Quasi-monoenergetic deuteron acceleration via boosted coulomb explosion by reflected picosecond laser pulse.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42215428.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-73196-9 and PMC identifier 13221455.
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Abstract
Generation of quasi-monoenergetic ions by intense laser is one of long-standing goals in laser-plasma physics. However, existing laser-driven ion acceleration schemes often produce broad energy spectra and limited control over ion species. Here we propose the acceleration mechanism, boosted Coulomb explosion, initiated by a standing wave, which is formed in a pre-expanded plasma by the interference between a continuously incoming main laser pulse and the pulse reflected by a solid target, where the pre-expanded plasma is formed from a thin layer on the solid target by a relatively strong pre-pulse. This mechanism produces a persistent Coulomb field on the target front side with field strengths on the order of TV/m for picoseconds. We experimentally demonstrate generation of quasi-monoenergetic deuterons up to 50 MeV using an in-situ D<sub>2</sub>O-deposited target. Our results show that the peak energy can be tuned by the laser pulse duration.