Theory of Light Sail Acceleration by Intense Lasers: an Overview

2014/03/25 by Macchi, Andrea
#FOS: Physical sciences #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)

paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1403.6273

Abstract

A short overview of the theory of acceleration of thin foils driven by the radiation pressure of superintense lasers is presented. A simple criterion for radiation pressure dominance at intensities around 5 × 10²⁰ W cm^-2 is given, and the possibility for fast energy gain in the relativistic regime is discussed.

Related

• Laser acceleration of a thin, inflated layer of heavy material by the\n radiation pressure applied to a self-generated, imperfect plasma mirror
• Scaling Laws of Ion Acceleration in Ultrathin Foils Driven by Laser Radiation Pressure
• High-Energy and High-Quality Ion beams in Light Sail Acceleration
• Highly Efficient Relativistic-Ion Generation in the Laser-Piston Regime
• A simple model for cavity-enhanced laser-driven ion acceleration from thin foil targets