Neutron production in picosecond laser-generated plasma on a be target

Abstract

Experimental data on neutron production in a plasma generated on a Be target by a picosecond laser of intensity 2 × 1018 W/cm2 are presented. In contrast to previous measurements, a Ta converter is not used in this study to generate γ rays. The neutron yield is equal to 2 × 103 over a solid angle of 4π steradians per laser pulse. A simultaneous measurement of the maximum energy of hard x rays gave Eγmax ∼ 6 MeV, the number of these photons being 5 × 108 over an angle of 4π steradians per laser pulse. The energy distributions of fast electrons and photons are estimated theoretically.