2006/11/21 by Edison Liang
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics #Particle Accelerators and Free-Electron Lasers #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s10509-006-9281-y
published as Astrophys.SpaceSci.307:309-313,2007 · Paper accepted for publication in the Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume for HEDLA06 conference proceedings, edited by G. Kyrala, in press
arxiv created 2006/11/21 · openalex publication_date 2007/01/25 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
We review recent PIC simulation results which show that double-sided irradiation of a thin over-dense plasma slab with ultra-intense laser pulses from both sides can lead to sustained comoving Poynting flux acceleration of electrons to energies much higher than the conventional ponderomotive limit. The result is a robust power-law electron momentum spectrum similar to astrophysical sources. We discuss future ultra-intense laser experiments that may be used to simulate astrophysical particle acceleration.