Ultra-intense laser-driven ion acceleration

Laser-plasma interactions are demonstrating significant potential as a new and compact source of ions. These sources have applications in proton cancer therapy, advanced approaches to inertial fusion and non-destructive testing. This research project will investigate key aspects of the ion acceleration mechanism in the laser-dense plasma interaction regime. The research will focus specifically on the optimisation of laser-driven ion acceleration in the so-called transparency enhanced regime by investigating the role of key laser and plasma parameters. The project will involve both large scale experiments at national and international high power laser facilities and numerical simulations using high performance computing.