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The formation of strong, high Mach number (2--3), electrostatic shocks by laser pulses incident on overdense plasma slabs is observed in one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, for a wide range of intensities, pulse durations, target thicknesses, and densities. The shocks propagate undisturbed across the plasma, accelerating the ions (protons). For a dimensionless field strength parameter a₀=16 (I^2310^20 W cm^-2 m^2, where I is the intensity and the wavelength), and target thicknesses of a few microns, the shock is responsible for the highest energy protons. A plateau in the ion spectrum provides a direct signature for shock acceleration.
Silva et al. (2004) studied this question.