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10Complex Systems of Charged Particles and their Interactions with Electromagnetic Radiation 2016
LASER-PLASMA SOURCES OF HIGH ENERGY ELECTRONS
N.E. Andreev, L.P. Pugachev, M.E. Povarnitsyn
Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: anddreev@ras.ru
Secondary sources of high energy particles and hard radiation, produced by the action of intense short laser pulses on different targets, are widely used for creation and diagnostics of nonideal plasma. Acceleration of electrons to high energies as well as creation of compact sources of relativistic electrons and hard X-rays require elaboration of advanced methods of the high gradient particle acceleration. Different mechanisms of laser-plasma electron acceleration are discussed in view of current and future experiments [1]. Laser wakefield acceleration of short electron bunches to multi-GeV energies with small emittance and energy spread is modelled and analyzed. The generation of hot highly collimated electrons in the interaction of a subpicosecond relativistic-intense laser pulse with plane solid and foam targets is analyzed for the parameters of petawatt class laser systems. Results of modeling demonstrate the substantial increase of the characteristic energy and number of accelerated electrons for the low density foam targets, and also for the grazing incidence of an intense laser pulse onto the solid target in comparison with the ponderomotive scaling of laser-target interaction [2].
The authors acknowledge the support from RFBR, Grants No. 14-02-01077 and from the Programs of the Presidium of RAS.
References
[1] Pugachev L.P., Andreev N.E., Levashov P.R., Malkov Yu.A., Stepanov A.N., and Yashunin D. A., Laser Acceleration of Electrons in Two-Dimensionally Inhomogeneous Plasma at the Boundary of a Metal Foil, Plasma Physics Reports, 2015, Vol. 41, No. 7, pp. 542-552.
[2] Andreev N.E., Pugachev L.P., Povarnitsyn M.E., and Levashov P. R., Electron acceleration at grazing incidence of a subpicosecond intense laser pulse onto the plane solid target, Laser and Particle Beams, 2016, 34, 115-122.
