peak brilliance in the multi-MeV regime ever reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method for characterising the full spectrum of deuteron ions emitted by laser driven multi-species ion sources is discussed. The procedure is based on using differential filtering over the detector of a Thompson parabola ion spectrometer, which enables discrimination of deuterium ions from heavier ion species with the same charge-to-mass ratio (such as C6+, O8+, etc.). Commonly used Fuji Image plates were used as detectors in the spectrometer, whose absolute response to deuterium ions over a wide range of energies was calibrated by using slotted CR-39 nuclear track detectors. A typical deuterium ion spectrum diagnosed in a recent experimental campaign is presented, which was produced from a thin deuterated plastic foil target irradiated by a high power laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modification to the standard Thomson parabola spectrometer is discussed, which is designed to measure high energy (tens of MeV/nucleon), broad bandwidth spectra of multi-species ions accelerated by intense laser plasma interactions. It is proposed to implement a pair of extended, trapezoidal shaped electric plates, which will not only resolve ion traces at high energies, but will also retain the lower energy part of the spectrum. While a longer (along the axis of the undeflected ion beam direction) electric plate design provides effective charge state separation at the high energy end of the spectrum, the proposed new trapezoidal shape will enable the low energy ions to reach the detector, which would have been clipped or blocked by simply extending the rectangular plates to enhance the electrostatic deflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By controlling the focal spot quality with a deformable mirror, we are able to show that increasing the fraction of pulse energy contained within the central part of the focal spot, while keeping the total energy and central spot size constant, significantly increases the amount of energy transferred to the wakefield: Our measurements show that the laser loses significantly more laser energy and undergoes greater redshifting and that more charge is produced in the accelerated beam. Three dimensional particle in cell simulations performed with accurate representations of the measured focal spot intensity distribution confirm that energy in the wings of the focal spot is effectively wasted. Even though self-focusing occurs, energy in the wings of the focal spot distribution is not coupled into the wakefield, emphasising the vital importance of high quality focal spot profiles in experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser wakefield acceleration experiments were performed using a 30 fs, 1 J laser pulse interacting with an underdense helium plasma. Temporally resolved polarimetry measurements demonstrate the presence of magnetic fields at the ionization front within the plasma which had a peak strength of ~2.8MG and a radial extent of approximately 200µm. The field was seen to vary in strength over picosecond time-scales. The field is likely generated by return current generated in the plasma at the interface between plasma and neutral gas and which is caused by hot electrons produced in the wakefield during formation of a plasma 'bubble' and prior to the time of wave-breaking (beam injection). These effects are confirmed using particle-in-cell simulations. Such measurements can be useful as a diagnostic of bubble formation in laser wakefield accelerators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of high-energy protons by the 'hole-boring' radiation pressure acceleration (HB-RPA) mechanism of laser-driven ion acceleration is examined in the case where the plasma has a density less than a0nc in 2D. Previously this was examined in 1D (Robinson 2011 Phys. Plasmas 18 056701) and was motivated by previous predictions of the non-linear criterion for an ultra-intense laser pulse to penetrate a dense plasma. By reducing the density well below a0nc the proton energies achieved increases considerably, thus leading to proton energies >100MeV at laser intensities close to current capabilities. The results show that good quality proton beams with proton energies >100MeV can be obtained via HB-RPA using targets with densities in the range 12-20nc and laser intensities in the range 5 × 1021-3 × 1022 W cm-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-modulated wakefield acceleration was investigated at densities down to ~4 × 1018 cm−3 by propagating the 50 TW 300 fs LULI laser in helium gas jets at lengths up to 1 cm. Long interaction lengths were achieved by closer matching of the initial focal spot size to the matched spot size for these densities. Electrons with energies extending to 180 MeV were observed in broad energy spectra which show some evidence for non-Maxwellian features at high energy. Two-dimensional PIC simulations indicate that the intial laser pulse breaks up into small pulselets that are eventually compressed and focused inside the first few plasma periods, leading to a ‘bubble-like’ acceleration of electron bunches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]