High-intensity Short-pulse Laser Research Articles

Determination of electron-heated temperatures of petawatt laser-irradiated foil targets with 256 and 68 eV extreme ultraviolet imaging

Measurements of plasma temperature at the rear surface of foil targets due to heating by hot electrons, which were produced in short pulse high intensity laser matter interactions using the 150 J, 0.5 ps Titan laser, are reported. Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) imaging at 256 and 68 eV energies is used to determine spatially resolved target rear surface temperature patterns by comparing absolute intensities to radiation hydrodynamic modeling. XUV mirrors at these two energies were absolutely calibrated at the Advanced Light Source at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Temperatures deduced from both imagers are validated against each other within the range of 75-225 eV.

Postacceleration of Laser-Generated High-Energy Protons Through Conventional Accelerator Linacs

The postacceleration of laser-generated protons through conventional drift-tube linear accelerators (linacs) (DTLs) has been simulated with the particle-code PARMELA. The proton source is generated on the rear surface of a target irradiated by an high-intensity short-pulse (350 fs) laser and focused by a microlens that allows selecting collimated protons at 7 0.1 MeV with root-mean-square unnormalized transverse emittance of 0.180 mm mrad. The simulations show that protons can be accelerated by one DTL tank to more than 14 MeV with un normalized transverse-emittance growth of 8 and 22.6 in different transverse directions when considering a total proton charge of 0.112 mA. This first numerical study shows that coupling between laser-plasma accelerators with traditional accelerators is possible, allowing a luminosity gain for the final beam.

Study of relativistic electron beam production and transport in high-intensity laser interaction with a wire target by integrated LSP modeling

The results of a numerical study of high-intensity short-pulse laser interaction with wire targets are presented. Fast electron production and transport in solid density plasma is modeled using the implicit hybrid particle-in-cell code LSP [D. R. Welch et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 063105 (2006)]. These simulations were performed with realistic target size and laser parameters and over times much longer than the laser pulse. Nonlinear interaction processes, i.e., microchanneling and density steepening, have been observed. The spectrum of the relativistic electrons produced has a reduced slope temperature compared to that predicted by ponderomotive scaling. Preformed underdense plasma has been found to bottleneck fast electrons due to the intense magnetic fields generated near the critical surface. In a thin long wire target, the overall propagation length of the fast electrons is about 160μm; however, surface fields guide a small fraction of electrons to longer distances. These results are in good agreement with the experiments and have demonstrated that the modeling of electron transport relevant to fast ignition can be pursued in an integrated manner.

Experimental evidence and theoretical analysis of photoionized plasma under x-ray radiation produced by an intense laser

Photoionized plasma was studied experimentally under laboratory conditions by means of high intensity short pulse lasers. The experiment consists of a gold cavity filled with nitrogen gas. Six laser beams were focused on the inner surface of the gold cavity, thereby generating an almost black-body radiation having temperature of 80eV inside the cavity. This radiation heats the nitrogen gas mainly by means of photoionization. L-shell emissions from N V to N VII have been observed in the wavelength range between 90 and 200Å. A time-dependent Detailed Configuration Accounting computer program has been developed to analyze the experimental spectra. In contrast to standard analysis of astrophysical observations, the evidence for photoionization is inferred from the spectral lines ratios. Comparison between the experimental and simulated line spectra indicates that the radiation heated nitrogen attains temperature of 20–30eV, much lower than the source radiation temperature. Paradoxically, it is also shown that similar line emissions can be reproduced computationally also when the radiation and plasma temperatures both equal approximately 60eV. This misleading result indicates that experimental simulation in laboratory is sometimes necessary to avoid misinterpretation of astrophysical spectra.

High-resolution 17–75keV backlighters for high energy density experiments

17 – 75 keV one- and two-dimensional high-resolution (<10μm) radiography has been developed using high-intensity short pulse lasers. High energy Kα sources are created by fluorescence from hot electrons interacting in the target material after irradiation by lasers with intensity IL>1017W∕cm2. High-resolution point projection one- and two-dimensional radiography has been achieved using microfoil and microwire targets attached to low-Z substrate materials. The microwire size was 10μm×10μm×300μm on a 300μm×300μm×5μm polystyrene substrate. The radiography experiments were performed using the Titan laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The results show that the resolution is dominated by the microwire target size and there is very little degradation from the plasma plume, implying that the high-energy x-ray photons are generated mostly within the microwire volume. There are enough Kα photons created with a 300J, 1-ω, 40ps pulse laser from these small volume targets, and that the signal-to-noise ratio is sufficiently high, for single shot radiography experiments. This unique technique will be used on future high energy density experiments at many new high-power laser facilities.

Laser-acceleration of high-energy protons in small-scale gradients

The parameters of proton beams accelerated by a high-intensity short pulse laser from a thin foil are studied for various small plasma gradients created on the rear-surface of the foil. Compared to the case of an initially cold foil, the proton beam maximum energy as well as the beam spectral slope reduce steadily when increasing the gradient scale length. The measurements are in good agreement with simulations. For future ion-driven Fast Ignition of fusion targets, multi-kJ Peta Watt laser pulses will induce target preheat due to the leading part of the laser pulse. Estimates of such preheat in these conditions suggest that it should modify by less than 10 % the ion beam parameters compared to the case of a unheated target.

Quasi-isentropic material property studies at extreme pressures: from Omega to NIF

We are developing an experimental platform that can compress materials quasi-isentropically to very high pressures at ultrahigh strain rates. This laser driven, ramped (shockless) drive is used to study material properties such as strength, equation of state, phase, and phase transition kinetics under extreme conditions. We have achieved a ramped, shockless drive up to 2 Mbar on the Omega laser using both direct laser illumination and indirect x-ray illumination. In order to probe high-Z materials under extreme pressures, we are also developing high energy x-ray backlighters, 17 to 100 keV, created by high intensity (>1018 W/cm2) short pulse lasers (1 to 50 ps) such as the Titan laser at LLNL. Using a micro-wire embedded in a low-Z substrate, we have obtained radiographs with better than 10 ?m spatial resolution. This paper will show designs of isentropic platforms that can reach >10 Mbar on the NIF laser, using both direct and indirect drive configurations.

Creation of hot dense matter in short-pulse laser-plasma interaction with tamped titanium foils

Dense titanium plasma has been heated to an electron temperature up to 1300eV with a 100TW, high intensity short-pulse laser. The experiments were conducted using Ti foils (5μm thick) sandwiched between layers of either aluminum (1 or 2μm thick) or plastic (2μm thick) to prevent the effects of prepulse. Targets of two different sizes, i.e., 250×250μm2 and 1×1mm2 were used. Spectral measurements of the Ti inner-shell emission, in the region between 4and5keV, were taken from the front-side (i.e., the laser illuminated side) of the target. The data show large shifts in the Kα emission from open-shell ions, suggesting bulk heating of the sample at near solid density, which was largest for reduced mass targets. Comparison with collisional radiative and 2D radiation hydrodynamics codes indicates a peak temperature of Te,peak=1300eV of solid titanium plasma in ∼0.2μm thin layer. Higher bulk temperature (Te,bulk=100eV) for aluminum tamped compared to CH tamped targets (Te,bulk=40eV) was observed. A possible explanation for this difference is described whereby scattering due to the nuclear charge of the tamping material leads to modified electron transport behavior.

Strongly enhanced laser absorption and electron acceleration via resonant excitation of surface plasma waves

Two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell numerical simulations of the interaction between a high-intensity short-pulse p-polarized laser beam and an overdense plasma are presented. It is shown that, under appropriate physical conditions, a surface plasma wave can be resonantly excited by a short-pulse laser wave, leading to strong relativistic electron acceleration together with a dramatic increase, up to 70%, of light absorption by the plasma. Purely 2D effects contribute to enhancement of electron acceleration. It is also found that the angular distribution of the hot electrons is drastically affected by the surface wave. The subsequent ion dynamics is shown to be significantly modified by the surface plasma wave excitation.

Advanced Photonics for SPARC or other FAIR projects

We describe how short-pulse high-intensity lasers and laser generated ion-, electronand table-top XFEL-beams may contribute in the future to SPARC or the FAIR project at GSI.

Extension of atomic configuration sets of the Non-LTE model in the application to the Kα diagnostics of hot dense matter

High intensity short-pulse laser experiments are used for various applications from fast ignitor concept to proton beam generation. These systems produce substantial fluxes of energetic electrons, and the production of Kα spectrum by these energetic electrons has become a key diagnostics of interaction of short-pulse laser and solid-density matter. In general, spectral modeling is required to derive the thermal electron temperature from measured Kα spectrum and it is essential to use a Non-LTE (local thermodynamic equilibrium) model for this purpose. In this paper, we investigate the assumptions necessary for the application of the Non-LTE models and show that an extensive set of configurations is required to provide a valid Kα diagnosis of hot dense matter.

Efficient coupling of high intensity short laser pulses into snow clusters

Measurements of energy absorption of high intensity laser pulses in snow clusters are reported. Targets consisting of sapphire coated with snow nanoparticles were found to absorb more than 95% of the incident light compared to 50% absorption in flat sapphire targets.

Nonlinear Thomson scattering with strong radiation damping

With the advent of high-intensity short pulse lasers it has become possible to achieve extremely high intensities. When such laser pulses interact with plasmas or high-energy electron beams, radiation damping, which is usually small, can become large. We examine the effects of radiation damping on the backscattered Thomson radiation numerically and analytically. Using parameters comparable to the laser and microtron at the Advanced Photon Research Center we find that the overall spectrum is down-shifted and that the overall amplitude of the radiation is smaller than in the case with no damping.

Collimated Multi-MeV Ion Beams from High-Intensity Laser Interactions with Underdense Plasma

A beam of multi-MeV helium ions has been observed from the interaction of a short-pulse high-intensity laser pulse with underdense helium plasma. The ion beam was found to have a maximum energy for He2+ of (40(+3)(-8)) MeV and was directional along the laser propagation path, with the highest energy ions being collimated to a cone of less than 10 degrees. 2D particle-in-cell simulations show that the ions are accelerated by a sheath electric field that is produced at the back of the gas target. This electric field is generated by transfer of laser energy to a hot electron beam, which exits the target generating large space-charge fields normal to its boundary.

Measurements of plasma-wave generation using a short-pulse high-intensity laser beat wave

Experiments to examine the generation of relativistic plasma waves via a high-intensity short-pulse beat-wave scheme are described in detail. The pulse stretcher of the Vulcan chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system was modified to produce two frequency, 3ps pulses focusable to intensities up to 1018Wcm−2. Short high-intensity pulses were used to avoid limitations to the plasma-wave amplitude due to the modulational instability. Two experiments were undertaken, at 3 and 10TW, with the generation of plasma waves diagnosed by measuring the sidebands produced in the spectrum of the forward scattered beam. A resonance in the sideband signal was observed for an initial plasma density higher than expected for the given beat frequency. This resonance shift can be attributed to transverse ponderomotive expulsion of plasma electrons from the laser focal region. A monotonically increasing background was also observed, which was due to nonresonant cross-phase modulation.

Laser-ablation treatment of short-pulse laser targets: Toward an experimental program on energetic-ion interactions with dense plasmas

This new project relies on the capabilities collocated at LosAlamos in theTrident laser facility of long-pulse laser drive, for laser-plasma formation, and high-intensity short-pulse laser drive, for relativistic laser-matter interaction experiments. Specifically, we are working to understand quantitatively the physics that underlie the generation of laserdriven MeV0nucleon ion beams, in order to extend these capabilities over a range of ion species, to optimize beam generation, and to control those beams. Furthermore, we intend to study the interaction of these novel laser-driven ion beams with dense plasmas, which are relevant to important topics such as the fast-ignition method of inertial confinement fusion ~ICF!, weapons physics, and planetary physics. We are interested in irradiating metallic foils with the Trident short-pulse laser to generate medium to heavy ion beams ~Z 20–45! with high efficiency. At present, target-surface impurities seem to be the main obstacle to reliable and efficient acceleration of metallic ions in the foil substrate.Inordertoquantifytheproblem,measurementsofsurfaceimpuritiesontypicalmetallic-foillasertargetswere made. To eliminate these impurities, we resorted to novel target-treatment techniques such as Joule-heating and laser-ablation, using a long-pulse laser intensity of ;10 10 W0cm 2 . Our progress on this promising effort is presented in this paper, along with a summary of the overall project.

Spectral and dynamical features of the electron bunch accelerated by a short-pulse high intensity laser in an underdense plasma

The results of the theoretical consideration and two-dimensional particle in cell simulation of electron acceleration with a short-pulse intense laser propagating through a finite length underdense plasma layer are presented. The fast electron energy spectrum and emittance are analyzed for moderate to high intensity and for different plasma density. It is shown that for laser pulse lengths above the plasma wake wavelength the wakefield accelerated electrons are further accelerated by the electromagnetic wave.

Comparison of Laser Ion Acceleration from the Front and Rear Surfaces of Thin Foils

The comparative efficiency and beam characteristics of high-energy ions generated by high-intensity short-pulse lasers (approximately 1-6 x 10(19) W/cm2) from both the front and rear surfaces of thin metal foils have been measured under identical conditions. Using direct beam measurements and nuclear activation techniques, we find that rear-surface acceleration produces higher energy particles with smaller divergence and a higher efficiency than front-surface acceleration. Our observations are well reproduced by realistic particle-in-cell simulations, and we predict optimal criteria for future applications.

Quasi-static particle simulation of short pulse laser-plasma interaction

We have successfully developed the two-dimensional quasi-static particle simulation code MLPIC2D, which is an effective numerical tool to be used to describe the long-time plasma behavior under the action of an ultra high intensity short pulse laser. Simple physical modeling, numerical realization and code framework are discussed in detail. Three nonlinear phenomena of laser-plasma interaction:1) production of laser wake-fields, 2)relativistic focusing for short laser pulses, 3)quasi-static magnetic fields, are correctly simulated and analysed.

Observations of the filamentation of high-intensity laser-produced electron beams

Filamented electron beams have been observed to be emitted from the rear of thin solid targets irradiated by a high-intensity short-pulse laser when there is low-density plasma present at the back of the target. These observations are consistent with a laser-generated beam of relativistic electrons propagating through the target, which is subsequently fragmented by a Weibel-like instability in the low-density plasma at the rear. These measurements are in agreement with particle-in-cell simulations and theory, since the filamentation instability is predicted to be dramatically enhanced when the electron beam density approaches that of the background plasma.