Numerical modeling of the electron acceleration resulted from ultra high laser acceleration by means of overcritical gas jet targets.

This paper discusses the optimization of the electron flux generated by the interaction of a laser pulse with a shaped gas jet target through numerical simulations in order to formulate experiments for the ultra-high intensity facilities under construction or recently completed. Using such gaseous targets (instead of plasmas created by vaporizing solids using a laser) is a critical step for enabling applications at high repetition rate. The use of gas jets uniquely allows high repetition rates, low debris and relaxed laser contrast operation, thus eliminating the need for replacement of solid targets during experiments requiring high repetition rates. The results obtained reveal that the accelerated electrons can be controlled by target density adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]