Generation of high-energy mono-energetic heavy ion beams by radiation pressure acceleration of ultra-intense laser pulses

Abstract

Generation of high-energy mono-energetic heavy ion beams by radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) of intense laser pulses is investigated. Different from previously studied RPA of protons or light ions, the dynamic ionization of high-Z atoms can stabilize the heavy ion acceleration. A self-organized, stable RPA scheme specifically for heavy ion beams is proposed, where the laser peak intensity is required to match with the large ionization energy gap when the successive ionization state passes the noble gas configurations [such as removing an electron from the helium-like charge state (Z−2)+ to (Z−1)+]. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that a mono-energetic Al13+ beam with peak energy 1.0 GeV and energy spread of only 5% can be obtained at intensity of 7×1020 W/cm2 through the proposed scheme. A heavier, mono-energetic, ion beam (Fe26+) can attain a peak energy of 17 GeV by increasing the intensity to 1022 W/cm2.