2002/05/01 by M. Borghesi, D. H. Campbell, David H. Campbell +16 · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics #Laser-induced spectroscopy and plasma
paper · doi:10.1063/1.1459457
openalex publication_date 2002/05/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Due to their particular properties, the beams of the multi-MeV protons generated during the interaction of ultraintense (I>1019 W/cm2) short pulses with thin solid targets are most suited for use as a particle probe in laser-plasma experiments. The recently developed proton imaging technique employs the beams in a point-projection imaging scheme as a diagnostic tool for the detection of electric fields in laser-plasma interaction experiments. In recent investigations carried out at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL, UK), a wide range of laser-plasma interaction conditions of relevance for inertial confinement fusion (ICF)/fast ignition has been explored. Among the results obtained will be discussed: the electric field distribution in laser-produced long-scale plasmas of ICF interest; the measurement of highly transient electric fields related to the generation and dynamics of hot electron currents following ultra-intense laser irradiation of targets; the observation in underdense plasmas, after the propagation of ultra-intense laser pulses, of structures identified as the remnants of solitons produced in the wake of the pulse.