Measurement of ion acceleration and diffusion in a laser-driven magnetized plasma
- J. T. Y. Chu
- J. W. D. Halliday
- C. Heaton
- K. Moczulski
- A. Blazevic
- D. Schumacher
- M. Metternich
- H. Nazary
- C. D. Arrowsmith
- A. R. Bell
- K. A. Beyer
- A. F. A. Bott
- T. Campbell
- E. Hansen
- D. Q. Lamb
- F. Miniati
- P. Neumayer
- C. A. J. Palmer
- B. Reville
- A. Reyes
- S. Sarkar
- A. Scopatz
- C. Spindloe
- C. B. Stuart
- H. Wen
- P. Tzeferacos
- R. Bingham
- G. Gregori
2026-03-02
Here we present results from an experiment performed at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research. A mono-energetic beam of chromium ions with initial energies of ~ 450 MeV was fired through a magnetized interaction region formed by the collision of two counter-propagating laser-ablated plasma jets. While laser interferometry revealed the absence of strong fluid-scale turbulence, acceleration and diffusion of the beam ions was driven by wave-particle interactions. A possible mechanism is particle acceleration by electrostatic, short scale length kinetic turbulence, such as the lower-hybrid drift instability.