Laser-driven fast-electron transport in preheated foil targets

Laser-driven relativistic electron transport through aluminum foils preheated and expanded by amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) prepulses has been studied by means of two- and three-dimensional hybrid particle-in-cell simulations. This study is motivated by recent proton acceleration experiments [M. Kaluza, J. Schreiber, M. I. K. Santala, G. D. Tsakiris, K. Eidmann, J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, and K. J. Witte, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 045003 (2004)] showing a significant effect of the ASE prepulse on the proton spectra. Here, it is found that electron-beam collimation due to magnetic fields is reduced and resistive heating by return currents is significantly enhanced, when considering ASE-expanded rather than unperturbed solid target foils. It is shown that this allows for a consistent picture of the new proton spectra and the parameters of the driving electron pulse (angular spread at injection, laser-to-electron conversion, and energy spectrum).