Generation Of High-energy Photons Research Articles

Nanoengineering Triplet–Triplet Annihilation Upconversion: From Materials to Real-World Applications

Using light to control matter has captured the imagination of scientists for generations, as there is an abundance of photons at our disposal. Yet delivering photons beyond the surface to many photoresponsive systems has proven challenging, particularly at scale, due to light attenuation via absorption and scattering losses. Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC), a process which allows for low energy photons to be converted to high energy photons, is poised to overcome these challenges by allowing for precise spatial generation of high energy photons due to its nonlinear nature. With a wide range of sensitizer and annihilator motifs available for TTA-UC, many researchers seek to integrate these materials in solution or solid-state applications. In this Review, we discuss nanoengineering deployment strategies and highlight their uses in recent state-of-the-art examples of TTA-UC integrated in both solution and solid-state applications. Considering both implementation tactics and application-specific requirements, we identify critical needs to push TTA-UC-based applications from an academic curiosity to a scalable technology.

OA083] Toward 4d micro-CT and radiotherapy of small animals using all-optical, ultrashort X-ray sources: feasibility study and preliminary experimental results

Purpose All-optical, laser-driven X/gamma-ray sources, based on the primary electron acceleration via the Laser WakeField Acceleration (LWFA) process, have now entered a mature phase in terms of beam parameters, shot-to-shot stability, and reliability, so as to be considered as promising tools in medical physics. The high electron acceleration gradient results in the possibility of accelerating electrons up to the 100s MeV range over very short distances and thus opening the way to the generation of high energy photons using “table-top” machines. The PRELUDE (PREclinical Laser-based Ultrafast Diagnostics and therapy) project is ongoing, as a collaboration among different Italian Institutions aimed at studying the application of a laser-driven X-ray source for 4D micro-CT and radiotherapy of small animals. Methods As a first step, the exploitation of a Bremsstrahlung source driven by a LWFA, plasma-based accelerator is investigated, both theoretically and experimentally. The preliminary experimental results focused on characterizing the photon source, based on a 10TW ultrashort laser system for micro-CT of small animals is discussed. Issues related to both the primary electron acceleration and the generation of secondary photons via the Bremsstrahlung process will be discussed, including both numerical and experimental results. Results The X-ray spectrum, beam intensity, e- contamination and photon dosimetry have been simulated using the GEANT4 toolkit on top of experimental measurements of the e- spectrum obtained using our setup and numerical estimations of the accelerated charge per pulse. Proof-of-principle radiographic images of physical phantoms obtained with photostimulable phosphor image plates are presented. Conclusions We presented a system for small animal 4D-CT and radiotherapy based on a laser-driven X-ray source. The results of a theoretical and numerical study of a 4D micro-CT device based on a more advanced all-optical X-ray source based on Thomson scattering will be presented.

Photon and positron generation by ultrahigh intensity laser interaction with electron beams

This study investigates the generation of high energy photons and positrons using focused ultrahigh intensity femtosecond laser pulses on a relativistic electron beam with a set of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We consider circularly and linearly polarized, single and spatially separated double laser pulses. We model both 500 MeV and 1 GeV electron beams. Higher positron production is obtained using circularly polarized laser pulses. Using double pulses, the focusing effect of the ponderomotive force confines the electrons to a small volume, generating additional energetic photons and positrons. The positron spectral distributions are effectively modified by these variations. When the electron beam energy is doubled, the number of positrons increased, while the cutoff energy remained nearly constant.

Monte Carlo simulations of relativistic radiation-mediated shocks – I. Photon-rich regime

We explore the physics of relativistic radiation mediated shocks (RRMSs) in the regime where photon advection dominates over photon generation. For this purpose, a novel iterative method for deriving a self-consistent steady-state structure of RRMS is developed, based on a Monte-Carlo code that solves the transfer of photons subject to Compton scattering and pair production/annihilation. Systematic study is performed by imposing various upstream conditions which are characterized by the following three parameters: the photon-to-baryon inertia ratio $\xi_{u *}$, the photon-to-baryon number ratio $\tilde{n}$, and the shock Lorentz factor $\gamma_u$. We find that the properties of RRMSs vary considerably with these parameters. In particular, while a smooth decline in the velocity, accompanied by a gradual temperature increase is seen for $\xi_{u*} \gg 1$, an efficient bulk Comptonization, that leads to a heating precursor, is found for $\xi_{u*} \lesssim 1$. As a consequence, although particle acceleration is highly inefficient in these shocks, a broad non-thermal spectrum is produced in the latter case. The generation of high energy photons through bulk Comptonization leads, in certain cases, to a copious production of pairs that provide the dominant opacity for Compton scattering. We also find that for certain upstream conditions a weak subshock appears within the flow. For a choice of parameters suitable to gamma-ray bursts, the radiation spectrum within the shock is found to be compatible with that of the prompt emission, suggesting that subphotospheric shocks may give rise to the observed non-thermal features despite the absence of accelerated particles.

Status and Perspectives of Compton Sources

Generation of high-energy photons via collision of relativistic electron and laser beams is known as inverse Compton scattering or laser Compton scattering. Compton sources, photon sources based on Compton scattering, have been developed in the world to realize high-flux/high-brightness X-ray/gamma-ray sources and exploit applications with energy-tunable and narrow-bandwidth photon beams from these sources. Recent progress of electron accelerator and laser technologies will open a new era in Compton sources. An electron beam of small emittance and high-average current contributes to improving spectral brightness of Compton scattered photons. Flux of generating photons is also increased by a high-power laser together with apparatus such as laser enhancement cavity. We overview the current status of Compton sources including an experiment carried out at the Compact ERL, which is the first demonstration of Compton scattering by combination of an energy-recovery linac and a laser enhancement cavity.

Phase-matching effects in the generation of high-energy photons by mid-infrared few-cycle laser pulses

We report on our experimental and theoretical investigations on the generation of high-order harmonics driven by 1500 nm few-cycle laser pulses in xenon. In contrast to the common belief, we found experimental evidence suggesting that harmonic generation driven by mid-infrared laser pulses can be realized with high efficiency; in particular, an enhancement of very high harmonic orders can be achieved under suitable conditions of the laser–medium interaction. The experimental results were simulated by a 3D non-adiabatic model. The theoretical outcomes confirm the experimental findings and provide a physical explanation for the counter-intuitive results. In particular, a time-dependent phase-matching analysis threw light on the generation mechanisms at a timescale of half optical cycle of the fundamental pulse.

Generation of High-Energy Photons with Large Orbital Angular Momentum by Compton Backscattering

Usually, photons are described by plane waves with a definite 4-momentum. In addition to plane-wave photons, "twisted photons" have recently entered the field of modern laser optics; these are coherent superpositions of plane waves with a defined projection hm of the orbital angular momentum onto the propagation axis, where m is an integer. In this Letter, we show that it is possible to produce high-energy twisted photons by Compton backscattering of twisted laser photons off ultrarelativistic electrons. Such photons may be of interest for experiments related to the excitation and disintegration of atoms and nuclei, and for studying the photoeffect and pair production off nuclei in previously unexplored experimental regimes.