Enabling the Realisation of Proton Tomography

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel target geometry for proton radiography that allows multiple proton beams from a single laser pulse, enabling 3D magnetic field reconstruction in laser-plasma experiments.

Contribution

It proposes and demonstrates a new target design that facilitates proton tomography using a single laser pulse in kinetic simulations.

Findings

Successful demonstration of multi-beam proton generation

Enabling 3D magnetic field reconstruction in simulations

Potential for improved magnetic field analysis in experiments

Abstract

The proton radiography diagnostic is widely used in laser-plasma experiments to make magnetic field measurements. Recent developments in analysis have enabled quantitative reconstruction of path-integrated magnetic field values, but making conclusions about the three-dimensional structure of the fields remains challenging. In this Letter we propose and demonstrate in kinetic simulations a novel target geometry which makes possible the production of multiple proton beams from a single laser pulse, enabling the application of tomographic methods to proton radiography.