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Using quantum electrodynamics particle-in-cell simulations, we optimize the gamma flare ($\gamma$-flare) generation scheme from interaction of high power petawatt-class laser pulse with tailored cryogenic hydrogen target having extended preplasma corona. We show that it is possible to generate an energetic flare of photons with energies in the GeV range and total flare energy being on a kilojoule level with an efficient conversion of the laser pulse energy to $\gamma$-photons. We discuss how the target engineering and laser pulse parameters influence the $\gamma$-flare generation efficiency. This type of experimental setup for laser-based $\gamma$ source would be feasible for the upcoming high power laser facilities. Applications of high intensity $\gamma$ ray beams are also discussed., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures

Plasma properties inside a hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide were modeled with dissipative magnetohydrodynamic simulations to enable analysis of capillaries of circular and square cross-sections implying that square capillaries can be used to guide circularly-symmetric laser beams. When the quasistationary stage of the discharge is reached, the plasma and temperature in the vicinity of the capillary axis has almost the same profile for both the circular and square capillaries. The effect of cross-section on the electron beam focusing properties were studied using the simulation-derived magnetic field map. Particle tracking simulations showed only slight effects on the electron beam symmetry in the horizontal and diagonal directions for square capillary., 6 pages, 10 figures

Analysis is presented of K‐shell spectra obtained from solid density plasmas produced by a high contrast (1010:1) subpicosecond laser pulse (0.5 μm) at 1018–1019 W/cm2. Stark broadening measurements of He‐like and Li‐like lines are used to infer the mean electron density at which emission takes place. The measurements indicate that there is an optimum condition to produce x‐ray emission at solid density for a given isoelectronic sequence, and that the window of optimum conditions to obtain simultaneously the shortest and the brightest x‐ray pulse at a given wavelength is relatively narrow. Lower intensity produces a short x‐ray pulse but low brightness. The x‐ray yield (and also the energy fraction in hot electrons) increases with the laser intensity, but above some laser intensity (1018 W/cm2 for Al) the plasma is overdriven: during the expansion, the plasma is still hot enough to emit, so that emission occurs at lower density and lasts much longer. Energy transport measurements indicate that approximate...

Recent experiments done at Prague with the 600 J/0.2 ns PALS laser interacting with a layer of boron dopants in a hydrogen enriched target have produced around 109 alphas. We suggest that these unexpected very high fusion reactions of proton with 11B indicate an avalanche multiplication for the measured anomalously high nuclear reaction yields. This can be explained by elastic nuclear collisions in the broad 600 keV energy band, which is coincident with the high nuclear p-11B fusion cross section, by the way of multiplication through generation of three secondary alpha particles from a single primarily produced alpha particle.

The evolution of an s-polarized relativistic electromagnetic soliton created in multi-species plasma by an intense short laser pulse is investigated using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The multi-component plasma consists of electrons and high-Z ions with a small addition of protons. By comparison, the evolution of postsoliton is very different from that in hydrogen plasma. A halo-like structure is found in spatial patterns of both electromagnetic fields and electron densities. The process of energy depletion is much slower due to the smaller charge-to-mass ratio of ions, which implies a better way of detecting postsolitons in simulations and experiments. In addition, it is found that the Coulomb explosion of high-Z ions in the postsoliton stage facilitates low-Z ion acceleration, and the maximum energy of low-Z ions increases with the component ratio of high-Z to low-Z ions.