Laser-solid interaction studies enabled by the new capabilities of the iP2 BELLA PW beamline

The new capabilities of the short focal length, high intensity beamline, named iP2, at the BELLA Center will extend the reach of research in high energy density science, including accessing new regimes of high gradient ion acceleration and their applications. This 1Hz system will provide an on-target peak intensity beyond 10(21) W/cm(2) with a temporal contrast ratio of <10(-14) that will be enabled by the addition of an on-demand double plasma mirror setup. An overview of the beamline design and the main available diagnostics are presented in this paper as well as a selection of accessible research areas. As a demonstration of the iP2 beamline's capabilities, we present 3D particle-in-cell simulations of ion acceleration in the magnetic vortex acceleration regime. The simulations were performed with pure hydrogen targets and multi-species targets. Proton beams with energy up to 125 MeV and an approximately 12 degrees full angle emission are observed as preplasma scale length and target tilt are varied. The number of accelerated protons is on the order of 10(9)/MeV/sr for energies above 60 MeV. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.