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International audience; The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) has selected in 2006 a proposal based on ultra-intense laser fields with intensities reaching up to 1022–1023 W cm−2 called 'ELI' for Extreme Light Infrastructure. The construction of a large-scale laser-centred, distributed pan-European research infrastructure, involving beyond the state-of-the-art ultra-short and ultra-intense laser technologies, received the approval for funding in 2011–2012. The three pillars of the ELI facility are being built in Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. The Romanian pillar is ELI-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP). The new facility is intended to serve a broad national, European and International science community. Its mission covers scientific research at the frontier of knowledge involving two domains. The first one is laser-driven experiments related to nuclear physics, strong-field quantum electrodynamics and associated vacuum effects. The second is based on a Compton backscattering high-brilliance and intense low-energy gamma beam (

International audience; We present a nickel-like Molybdenum x-ray laser (XRL) based on the transient collisional excitation scheme. Extending the double grazing-incidence pumping scheme to a triple pulse scheme with a nanosecond pre-pulse and two consecutive 3 ps pulses the output power of the XRL can be similar to 6 times increased compared to existing configurations, while using a relatively low total pump energy of 0.7 J. Additionally we show that this setup can be extended to a double stage, oscillator and amplifier stage, XRL.

International audience; The measurement of energy spectra of neutrons and gamma rays emitted by nuclei, together with charge particles spectroscopy, are the main tools for understanding nuclear phenomena occurring also in high power laser driven experiments. However, the large number of particles emitted in a very short time, in particular the strong X-rays flash produced in laser-target interaction, impose adaptation of technique currently used in nuclear physics experiment at accelerator based facilities. These aspects are discussed (Section 1) in the context of proposed studies at high power laser system of ELI-NP. Preliminary results from two experiments performed at Titan (LLNL) and ELFIE (LULI) facilities using plastic scintillators for neutron detection (Section 2) and LaBr3 (Ce) scintillators for gamma detection (Section 3) are presented demonstrating the capabilities and the limitations of the employed methods. Possible improvements of these spectroscopic methods and their proposed implementation at ELI-NP will be discussed as well in the last section.

International audience; A soft x-ray laser from Ni-like Mo, pumped in grazing incidence (GRIP), is analyzed with regard to high repetition rate operation. Reliable lasing is obtained, but with significant energy fluctuations attributed mainly to beam pointing jitter from the pump laser. Two modes of operation are compared: continuously moving target and stationary target. With a moving target the soft X-ray output is constant on average, whereas the repeated use of the same target position leads to a pulse energy which increases for several tens of shots. This effect might be caused by improved guiding of the pump laser in the formed groove and the removal, through laser ablation, of the oxide layer on the target surface.

The structures, the electromagnetic transitions, and the beta decay strengths of exotic nuclei are investigated within an extended cluster model. We start by deriving an effective nuclear Hamiltonian within the $S_2$ correlation operator. Tensor forces are introduced in a perturbative expansion which includes up to the second order terms. Within this Hamiltonian we calculate the distributions and the radii of A=3,~4 nuclei. For exotic nuclei characterized by n valence protons/neutrons we excite the structure of the closed shell nuclei via mixed modes formed by considering correlations operators of higher order. Good results have been obtained for the calculated transitions and for the beta decay transition probabilities., 8-pages, 5-figures

Energy spectra and electromagnetic transitions of nuclei are strongly depending from the correlations of the bound nucleons. Two particle correlations are responsible for the scattering of model particles either to low momentum- or to high momentum-states. The low momentum states form the model space while the high momentum states are used to calculate the G-matrix. The three and higher order particle correlations do not play a role in the latter calculation especially if the correlations induced by the scattering operator are of sufficient short range. They modify however, via the long tail of the nuclear potential, the Slater determinant of the A particles by generating excited Slater's determinants. In this work the influence of the correlations on the level structure and ground state distributions of even open shell nuclei is analyzed via the boson dynamic correlation model BDCM. The model is based on the unitary operator $e^S$ ({\it S} is the correlation operator) formalism which in this paper is presented within a non perturbative approximation. The low lying spectrum calculated for $^6$Li reproduce very well the experimental spectrum while for $^6$He a charge radius slightly larger than that obtained within the isotopic-shift (IS) theory has been calculated. Good agreement between theoretical and experimental results has been obtained without the introduction of a genuine three body force., 25 pages 4 figures. To be published in the Progress Theoretical Physics

For a better understanding of the dynamics of exotic nuclei it is of crucial importance to develop a practical microscopic theory easy to be applied to a wide range of masses. Theoretically the basic task consists in formulating an easy solvable theory able to reproduce structures and transitions of known nuclei which should be then used to calculate the sparely known properties of proton- or neutron-rich nuclei. In this paper we start by calculating energies and distributions of A\leq4 nuclei withing a unitary correlation model restricted to include only two-body correlations. The structure of complex nuclei is then calculated extending the model to include correlation effects of higher order., 10 pages, 4 figures. Final Version to be published in "Progress of Particle and Nuclear Physics (2007)

Soft x-ray emission, above 600 eV, from a grazing incidence pumped Ni-like Mo x-ray laser (GRIP-XRL) [1] plasma was investigated. Using a pinhole camera looking along the target surface, perpendicular to the direction of the XRL emission, spatially-resolved information was obtained with a resolution which was limited only by the pinhole size of 10 μm. The relative distance from the target surface to the plasma zone heated by th e picosecond pulse was investigated for different GRIP angles, energy ratios and delays between the plasma producing and the plasma heating pulses.

We present recent results on the extensive investigation of a Ni-like Mo X-ray laser pumped in the transient regime and GRIP configuration (grazing incidence pumping). The pump laser was the 10 Hz, multiterawatt, Ti:Sa Lund University laser system in Sweden. The main diagnostic was a monochromatic near-field imaging system with a 1.7 micron spatial resolution. Intense lasing was observed routinely at 18.9 nm with up to 3 microJoule output energy and stable operation at 10 Hz was demonstrated in 100-shot sequences. We have investigated the role of several pumping parameters, in particular the relative energy and delay between the long and short pulse. A preliminary investigation was done on the effect of a low energy prepulse. Finally, the grazing angle of the pumping pulse was systematically varied between 13 and 21°, while keeping all parameters constant. We show that this multi-parameter scan leads to a well-defined optimal zone of operation and better understanding of the GRIP configuration.

The influence of the composition and the microstructure of laser cladded metal matrix composite (MMC) coatings on their mechanical properties (namely hardness and adhesive wear resistance) was investigated in this study. Laser cladding on pure Al substrate was carried out using a continuous wave (cw) Nd:YAG laser and a coaxial powder injection system. Composite coatings were based on an Al metallic matrix bearing a Si content ranging from 0 to 40 wt.% Si and reinforced with TiC particles with a volume fraction ranging from 0 to 30%. The coating microstructure was characterised by optical microscopy and XRD. Mechanical properties of the samples were determined by hardness and adhesive wear testing. The microstructure of the coatings was homogeneous and free of pores or cracks. Carbides were uniformly distributed throughout the coating cross-section. The addition of Si and TiC reinforcement particles increases the bulk hardness of the coatings and strongly influences the wear mechanism. Indeed, depending on the TiC volume fraction and Si content, the coating wear, characterised by a ball-on-disk device, appeared as mild, severe or surface fatigue wear.

A spectroscopic study of the gold nanoparticle (NP) formation by high-intensity femtosecond laser irradiation of a gold ion solution was reported. The effect of varying energy density of the laser on the formation of gold NPs was also investigated. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak of the gold nanocolloid in real-time UV-visible absorption spectra during laser irradiation showed a distinctive progress; the SPR absorption peak intensity increased after a certain irradiation time, reached a maximum and then gradually decreased. During this absorption variation, at the same time, the peak wavelength changed from 530 to 507 nm. According to an empirical equation derived from a large volume of experimental data, the estimated mean size of the gold NPs varied from 43.4 to 3.2 nm during the laser irradiation. The mean size of gold NPs formed at specific irradiation times by transmission electron microscopy showed the similar trend as that obtained in the spectroscopic analysis. From these observations, the formation mechanism of gold NPs during laser irradiation was considered to have two steps. The first is a reduction of gold ions by reactive species produced through a non-linear reaction during high intensity laser irradiation of the solution; the second is the laser fragmentation of produced gold particles into smaller pieces. The gold nanocolloid produced after the fragmentation by excess irradiation showed high stability for at least a week without the addition of any dispersant because of the negative charge on the surface of the nanoparticles probably due to the surface oxidation of gold nanoparticles. A higher laser intensity resulted in a higher efficiency of gold NPs fabrication, which was attributed to a larger effective volume of the reaction.

A polycrystalline graphite target was irradiated using infrared (800 nm) femtosecond (120 fs) laser pulses of different energies. Increase of sp 3 bonds percentage and possible diamond crystal formation were investigated ‘in-depth’ and on the irradiated surfaces. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction pattern have shown the presence of a diamond peak in one of the irradiated zones while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations have shown an increasing tendency of the sp 3 percent in the low power irradiated areas and similarly ‘in the depth’ of the higher power irradiated zones. Multiple wavelength Micro-Raman investigations have confirmed this trend along with an ‘in-depth’ (but not on the surface) increase of the crystallite size. Based on the wavelength dependent photon absorption into graphite, the observed effects are correlated with high density photon per atom and attributed to the melting and recrystallization processes taking place tens of nanometers below the target surface.

With the latest increases in maximum laser intensity achievable through short pulses at high power (femtosecond range) an interest has arisen in potential laser plasma sources. Lasers are used in proton radiography, rapid ignition, hadrontherapy, production of radioisotopes and astrophysical laboratory. During the laser-target interaction, the ions are accelerated by different physical processes, depending on the area of ​​the target. All these mechanisms have one thing in common: the ions are accelerated by intense electric fields, which occur due to the separation of high charge induced by the interaction of the laser pulse with the target, directly or indirectly. Two main distinct sources for charge displacement can be identified. The first is the charge gradient caused by the direct action of the laser ponderomotive force on the electrons in the front surface of the target, which is the premise for the pressure ramping acceleration (RPA) process. A second source can be identified as coming from the laser radiation which is transformed into kinetic energy of a hot relativistic electron population (~ a few MeV). The hot electrons move and recirculate through the target and form a cloud of relativistic electrons at the exit of the target in a vacuum. This cloud, which extends for several lengths of Debye, creates an extremely intense longitudinal electric field, mostly directed along the normal surface, which is therefore the cause of effective ion acceleration, which leads to the normal target sheath acceleration (TNSA) process. The TNSA mechanism makes it possible to use different target geometries in order to obtain a better focusing of the beams of particles on the order of several tens of microns, with high energy densities. Hot electrons are produced by irradiating a solid sheet with an intense laser pulse; these electrons are transported through the target, forming a strong electrostatic field, normal to the target surface. Protons and positively charged ions from the back surface of the target are accelerated by this domain until the charge of the electron is compensated. The density of hot electrons and the temperature in the back vacuum depend on the target geometric and compositional properties such as target curvature, pulse and microstructure tuning structures for enhanced proton acceleration. In my first year I studied the effects of target geometry on the proton and energy ion and angular distribution in order to optimize the accelerated laser particle beams by means of two-dimensional (2D) particle -in-cell (PIC) simulations of the interaction of ultra-short laser pulses with several microstructured targets. Also during this year, I studied the theory behind the models used.; Avec les dernières augmentations de l'intensité maximale de laser réalisable grâce à de courtes impulsions à haute puissance (gamme femtoseconde) un intérêt a surgi dans les sources de plasma laser potentiels. Les lasers sont utilisés en radiographie proton, allumage rapide, hadronthérapie, la production de radioisotopes et de laboratoire astrophysique. Au cours de l'interaction laser-cible, les ions sont accélérés par des processus physiques différents, en fonction de la zone de la cible. Tous ces mécanismes ont un point commun: les ions sont accélérés par des champs électriques intenses, qui se produisent en raison de la séparation de forte charge induite par l'interaction de l'impulsion laser avec la cible, directement ou indirectement. Deux principales sources distinctes pour le déplacement de charge peuvent être mis en évidence. Le premier est le gradient de charge provoquée par l'action directe de la force ponderomotive de laser sur les électrons dans la surface avant de la cible, qui est la prémisse pour le processus d'accélération des radiations de pression (RPA). Une deuxième source peut être identifiée comme provenant du rayonnement laser qui est transformée en énergie cinétique d'une population d'électrons relativistes chaud (~ quelques MeV). Les électrons chauds se déplacent et font recirculer à travers la cible et forment un nuage d'électrons relativistes à la sortie de la cible dans le vide. Ce nuage, qui se prolonge pour plusieurs longueurs de Debye, crée un champ électrique extrêmement intense longitudinal, la plupart du temps dirigé le long de la surface normale, ce qui, par conséquent, est la cause de l'accélération d'ions efficace, qui conduit à l'accélération cible normale gaine (TNSA) processus . Le mécanisme TNSA permet d'utiliser des géométries différentes cibles afin de parvenir à une meilleure focalisation des faisceaux de particules de l'ordre de plusieurs dizaines de microns, avec des densités d'énergie élevées. Les électrons chauds sont produits par l'irradiation d'une feuille solide avec une impulsion laser intense; ces électrons sont transportés à travers la cible, la formation d'un champ électrostatique fort, normal à la surface cible. Protons et les ions chargés positivement de la surface arrière de la cible sont accélérés par ce domaine jusqu'à ce que la charge de l'électron est compensée. La densité d'électrons chauds et la température dans le vide arrière dépendent des propriétés géométriques et de composition cibles tels que la courbure de la cible, les structures de mise au point d'impulsion et de microstructure pour l'accélération de protons améliorée. Au cours de ma première année, j'ai étudié les effets de la géométrie de la cible sur le proton et l'ion énergie et la distribution angulaire afin d'optimiser les faisceaux de particules laser accéléré au moyen de deux dimensions (2D) particule-in-cell (PIC) simulations de l'interaction de l'ultra-court impulsions laser avec plusieurs cibles microstructurées. Également au cours de cette année, je l'ai étudié la théorie derrière les modèles utilisés.