Electron heating in radiation-pressure-driven proton acceleration with a circularly polarized laser.

Abstract

Dynamics of electron heating in the radiation-pressure-driven acceleration through self-induced transparency (SIT) is investigated with the help of particle-in-cell simulations. The SIT is achieved through laser filamentation which is seeded by the transverse density modulations due to the Rayleigh-Taylor-like instability. We observe stronger SIT induced electron heating for the longer duration laser pulses leading to deterioration of accelerated ion beam quality (mainly energy spread). Such heating can be controlled to obtain a quasimonoenergetic beam by cascaded foils targets where a second foil behind the main accelerating foil acts as a laser reflector to suppress the SIT.