Platform for high repetition rate proton stopping power measurements in Warm Dense Matter
Abstract We present a high-repetition-rate experimental platform for proton stopping-power measurements in warm dense matter in a regime where the projectile velocity approaches the electron thermal velocity and theoretical predictions remain highly uncertain. The platform combines laser-driven proton generation via target normal sheath acceleration with a compact magnetic energy selector to produce quasi-monoenergetic proton beams in the 0.3–0.6 MeV range with energy bandwidths of tens of keV and sub-nanosecond duration. Warm dense matter is generated by femtosecond laser heating of thin carbon foils and characterized using streaked optical pyrometry and x-ray pinhole grating spectroscopy, supported by radiation-hydrodynamic simulations. We further investigate the present limitations of the approach, including uncertainties in sample conditions, finite proton bunch duration, and proton scattering, and discuss pathways toward improved measurements. The results demonstrate a versatile and scalable approach for systematic, high-statistics studies of ion stopping power in warm dense matter relevant to inertial confinement fusion and charged-particle transport in high-energy-density plasmas.
Authors
- Shoujun Wang
- Alejandro Huerta
- Reed C. Hollinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1955-8840)
- Brian Kraus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5713-9316)
- Ghassan Zeraouli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9794-6075)
- Jesse Griff-McMahon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0774-0613)
- G. Gatti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7730-7893)
- Sina Anaraki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1743-2138)
- S. Malko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1041-1092)
- R. Fedosejevs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3307-4909)
- P. Neumayer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5156-8830)
- W. Cayzac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9682-1636)
- M. Huault (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8699-9166)
- M. Bailly-Grandvaux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7529-4013)
- S. Atzeni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4339-2994)
- Jorge J. G. Rocca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8349-6907)
- A. Tauschwitz
- Krish Bhutwala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9319-6409)
- C. McGuffey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8162-192X)
- José Antonio Pérez-Hernández (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1117-0190)
- Samia Khetari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3031-4854)
- Diego de Luis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9656-8343)
- V. Valenzuela-Villaseca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6772-1441)
- Kirill V. Lezhnin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7636-069X)
- Ryan Nedbailo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9669-1819)
- X. Vaisseau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0581-8114)
- Will Fox (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2551-0942)
- F. N. Beg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0391-8944)
- Luca Volpe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0385-498X)
- James King
- João Jorge Santos
- M Ehret
- Jon Apiñaniz
- Ashraf I Essa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1971-3213)
- Valeria Ospina
- Courtney Johnson
- Joe Adrian Vargas
Institutions
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
- Université de Bordeaux (FR)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (DE)
- Universidad de Salamanca (ES)
- Princeton University (US)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Extreme Light Infrastructure Beamlines (CZ)
- CEA DAM Île-de-France (FR)
- Spanish Center for Pulsed Lasers (ES)
- Focused Energy (US)
- General Atomics (United States) (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES)
- Colorado State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
- Published
- 2026-10-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/aeb978
- Primary Topic
- Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Laserlab-Europe
- Junta de Castilla y León
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Fusion Energy Sciences
- Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
- HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council