Abstract
A stable relativistic ion acceleration regime for thin foils irradiated by circularly polarized laser pulses is suggested. In this regime, the “light-sail” stage of radiation pressure acceleration for ions is smoothly connected with the initial relativistic “hole-boring” stage, and a defined relationship between laser intensity , foil density , and thickness should be satisfied. For foils with a wide range of , the required and for the regime are theoretically estimated and verified with the particle-in-cell code ILLUMINATION. It is shown for the first time by 2D simulations that high-density monoenergetic ion beams with energy above and divergence of 10° are produced by circularly polarized lasers at intensities of , which are within reach of current laser systems.
- Received 14 November 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.145002
©2009 American Physical Society