2023/05/03 by Willim, Camilla, Vieira, Jorge, Malka, Victor +1
#Accelerator Physics (physics.acc-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2305.01988
An efficient approach that considers a high-intensity twisted laser of moderate energy (few J) is proposed to generate collimated proton bunches with multi-10-MeV energies from a double-layer hydrogen target. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate the formation of a highly collimated and energetic (∼ 40 MeV) proton bunch, whose divergence is ∼ 6.5 times smaller compared to the proton bunch driven by a Gaussian laser containing the same energy. Supported by theoretical modeling of relativistic self-focusing in near-critical plasma, we establish a regime that allows for consistent acceleration of high-energetic proton bunches with low divergence under experimentally feasible conditions for twisted drivers.