Abstract
Neutron beams, both pulsed and continuous, are a powerful tool in a wide variety of research fields and applications. Nowadays, pulsed neutron beams are produced in conventional accelerator facilities in which the time-of-fight technique is used to determine the kinetic energy of the neutrons inducing the reactions of interest.In the last decades, the development of ultra-short (femtosecond) and ultra-high power (> 1018W/cm2) lasers has opened the door to a vast number of new applications, including the production and acceleration of pulsed ion beams. These have been recently used to produce pulsed neutron beams, reaching fluxes per pulse similar and even higher than those of conventional neutron beams, hence becoming an alternative for the pulsed neutron beam users community. Nevertheless, these laser-driven neutrons have not been exploited in nuclear physics experiments so far.Our main goal is to produce and characterize laser-driven neutrons but optimizing the analysis, diagnostic and detection techniques currently used in conventional neutron sources to implement them in this new environment. As a result, we would lay down the viability of carrying out nuclear physics experiments using this kind of sources by identifying the advantages and limitations of this production method.To achieve this purpose, we plan to perform experiments in both medium (50TW@L2A2, in Santiago de Com-postela) and high (1PW@APOLLON, in Paris) power laser facilities.
Highlights
Pulsed neutron beams entail a powerful probe in nuclear physics with applications in a wide variety of fields like astrophysics, image diagnostics, medical applications, material analysis, fission and fusion research, irradiation of electronics, etc
In those applications where the energy of the neutron is relevant, it is necessary to work with pulsed neutron beams using the time-of-flight technique to determine the energy which produces a certain reaction or event of interest
In 2004, the IAEA called about the need of developing small scale and compact neutron sources [1] to fully exploit all the possibilities of these techniques
Summary
Pulsed neutron beams entail a powerful probe in nuclear physics with applications in a wide variety of fields like astrophysics, image diagnostics, medical applications, material analysis, fission and fusion research, irradiation of electronics, etc In those applications where the energy of the neutron is relevant, it is necessary to work with pulsed neutron beams using the time-of-flight technique to determine the energy which produces a certain reaction or event of interest. In 2004, the IAEA called about the need of developing small scale and compact neutron sources [1] to fully exploit all the possibilities of these techniques In this context, the development of ultra-short (femtosecond) and ultra-high power (> 1018 W/cm2) lasers can be revolutionary, allowing us to reach shorter and more intense neutron pulses in more compact and cheaper facilities
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