In the recent past, laser technology has rapidly growth, making available systems that can produce light pulses of extreme intensities. These ultra-intense laser pulses have many applications, and generate a variety of interesting physical phenomena.
In my PhD project I have addressed a phenomenon triggered by the interaction of these intense laser with solid matter, namely the acceleration of collimated and energetic ion beams. It is a very interesting phenomenon, since these accelerated ions could be used for hadron therapy, or high definition diagnostics.
Despite its appeal, this phenomenon involves a very complex light-matter behavior, with strong non-linearities and plasma dynamics, that cannot be fully understood and controlled. During my PhD I have contributed to a theoretical model to explain and predict ion acceleration via laser-plasma interaction.
The project has been carried out in collaboration with Dimitri Batani, Matteo Passoni, Mina Veltcheva, and Alessandro Zani. More details can be found in the following articles:
- Advances in Target Normal Sheath Acceleration theory.
- Target normal sheath acceleration analytical modeling, comparative study and developments.
- Extensive comparison among Target Normal Sheath Acceleration theoretical models
..and in my PhD thesis