Stability of a Light Sail Riding on a Laser Beam

Abstract

The stability of a light sail riding on a laser beam is analyzed both analytically and numerically. Conical sails on Gaussian beams, which have been studied in the past, are shown to be unstable without active control or additional mechanical modifications. A new architecture for a passively stable sail-and-beam configuration is proposed. The novel spherical shell design for the sail is capable of "beam riding" without the need for active feedback control. Full three-dimensional ray-tracing simulations are performed to verify our analytical results.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in ApJL

Cited by in corpus (19)

• Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Framework for Their Assessment
• Optimized trajectories to the nearest stars using lightweight high-velocity photon sails
• Propulsion of Spacecrafts to Relativistic Speeds Using Natural Astrophysical Sources
• Relativistic Light Sails
• Multi-scale photonic emissivity engineering for relativistic lightsail thermal regulation
• Low-cost precursor of an interstellar mission
• Relativistic Generalization of the Incentive Trap of Interstellar Travel with Application to Breakthrough Starshot
• Relativistic light sails need to billow
• Challenges in Scientific Data Communication from Low-Mass Interstellar Probes
• Structural Stability of a Lightsail for Laser-Driven Interstellar Flight
• Self-stabilization of light sails by damped internal degrees of freedom
• Electric sails are potentially more effective than light sails near most stars
• Broadband, High-Reflectivity Dielectric Mirrors at Wafer Scale: Combining Photonic Crystal and Metasurface Architectures for Advanced Lightsails
• The Inferred Abundance of Interstellar Objects of Technological Origin
• Towards Stable Interstellar Flight: Levitation of a Laser-Propelled Sailcraft*
• Analyzing the acceleration time and reflectance of light sails made from homogeneous and core-shell spheres
• Propellantless space exploration
• Reflection from Inclined, Relativistic Light Sails
• Photonic Lightsails: Fast and Stable Propulsion for Interstellar Travel