Energetic α-particle sources produced through proton-boron reactions by high-energy high-intensity laser beams

In an experiment performed with a high-intensity and high-energy laser system, alpha-particle production in proton-boron reaction by using a laser-driven proton beam was measured. alpha particles were observed from the front and also from the rear side, even after a 2-mm-thick boron target. The data obtained in this experiment have been analyzed using a sequence of numerical simulations. The simulations clarify the mechanisms of alpha-particle production and transport through the boron targets. alpha-particle energies observed in the experiment and in the simulation reach 10-20 MeV through energy transfer from 20-30 MeV energy incident protons. Despite the lower cross sections for protons with energy above the sub-MeV resonances in the proton-boron reactions, 10(8)-10(9) alpha particles per steradian have been detected.

Automated summary

The experiment measured alpha-particle production in proton-boron reactions using a laser-driven proton beam, and numerical simulations were used to analyze the data. Despite lower cross sections for high-energy protons in proton-boron reactions, a significant amount of alpha particles were detected, reaching energies of 10-20 MeV.