English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

We recently proposed a new technique of plasma tailoring by laser-drivenhydrodynamic shockwaves generated on both sides of a gas jet [J.-R. Marqu\`eset al., Phys. Plasmas 28, 023103 (2021)]. In the continuation of this numericalwork, we studied experimentally the influence of the tailoring on protonacceleration driven by a high-intensity picosecond-laser, in three cases:without tailoring, by tailoring only the entrance side of the ps-laser, or bothsides of the gas jet. Without tailoring the acceleration is transverse to thelaser axis, with a low-energy exponential spectrum, produced by Coulombexplosion. When the front side of the gas jet is tailored, a forwardacceleration appears, that is significantly enhanced when both the front andback sides of the plasma are tailored. This forward acceleration produceshigher energy protons, with a peaked spectrum, and is in good agreement withthe mechanism of Collisionless Shock Acceleration (CSA). The spatio-temporalevolution of the plasma profile was characterized by optical shadowgraphy of aprobe beam. The refraction and absorption of this beam was simulated bypost-processing 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the plasma tailoring. Comparisonwith the experimental results allowed to estimate the thickness andnear-critical density of the plasma slab produced by tailoring both sides ofthe gas jet. These parameters are in good agreement with those required forCSA.

Collisionless Shock Acceleration of protons in a plasma slab produced in a gas jet by the collision of two laser-driven hydrodynamic shockwaves