Journal
NATURE PHYSICS
Volume 8, Issue 1, Pages 95-99Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2130
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Funding
- DOE [DE-FG02-92-ER40727]
- NSF at UCLA [PHY-0936266]
- European Research Council [267841]
- FCT (Portugal) [PTDC/FIS/111720/2009, SFRH/BD/38952/2007]
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Compact and affordable ion accelerators based on laser-produced plasmas have potential applications in many fields of science and medicine. However, the requirement of producing focusable, narrow-energy-spread, energetic beams has proved to be challenging. Here we demonstrate that laser-driven collisionless shocks can accelerate proton beams to similar to 20MeV with extremely narrow energy spreads of about 1% and low emittances. This is achieved using a linearly polarized train of multiterawatt CO2 laser pulses interacting with a gas-jet target. Computer simulations show that laser-heated electrons launch a collisionless shock that overtakes and reflects the protons in the slowly expanding hydrogen plasma, resulting in a narrow energy spectrum. Simulations predict the production of similar to 200MeV protons needed for radiotherapy by using current laser technology. These results open a way for developing a compact and versatile, high-repetition-rate ion source for medical and other applications.
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