2019/03/27 by Wan, Y., I. A. Andriyash, Andriyash, I. A. +6
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Accelerator Physics (physics.acc-ph) #Atomic and Molecular Physics #FOS: Physical sciences #Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics #Laser-induced spectroscopy and plasma #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1903.11354
openalex publication_date 2019/03/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Acceleration of ultrathin plasma foils by laser radiation pressure promises compact alternatives to the conventional ion accelerators. It was shown, that a major showstopper for such schemes is a strong transverse instability, which develops the surface ripples, and is often attributed to the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) type. However, simulations indicate, that these perturbations develop the features, that cannot be consistently explained by the RT mechanism. Here we develop a three-dimensional (3D) theory of this instability, which shows that its linear stage is mainly driven by strong electron-ion coupling, while the RT contribution is actually weak. Our model provides the instability spectral structure and its growth rate, that agrees with the large scale 3D particle-in-cell simulations. Numerical modeling shows, that target destruction results from a rapid plasma heating induced by the instability field. Possible paths to instability mitigation are discussed.