Laser-driven ion accelerators for tumor therapy revisited

Laser-driven plasma-wave electron accelerators

Laser-driven inertial ion focusing.

A Hohlraum-like configuration is proposed for realizing a simple compact source for neutrons. A laser pulse enters a tiny thin-shelled hollow-sphere target through a small opening and is self-consistently trapped in the cavity. The electrons in the inner shell-wall region are expelled by the light pressure. The resulting space-charge field compresses the local ions into a thin layer that become...

Formation of optical bullets in laser-driven plasma bubble accelerators.

Electron density bubbles--wake structures generated in plasma of density n(e) approximately 10(19) cm(-3) by the light pressure of intense ultrashort laser pulses--are shown to reshape weak copropagating probe pulses into optical "bullets." The bullets are reconstructed using frequency-domain interferometric techniques in order to visualize bubble formation. Bullets are confined in three dimens...

Energy Efficiency of Laser Driven, Structure Based Accelerators

The acceleration efficiency of a laser driven linear accelerator is analyzed. The laser power, loss factor and impedances determine the maximum charge that can be accelerated and the efficiency of that acceleration. The accelerator structure can be incorporated into a laser cavity. The equation for the resultant laser pulse is derived and analyzed. A specific example is presented, and the stead...

Beam Dynamics Studies into Grating-based Dielectric Laser-driven Accelerators*

Dielectric laser-driven accelerators (DLAs) based on gratings confine an electromagnetic field induced by a drive laser into a narrow vacuum channel where electrons travel and are accelerated. This can provide an alternative acceleration scheme compared to conventional RF cavity accelerators. Due to the achievable high accelerating gradient of up to several GV/m this could pave the way for futu...