Laser-driven hole boring and gamma-ray emission in high-density plasmas

TL;DR

This paper investigates how intense laser interactions with high-density plasmas lead to gamma-ray emission and affect ion acceleration, revealing that high gamma-ray emission reduces laser reflection and alters the radiation pattern during relativistic hole boring.

Contribution

It demonstrates the mutual influence of gamma-ray emission and ion acceleration in high-density plasmas at ultra-intense laser intensities, highlighting the impact on laser reflection and hole-boring velocity.

Findings

Gamma-ray emission reduces laser reflection and hole-boring velocity.

Gamma-ray radiation pattern becomes narrower with higher emission.

Energy and momentum conservation explain the effects observed.

Abstract

Ion acceleration in laser-produced dense plasmas is a key topic of many recent investigations thanks to its potential applications. Indeed, at forthcoming laser intensities ($I \gtrsim 10^{23} \text{W}\,\text{cm}^{-2}$) interaction of laser pulses with plasmas can be accompanied by copious gamma-ray emission. Here we demonstrate the mutual influence of gamma-ray emission and ion acceleration during relativistic hole boring in high-density plasmas with ultra-intense laser pulses. If gamma-ray emission is abundant, laser pulse reflection and hole-boring velocity are lower and gamma-ray radiation pattern is narrower than in the case of low emission. Conservation of energy and momentum allows one to elucidate the effects of gamma-ray emission which are more pronounced at higher hole-boring velocities.