In this chapter we discuss basic reference mechanisms for ion acceleration in laser-plasma interactions. The first two mechanisms, namely sheath acceleration and plasma expansion, are oriented to the modelization of experiments with solid targets in the so-called target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) framework. The other mechanisms, namely shock acceleration, coulomb explosions and radiation pressure acceleration dominate over TNSA in particular conditions and may allow to develop advanced schemes of ion acceleration.

In this chapter we discuss the generation of high-energy electrons in laser-plasma interactions, in two very different regimes. First, we consider electron acceleration in wake waves generated in underdense plasmas, which is the concept behind the development of laser-plasma electron accelerators for high energy physics. Second, we consider the case of an overdense plasma, where electrons are accelerated at the interface where the laser impinges. Such problem is strongly connected to the general issue of collisionless absorption in an overdense plasma, possibly the most complex and less understood topic of laser-plasma interactions.

Interaction of intense lasers with nm thick targets provides an attractive regime for the acceleration of ions of all types. Acceleration of heavy ions however is undermined in the presence of low charge contaminant species due to their higher charge-to-mass ratio. Here we show narrow-band acceleration of very heavy Au ions from ~15 nm Au foils driven by a sub-Petawatt laser, with spectral peaks of 1.5 ± 0.5 GeV at fluxes on the order of 10 12 particles per steradian. 3D and 2D particle-in-cell simulations show a complex interplay between different acceleration mechanisms at different stages of the interaction, suggesting the spectrally peaked Au ion bunches stem from strong radiation pressure acceleration on a heavy-ion dominant plasma in the moments just before transparency, followed by an efficient acceleration due to transparency-enhanced mechanisms.

This book contains 150 problems in classical electromagnetism, most of them new and original compared to those found in other textbooks. Each problem is

A comment on the paper by S. M. Mahajan and F. A. Asenjo "Interacting quantum and classical waves: Resonant and non-resonant energy transfer to electrons immersed in an intense electromagnetic wave" [Phys. Plasmas 29, 022107 (2022)] where the authors use a model based on the Klein-Gordon equation to discuss particle energization by a transverse electromagnetic wave in a plasma. It is shown that the results of the paper are easily obtained in a classical approach, so that no quantum effect has to be invoked. Moreover, some mistakes and misinterpretations in the paper have been corrected. The (un)suitability of the proposed mechanism to account for generation of extremely energetic particles in both laboratory and astrophysical scenarios is also discussed.

Enhancement of laser energy conversion into X-rays is obtained using a target made by entwined carbon nanotubes.