采用3D particle-in-cell(PIC)数值模拟方法, 研究高品质高能质子束经由脉冲电流螺线管传输并聚焦于远端的情况。模拟结果表明:初始时刻中心能量为250 MeV, 能散度为10%, 空间发散角小于15 mrad的质子束, 通过长度为760 mm、中心磁感应强度为10.87 T的通电螺线管, 可以被聚焦于距离质子源约2.5 m的远端, 焦斑横截面直径约为1.2 mm, 小于模拟初始时刻的1.8 mm, 质子数目的损失小于3%。研究结果表明利用通电螺线管来传输和调控高能质子束流的方案是可行的。该方案可用于优化质子束流品质, 促进激光驱动质子加速在癌症治疗等对质子束单能性和发散角要求较高的领域得到早日应用。

在拍瓦级飞秒激光装置上完成了两轮激光驱动甲烷气体靶的实验, 用产生的X光源配合SCCD(转换屏+CCD相机)对小型金属器件背光成像, 采用经验公式和PIC数值模拟方法分别预估了超热电子温度, 得到X光能量分别为377 keV和130 keV, 据此两轮实验分别选择1.3 mm和0.8 mm厚度的轫致辐射体。分析比较了两轮实验背光成像质量。通过对次轮实验图像中铝、铜金属台阶灰度值曲线的分析求得X光的能量分别为49 keV和92 keV, 这表明采用PIC数值模拟方法得到的X光能量更加符合实验结果。

高能量密度物理(HEDP)是研究能量密度超过1011 J/m3的极端条件下物质结构与特性及变化规律的科学,开展此方面的研究对惯性约束聚变、材料物理、天体物理、加速器物理、**等具有极其重要的意义。主要介绍了我们在利用飞秒相对论性超强激光进行高能量密度物理研究方面所取得的一些进展,包括电子加速、离子加速(包括质子和重离子)以及其他一些有意义的结果。

Electron acceleration by a propagating short ultra-intense laser pulse in a low-density plasma has been investigated. Electrons have the maximum energy when meeting the peak of the laser pulse. If a propagating laser pulse is abruptly stopped by a solid target, the highly energetic electrons will continue to move forward inertially and escape from the laser field. The envelope of the laser pulse is taken into account and there is an optimal position between the electron and the solid target. The electron maximum energy depends on the laser intensity and initial electron energy, and has nothing to do with the polarization of the pulse, but a linearly polarized laser pulse is more effective to accelerate electron than circularly polarized one under the same laser energy. The influence of the reflected light has been taken into account which makes our model more perfect and the results give good agreement with particle in cell simulations.

We present the study of the interaction of an intense circularly polarized pulse with a solid target with one-dimensional (1D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The evolvement of ion motion with time is explained by a purely kinetic description and by the theory of electrostatic shock in collisionless plasmas. Especially the formation of the stable profile with a "double-flat-top" in ion phase space is explained and validated visually. Assuming the initial state, we find that the ion distribution in the phase space agrees qualitatively with the PIC simulation results by using the particle-tracing approach.

Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are taken to study the interaction of a relativistic, circularly polarized laser pulse with a preformed overdense plasma channel containing a slice of micron size. The laser pulse is confined in the channel, so it can keep higher intensity on a longer time scale inside the channel than the case without a channel. The electrons, both in the slice and from the channel, are pushed forward in the channel by the large light pressure of the laser pulse, followed by the ions accelerated by the electro static field generated by the charge separation. As a result, the acceleration of the slice is more efficient and has a better collimation than in the case without a preformed channel.