Laser acceleration of light ions from a thin homogeneous foil of complex atomic composition

A model of the acceleration of light impurity particles from a plane ultrathin foil of complex ion composition by a high-power ultrashort high-contrast laser pulse is proposed. A study is made of both purely Coulomb ion acceleration, typical of extremely high electron energies, and ion acceleration under the conditions of space charge separation, determined by the finite typical electron temperature. Exact and approximate analytic approaches to describing impurity particle acceleration are developed. The spatial and spectral parameters of accelerated light particles are obtained, and their dynamics is investigated as a function of their relative charge density in a model of test impurity particles and in a model in which their own electrostatic field is taken into account. Optimum conditions for the generation of quasi-monoenergetic ions are discussed, depending on the laser radiation parameters and target composition.