Multi-PetaWatt Laser-Plasma Interactions: A New Frontier in Physics

强激光脉冲与物质的相互作用通过产生极端压力、温度以及强烈的电场和磁场，正在开辟物理学的新前沿。这导致了使用高功率激光辐射来探索热致密物质的性质，产生高能粒子和辐射，并开发了通过惯性约束聚变产生能量的方案。这些进步是由超短脉冲激光技术的快速发展推动的，这使得激光功率和强度达到了新的制度。随着数PB功率激光器的出现(例如，英国中央激光设施的Vulcan激光器的升级项目将在2013-2014年前提供10 PB脉冲)，具有独特性质的奇异新等离子体成为可能，包括强相对论高密度等离子体。这项拟议项目的主要目的是研究强相对论等离子体中激光-固体相互作用的基本原理--一种以前无法获得的激光-等离子体相互作用机制--并利用预计有望用超高强度激光脉冲实现的新的离子加速方案。这将促进我们对超高强度激光固体相互作用的理解，并可能导致基于激光等离子体的粒子和辐射源的新应用。该提案涉及开发和应用使用一些现有最高功率激光系统进行实验的新技术。

The interaction of intense laser pulses with matter is opening up new frontiers in physics via the production of extreme pressures, temperatures and intense electric and magnetic fields. This is leading to the use of high power laser radiation for exploring the properties of hot dense matter, the production of high energy particles and radiation, and the development of schemes to generate energy by inertial confinement fusion. These advances are driven by rapid developments in ultrashort pulse laser technology which have enabled new regimes in laser power and intensity to be reached. With the advent of multi-petawatt power lasers (e.g. the upgrade project to the Vulcan laser at the UK's Central Laser Facility will deliver 10 petawatt pulses by 2013-2014) exotic new plasmas with unique properties are accessible, including strongly relativistic dense plasma. The principal aims of this proposed project are to investigate the fundamentals of laser-solid interactions in strongly relativistic plasmas - a regime of laser-plasma interactions not previously accessible - and to harness predicted promising new ion acceleration schemes achievable with ultrahigh intensity laser pulses. This will advance our understanding of ultrahigh intensity laser solid interactions and may lead to new applications of laser-plasma-based particle and radiation sources. The proposal involves the development and application of new techniques on experiments using some of the highest power laser systems available.