Uniform heating of materials into the warm dense matter regime with laser-driven quasi-monoenergetic ion beams

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that laser-driven quasi-monoenergetic ion beams can uniformly heat materials into the warm dense matter regime, with theoretical analysis supporting experimental results and highlighting advantages over monoenergetic beams.

Contribution

The study provides a theoretical framework showing that laser-driven ion beams with finite energy spread can achieve more uniform heating than monoenergetic beams, enhancing warm dense matter generation.

Findings

Laser-driven aluminum ion beams can uniformly heat gold and diamond foils.

Finite energy spread in ion beams improves heating uniformity.

Predicted plasma temperatures are achievable with current laser facilities.

Abstract

In a recent experiment on the Trident laser facility, a laser-driven beam of quasi-monoenergetic aluminum ions was used to heat solid gold and diamond foils isochorically to 5.5 eV and 1.7 eV, respectively. Here theoretical calculations are presented that suggest the gold and diamond were heated uniformly by these laser-driven ion beams. According to calculations and SESAME equation-of-state tables, laser-driven aluminum ion beams achievable on Trident, with a finite energy spread of (delta E)/E ~ 20%, are expected to heat the targets more uniformly than a beam of 140 MeV aluminum ions with zero energy spread. The robustness of the expected heating uniformity relative to the changes in the incident ion energy spectra is evaluated, and expected plasma temperatures of various target materials achievable with the current experimental platform are presented.