Effect of initial plasma density on laser induced ion acceleration

Abstract

The effect of initial plasma density on the energetics of the laser accelerated ions is studied using one dimensional particle in cell simulations. It is observed that the initial plasma density plays an important role in the generation of high energy particles. In the case of a spatially constant initial density, there exists an optimum value for the maximum ion acceleration. Similarly for the case of a density ramp, an optimum value of ramp length exists for the maximum ion acceleration. At a laser intensity of ⁠, a maximum energy of about 1 GeV is seen with an optimum initial density ramp