Extreme Ion Beams Produced by a Multi-PW Femtosecond Laser: Acceleration Mechanisms, Properties and Prospects for Applications

Laser-driven ion acceleration is a rapidly developing branch of plasma physics and laser science whose primary practical goal is to provide a physical and technological basis for the construction and development of new types of ion accelerators. Laser-driven accelerators can be less complex and more compact than currently used RF-driven accelerators, while the intensities, fluences, and powers of laser-accelerated ion beams can potentially exceed those achieved in RF accelerators. This paper focuses on the generation of very intense ion beams driven by a multi-PW femtosecond laser. The acceleration mechanisms enabling the generation of such beams are characterized, and the properties of multi-PW laser-driven uranium ion beams are discussed in detail based on the results of advanced particle-in-cell numerical simulations. The feasibility of generating sub-picosecond, multi-GeV, mono-charge uranium beams with extreme intensities (~>1020 W/cm2) and fluences (~>GJ/cm2) is demonstrated, and methods for controlling the beam parameters are identified. It is shown that using such beams, extreme states of matter with parameters unattainable with ion beams from conventional accelerators can be created. The prospects for applications of ultra-intense laser-driven ion beams in high-energy density physics, inertial confinement nuclear fusion, and in certain areas of nuclear physics are outlined.