Interaction of Ultra-Intense Laser Pulses with Structured Targets in the Multi-Petawatt Regime

超强激光脉冲与多拍瓦级结构目标的相互作用

• 批准号: 2109087
• 负责人: Gennady Shvets
• 金额: $ 47.73万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-15 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109087&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Interaction; Ultra; Intense; Laser; Pulses

This project will investigate a novel concept of particle acceleration by high power lasers. Ultra-powerful lasers are revolutionizing the field of plasma physics and leading to a number of exciting applications. One such application involves accelerating ion beams to velocities approaching the speed of light. Such relativistic beams can be used for applications as varied as treating tumors without damaging the surrounding tissues or producing neutrons for nuclear physics studies. While the basic idea of using radiative pressure of ultra-intense laser pulse to accelerate solid density targets may appear to be not much more challenging than using a blast of wind to move a sailboat across a lake, the details of laser-target interactions at such enormous laser intensities is quite complex. Many physical processes, including instabilities and explosions of electrically-charged targets, conspire to reduce the energy and directivity of the accelerated ions.This effort will overcome challenges to laser-driven ion acceleration by investigating a novel concept – Laser-Ion Lens and Accelerator (LILA) – that utilizes an ultra-thin solid target with non-uniform thickness propelled by a multi-petawatt (MPW) laser pulse. By utilizing targets that are thinner near the edge, LILA potentially enables simultaneous acceleration and focusing of the ion beam while preserving its small angular divergence. Physical properties of such converging plasma flows have not been previously investigated. Through the combination of theoretical modeling, nanofabrication, and experimentation at some of the premier laser facilities, this project will address a unique set of challenges, including modeling collective laser-plasma instabilities, understanding the behavior of quasi-neutral plasmas containing multiple ion species, optimization and fabrication of the designer target profiles, and reducing the achievable emittance of the beam. Proof-of principle experiments utilizing the existing and upcoming laser facilities will be designed and carried out. Extensive international collaborations at several MPW facilities in Europe and Asia will be established to achieve the key objectives of this project. The intellectual merit consists of developing novel computational tools for furthering our understanding of MPW laser interactions with structured solid targets, their stability, and suitability for a wide range of applications. The broader impacts include development of future compact laser-based relativistic ion accelerators, as well as training the next generation of scientists, including graduate and undergraduate students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目将研究高功率激光器粒子加速的新概念。 超强大的激光器正在彻底改变等离子体物理领域，并带来许多令人兴奋的应用。其中一种应用涉及将离子束加速到接近光速。这种相对论性光束可用于多种应用，例如治疗肿瘤而不损伤周围组织或产生用于核物理研究的中子。虽然使用超强激光脉冲的辐射压力来加速固体密度目标的基本思想似乎并不比使用一阵风使帆船穿过湖泊更具挑战性，但在如此巨大的激光强度下，激光与目标相互作用的细节相当复杂。许多物理过程，包括带电目标的不稳定性和爆炸，都会共同降低加速离子的能量和方向性。这项工作将通过研究一种新颖的概念——激光离子透镜和加速器（LILA）——利用由数拍瓦驱动的厚度不均匀的超薄固体目标，克服激光驱动离子加速的挑战。 (MPW) 激光脉冲。通过利用边缘附近较薄的目标，LILA 可以同时加速和聚焦离子束，同时保持其较小的角发散。以前尚未研究过这种会聚等离子体流的物理特性。通过将理论建模、纳米加工和一些领先的激光设施的实验相结合，该项目将解决一系列独特的挑战，包括对集体激光等离子体不稳定性进行建模，了解包含多种离子种类的准中性等离子体的行为，设计目标轮廓的优化和制造，以及降低可实现的光束发射率。将利用现有和即将推出的激光设施设计并进行原理验证实验。将在欧洲和亚洲的多个 MPW 设施建立广泛的国际合作，以实现该项目的主要目标。其智力价值包括开发新颖的计算工具，以进一步了解 MPW 激光与结构化固体目标的相互作用、其稳定性以及对广泛应用的适用性。更广泛的影响包括开发未来基于激光的紧凑型相对论离子加速器，以及培训下一代科学家，包括研究生和本科生。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。