Anomalous stopping of laser-accelerated intense proton beam in dense ionized matter

Abstract

Ultrahigh-intensity lasers (10${}^{18}$-10${}^{22}$W/cm${}^2$) have opened up new perspectives in many fields of research and application [1-5]. By irradiating a thin foil, an ultrahigh accelerating field (10${}^{12}$ V/m) can be formed and multi-MeV ions with unprecedentedly high intensity (10${}^{10}$A/cm${}^2$) in short time scale ($\sim$ps) are produced [6-14]. Such beams provide new options in radiography [15], high-yield neutron sources [16], high-energy-density-matter generation [17], and ion fast ignition [18,19]. An accurate understanding of the nonlinear behavior of beam transport in matter is crucial for all these applications. We report here the first experimental evidence of anomalous stopping of a laser-generated high-current proton beam in well-characterized dense ionized matter. The observed stopping power is one order of magnitude higher than single-particle slowing-down theory predictions. We attribute this phenomenon to collective effects where the intense beam drives an decelerating electric field approaching 1GV/m in the dense ionized matter. This finding will have considerable impact on the future path to inertial fusion energy.

arXiv comment8 pages, 4 figures

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• Acceleration of electrons in the plasma wakefield of a proton bunch
• Charged Particle Motion in a Highly Ionized Plasma
• Polarized ultrashort brilliant multi-GeV $\gamma$-rays via single-shot laser-electron interaction
• Dynamics of self-generated, large amplitude magnetic fields following high-intensity laser matter interaction
• Creation of a homogeneous plasma column by means of hohlraum radiation for ion-stopping measurements
• Peculiar Behavior of Si Cluster Ions in Solid Al

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Significant Contribution of Projectile Excited States to the Stopping of Slow Helium Ions in Hydrogen Plasma
• Target density effects on charge tansfer of laser-accelerated carbon ions in dense plasma
• The equation of state of a partly homogenized plasma of low-dense porous matter
• Group Conductivity and Nonadiabatic Born Effective Charges of Disordered Metals, Warm Dense Matter, and Hot Dense Plasma