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.

本计画将探讨以高功率雷射加速粒子的新概念。 超强激光器正在彻底改变等离子体物理领域，并导致许多令人兴奋的应用。一种这样的应用涉及将离子束加速到接近光速的速度。这种相对论性光束可以用于各种各样的应用，如治疗肿瘤，而不会损害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想法似乎并不比使用一阵风来移动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-目标相互作用的细节是相当复杂的。许多物理过程，包括带电靶的不稳定性和爆炸，共同降低了加速离子的能量和方向性，这项工作将克服激光驱动离子加速的挑战，通过研究一种新的概念-激光离子透镜和加速器（LILA），利用超薄固体靶与非均匀厚度的多拍瓦（MPW）激光脉冲推进。通过利用在边缘附近较薄的靶，LILA潜在地实现了离子束的同时加速和聚焦，同时保持其小的角发散。这种会聚等离子体流的物理性质以前没有被研究过。通过理论建模，纳米制造和实验在一些首屈一指的激光设施相结合，该项目将解决一系列独特的挑战，包括建模集体激光等离子体不稳定性，了解准中性等离子体的行为包含多个离子物种，优化和制造设计师的目标轮廓，并减少可实现的光束发射率。将设计和进行利用现有和即将建立的激光设施进行的原理验证实验。将在欧洲和亚洲的几个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型计算工具，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。更广泛的影响包括未来紧凑型激光相对论离子加速器的开发，以及培养下一代科学家，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知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。