Abstract
We use an Eulerian Vlasov code to study the radiation pressure acceleration of ions and the formation of plasma jets when a high-intensity circularly polarized laser beam is normally incident on a thin target. The code solves the one-dimensional (1D) relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell equations for both electrons and ions. We consider a deuterium plasma with a density n = 25n cr (n cr is the critical density, i.e. the cutoff density for the laser beam propagation). In the case we present, the target is sufficiently thin that a fraction of the incident laser beam is transmitted through it. Along with this, we observe first a leak or ejection of electrons in the forward direction from the back of the target, which is followed by the formation and ejection of a neutral plasma jet (a regime called “leaky light sail radiation pressure acceleration”). The Vlasov code allows to follow the evolution of the system, with an accurate representation of the phase-space structures of the distribution functions.
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Contribution to the Topical Issue “Theory and Applications of the Vlasov Equation”, edited by Francesco Pegoraro, Francesco Califano, Giovanni Manfredi and Philip J. Morrison.
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Shoucri, M.M., Matte, JP. & Vidal, F. Vlasov simulation of ion acceleration by an intense laser beam normally incident on a thin target. Eur. Phys. J. D 68, 257 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2014-50143-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2014-50143-2