Radiation reaction effects on radiation pressure acceleration

Abstract

Radiation reaction (RR) effects on the acceleration of a thin plasma foil by\na superintense laser pulse in the radiation pressure dominated regime are\ninvestigated theoretically. A simple suitable approximation of the\nLandau-Lifshitz equation for the RR force and a novel leapfrog pusher for its\ninclusion in particle-in-cell simulations are provided. Simulations for both\nlinear and circular polarization of the laser pulse are performed and compared.\nIt is found that at intensities exceeding $10^{23} \\Wcm$ the radiation reaction\nforce strongly affects the dynamics for a linearly polarized laser pulse,\nreducing the maximum ion energy but also the width of the spectrum. In\ncontrast, no significant effect is found for circularly polarized laser pulses\nwhenever the laser pulse does not break through the foil.\n