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Paul McKenna
Professor of Laser-Plasma Physics

Paul McKenna

Paul McKenna studied for his BSc in Physics (1997) and PhD (2000) at Queens University Belfast. His PhD project, with Professor Ian Williams, was on electron and laser pulse interactions with ions. After two years postdoctoral research with Professor Ken Ledingham at the University of Glasgow on the laser-driven nuclear physics, he joined the Physics Department at Strathclyde on a Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship, investigating laser-driven ion acceleration. He was appointed to an Academic Fellowship and a Central Laser Facility scientific visiting position in 2005 and a Lectureship in 2006.

| e: p.mckenna at phys.strath.ac.uk | t: 0141 548 5712 | u: http://silis.phys.strath.ac.uk/ |

Research

Paul’s research is in the field of high-intensity laser-plasma interactions. Developments in high-power, ultra-short pulse laser technology have given rise to a new branch of research, in which extreme laser intensities produce extreme states of matter. This is accompanied by the emission of high energy particles and hard X-ray photons. At these intensities, matter is fully ionised and exists as plasma where charged particles can be accelerated to highly relativistic velocities by electrostatic forces and radiation pressure. These forces can be harnessed to produce compact new sources of energetic particles and radiation, with wide-ranging potential application.

His group’s main research activities include:

  • The study of fast electron generation and transport in intense laser interactions with dense plasma: This is of fundamental importance for the fast ignition approach to inertial fusion and for the optimisation of high power laser-driven ion and X-ray sources. This work is funded by EPSRC.
  • Investigation of laser-driven ion acceleration: High power laser pulses are used to produce multi-MeV ion beams in short pulse durations. Recent work has concentrated on investigations of ion source properties and beam control. The group are also members of the EPSRC Basic Technology-funded LIBRA consortium, which aims to develop the relevant technology for high-flux, high-repetition ion and gamma source delivery and characterisation. 
  • Experimental investigations for the preparatory phase of the European HiPER (High Power laser Energy Research; www.hiper-laser.org) project. That project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of laser driven fusion as a future energy source.

Highlights

Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship, 2002-05

Invited talks at international conferences include Applications of Accelerators in Research and Industry (CAARI), Fort Worth 2006 and European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics, Warsaw 2007, Laser-Optics 2008

Selected publications

B.Ramakrishna, S.Kar, A.P.L.Robinson, D.J.Adams, K.Markey, M.N.Quinn, X.H.Yuan, P.McKenna, K.L.Lancaster, J.S.Green, R.H.H.Scott, P.A.Norreys, J.Schreiber, M.Zepf, "Laser-Driven Fast Electron Collimation in Targets with Resistivity Boundary", Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 135001 (2010) doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.135001

D.C.Carroll, O.Tresca, R.Prasad, L.Romagnani, P.S.Foster, P.Gallegos, S.Ter-Avetisyan, J.S.Green, M.J.V.Streeter, N.Dover, C.A.J.Palmer, C.M.Brenner, F.H.Cameron, K.E.Quinn, J.Schreiber, A.P.L.Robinson, T.Baeva, M.N.Quinn, X.H.Yuan, Z.Najmudin, M.Zepf, D.Neely, M.Borghesi, P.McKenna, "Carbon ion acceleration from thin foil targets irradiated by ultrahigh-contrast, ultraintense laser pulses ", New J. Phys. 12, 045020 (2010) doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/12/4/045020

X.H.Yuan, A.P.L.Robinson, M.N.Quinn, D.C.Carroll, M.Borghesi, R.J.Clarke, R.G.Evans, J.Fuchs, P.Gallegos, L.Lancia, D.Neely, K.Quinn, L.Romagnani, G.Sarri, P.A.Wilson, P.McKenna, "Effect of self-generated magnetic fields on fast-electron beam divergence in solid targets", New J. Phys. 12, 063018 (2010) doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/12/6/063018

J.S.Green, D.C.Carroll, C.Brenner, B.Dromey, P.S.Foster, S.Kar, Y.T.Li, K.Markey, P.McKenna, D.Neely, A.P.L.Robinson, M.J.V.Streeter, M.Tolley, C.G.Wahlstrom, M.H.Xu, M.Zepf, "Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation ", New J. Phys. 12, 085012 (2010) doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/12/8/085012

S.Kar, A.P.L.Robinson, D.C.Carroll, O.Lundh, K.Markey, P.McKenna, P.Norreys, M.Zepf, "Guiding of Relativistic Electron Beams in Solid Targets by Resistively Controlled Magnetic Fields", Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 055001 (2009) doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.055001

K.Quinn, P.A.Wilson, C.A.Cecchetti, B.Ramakrishna, L.Romagnani, G.Sarri, L.Lancia, J.Fuchs, A.Pipahl, T.Toncian, O.Willi, R.J.Clarke, D.Neely, M.Notley, P.Gallegos, D.C.Carroll, M.N.Quinn, X.H.Yuan, P.McKenna, T.V.Liseykina, A.Macchi, M.Borghesi, "Laser-Driven Ultrafast Field Propagation on Solid Surfaces ", Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 194801 (2009) doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.194801

A.P.L.Robinson, P.Foster, D.Adams, D.C.Carroll, B.Dromey, S.Hawkes, S.Kar, Y.T.Li, K.Markey, P.McKenna, C.Spindloe, M.Streeter, C.G.Wahlstrom, M.H.Xu, M.Zepf, D.Neely, "Spectral modification of laser-accelerated proton beams by self-generated magnetic fields", New J. Phys. 11, 083018 (2009) doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/11/8/083018

S.Kar, K.Markey, P.T.Simpson, C.Bellei, J.S.Green, S.R.Nagel, S.Kneip, D.C.Carroll, B.Dromey, L.Willingale, E.L.Clark, P.McKenna, Z.Najmudin, K.Krushelnick, P.Norreys, R.J.Clarke, D.Neely, M.Borghesi, M.Zepf, "Dynamic control of laser-produced proton beams ", Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 105004 (2008) doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.105004

P.McKenna, D.C.Carroll, O.Lundh, F.Nurnberg, K.Markey, S.Bandyopadhyay, D.Batani, R.G.Evans, R.Jafer, S.Kar, D.Neely, D.Pepler, M.N.Quinn, R.Redaelli, M.Roth, C.G.Wahlstrom, X.H.Yuan, M.Zepf, "Effects of front surface plasma expansion on proton acceleration in ultraintense laser irradiation of foil targets ", Laser Part. Beams 26, 591 -596 (2008) doi: 10.1017/S0263034608000657

L.Robson, P.T.Simpson, R.J.Clarke, K.W.D.Ledingham, F.Lindau, O.Lundh, T.McCanny, P.Mora, D.Neely, C.G.Wahlstrom, M.Zepf, P.McKenna, "Scaling of proton acceleration driven by petawatt-laser-plasma interactions", Nat. Phys. 3, 58-62 (2007) doi: 10.1038/nphys476

P.McKenna, D.C.Carroll, R.J.Clarke, R.G.Evans, K.W.D.Ledingham, F.Lindau, O.Lundh, T.McCanny, D.Neely, A.P.L.Robinson, L.Robson, P.T.Simpson, C.G.Wahlstrom, M.Zepf, "Lateral electron transport in high-intensity laser-irradiated foils diagnosed by ion emission", Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 145001 (2007) doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.145001

R.J.Clarke, K.W.D.Ledingham, P.McKenna, L.Robson, T.McCanny, D.Neely, O.Lundh, F.Lindau, C.G.Wahlstrom, P.T.Simpson, M.Zepf, "Detection of short lived radioisotopes as a fast diagnostic for intense laser-solid interactions", Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 141117 (2006) doi: 10.1063/1.2358940

Current Grants

Paul McKenna, , , , ,
EPSRC (2011-2016) £1330509
Title: Multi-Petawatt Laser-Plasma Interactions: A New Frontier in Physics

Paul McKenna, , , , ,
STFC (2011-2015) £15000
Title: Data Analysis of a Laser-Plasma Radiological Experiment on the Vulcan Laser

Paul McKenna, , , , ,
STFC (2010-2013) £10050
Title: Diagnostic Options Capable of Operating in 10PW env - David McLellan PhD studentship

Paul McKenna, , , , ,
STFC (2010-2013) £8100
Title: High Intensity Laser Interaction Diagnostics - G Scott PhD Studentship