Search

Powerful nanosecond laser-plasma processes are explored to generate discharge currents of a few 100 kA in coil targets, yielding magnetostatic fields (B-fields) in excess of 0.5 kT. The quasi-static currents are provided from hot electron ejection from the laser-irradiated surface. According to our model, which describes the evolution of the discharge current, the major control parameter is the laser irradiance I las λ las 2 . The space-time evolution of the B-fields is experimentally characterized by high-frequency bandwidth B-dot probes and proton-deflectometry measurements. The magnetic pulses, of ns-scale, are long enough to magnetize secondary targets through resistive diffusion. We applied it in experiments of laser-generated relativistic electron transport through solid dielectric targets, yielding an unprecedented 5-fold enhancement of the energy-density flux at 60 μm depth, compared to unmagnetized transport conditions. These studies pave the ground for magnetized high-energy density physics investigations, related to laser-generated secondary sources of radiation and/or high-energy particles and their transport, to high-gain fusion energy schemes, and to laboratory astrophysics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports an experimental investigation of a scheme to produce an intense, pulsed, pointlike, and quasi-monoenergy neutron source. In this scheme, the inner wall of a deuterated plastic spherical cavity is mono-directionally irradiated by a 2.4 kJ laser beam through an open-tip gold cone inserted into the cavity. The whole inner wall of the cavity is illuminated by laser light owing to multiple laser reflections, and the laser-ablated plasma stagnates near the center of the cavity, at which a several keV hot spot is generated. Thermonuclear and beam D-D fusion reactions occur in the hot spot. We have demonstrated the neutron yield exceeding 107 neutrons per pulse from a<100 μm diameter hot spot with the deuterated plastic cavity and mono-directional GEKKO-XII laser irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous experimental measurements of copper Kα imaging and the maximum target normal sheath acceleration proton energies from the rear target surface are compared for various target thicknesses. For the T-cubed laser (≈4 J, 400 fs) at an intensity of ≈2 × 1019 W cm-2, the hot electron divergence is determined to be θHW HM≈22° using a Kα imaging diagnostic. The maximum proton energies are measured to follow the expected reduction with increasing target thickness. Numerical modeling produces copper Kα trends for both signal level and electron beam divergence that are in good agreement with the experiment. A geometric model describing the electron beam divergence reproduces the maximum proton energy trends observed from the experiment and the fast electron density and the peak electric field observed in the numerical modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present experimental and numerical results on the propagation and energy deposition of laser-generated fast electrons into conical targets. The first part reports on experimental measurements performed in various configurations in order to assess the predicted benefit of conical targets over standard planar ones. For the conditions investigated here, the fast electron-induced heating is found to be much weaker in cone-guided targets irradiated at a laser wavelength of 1.057 μm, whereas frequency doubling of the laser pulse permits us to bridge the disparity between conical and planar targets. This result underscores the prejudicial role of the prepulse-generated plasma, whose confinement is enhanced in conical geometry. The second part is mostly devoted to the particle-in-cell modeling of the laser-cone interaction. In qualitative agreement with the experimental data, the calculations show that the presence of a large preplasma leads to a significant decrease in the fast electron density and energy flux near the target rear side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of fast electron spectrum optimization by suppression of preformed plasma in fast ignition targets is presented in this work. Integrated fast-electron spectra for electron energies below 3 MeV—the energy range responsible for core heating—are compared for different preformed plasma conditions. The pulse contrast (the ratio of peak-to-pedestal laser intensities) is compared for 108, 109 and 1011 conditions at constant laser energy (~500 J), pulse duration (2 ps), spot size (30% encircled energy on 50 µm diameter) and laser intensity (around 1  ×  1019 W cm−2). The best electron spectrum optimization, consisting of maximized electron number for energies below 3 MeV was obtained with 14 µm thick cone targets. The energy coupling efficiency from heating laser to core plasma, assuming typical core plasma parameters, was estimated to be 2%, although 0.37% was obtained with previous conditions with poor pulse contrast and a 7 µm thick cone target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Generation of high intensity and well collimated multi-energetic proton beams from laser–matter interaction extends the possibility to use protons as a diagnostic tool to image imploding target in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments. Due to the very large mass densities reached during implosion, protons traveling through the target undergo a very large number of collisions. Therefore the analysis of experimentally obtained proton images requires care and accurate numerical simulations using both hydrodynamic and Monte Carlo codes. The impact of multiple scattering needs to be carefully considered by taking into account the exact stopping power for dense matter and for the underdense plasma corona. In our paper, density, temperature and ionization degree profiles of the imploding target are obtained by 2D hydrodynamic simulations performed using CHIC code. Proton radiography images are simulated using the Monte Carlo code (MCNPX; adapted to correctly describe multiple scattering and plasma stopping power) in order to reconstruct the complete hydrodynamic history of the imploding target. Finally we develop a simple analytical model to study the performance of proton radiography as a function of initial experimental parameters, and identify two different regimes for proton radiography in ICF. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Refluxing of fast electrons generated by high-intensity, short-pulse lasers was investigated by measuring electron-induced Ka x rays from a buried tracer layer. Using planar foils of Au/Cu/CH, the 150-J, 0.7-ps TITAN short-pulse laser was focused on the gold foil to generate fast electrons and the 3-ns, 300-J long pulse beam irradiated on the CH side to create expanding plasma as a conducting medium. By delaying the short-pulse beam timing from the long pulse laser irradiation, the plasma size was varied to change electron refluxing in the target rear. The total yields and two-dimensional images of 8.05-keV Cu-Ka x ray were recorded with an x-ray spectrometer and two monochromatic crystal imagers. The measurements show that the integrated yields decrease by a factor of 10 from refluxing to the nonrefluxing limit. Similar radial profiles of the Ka images in the rear were observed at all delays. Hybrid-particle-in-cell simulations using plasma profiles calculated by a radiation-hydrodynamic code HYDRA agree well with the measured Ka yields. The simulations suggest that conducting plasma with the size of ~300 µm in the laser direction and ~600 µm in the lateral direction at the density of 2 × 1020 1/cm³ is sufficiently large to prevent electrons from refluxing in the target. The parameters found in this study can be useful in designing experiments utilizing a Ka x-ray source in refluxing regime or a tracer layer in nonrefluxing regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]