Macroparticle acceleration by a laser-plasma stream

Abstract

A physical model is proposed for macroparticle acceleration in an expanding laser plasma. Two acceleration mechanisms are considered, based on absolutely inelastic interaction of the laser-plasma ions with the macroparticle surface: acceleration due to the ion momentum and reactive acceleration due to evaporation of the surface layer. The processes are mathematically described with the aid of the gasdynamics equations with thermal conductivity. Approximate analytic expressions are obtained and permit an estimate of the laser-plasma energy as well as of the quasiparticle momentum as functions of the parameters of the laser pulse, of the target, and of the macroparticle. The analytic solutions are compared with numerical computations using the RAPID program; the comparison confirms that the results agree qualitatively and quantitatively.