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In ultra-short laser pulses, small changes in dispersion properties before the final focusing mirror can lead to severe pulse distortions around the focus and therefore to very different pulse properties at the point of laser-matter interaction yielding unexpected interaction results. The mapping between far and near-field laser properties intricately depends on the spatial and angular dispersion properties as well as the focal geometry. For a focusing Gaussian laser pulse subject to angular, spatial, and group delay dispersion, we derive analytical expressions for its pulse-front tilt, duration, and width from a fully analytic expression for its electric field in time-space domain. This expression is not only valid in and near the focus but along the entire propagation distance from the focusing mirror to the focus. Together with expressions relating angular, spatial, and group delay dispersion before focusing at an off-axis parabola to the respective values in the pulse’s focus, these formulas are used to show in example setups that pulse-front tilts of lasers with small initial dispersion can become several ten degrees large in the vicinity of the focus while being small directly in the focus. The formulas derived here provide the analytical foundation for observations previously made in numerical experiments. By numerically simulating Gaussian pulse propagation and measuring properties of the pulse at distances several Rayleigh lengths off the focus we verified the analytic expressions.

We report on the development of a pump system for ultrafast optical parametric amplifiers (uOPA) as an upgrade for the existing uOPA at the Petawatt High Energy Laser for heavy Ion eXperiments (PHELIX) and the new Petawatt ENergy-Efficient Laser for Optical Plasma Experiments (PEnELOPE). The system consists of a two-stage chirped pulse amplifier, centered around a high energy Yb:YAG regenerative amplifier that delivers 108 mJ uncompressed output energy, resulting in 92 mJ at 1030 nm after compression, pulse durations of 1.4 ps, a high beam quality of Mx/y2 = 1.02 / 1.16 and a relative energy stability of 0.35 %. A second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of up to 70 % is achievable and a maximum pulse energy of 43 mJ at 515 nm has been obtained, which is only limited by the damage threshold of the SHG crystal. A self-phase modulation stage makes this system a widely applicable, self-seedable pump module for uOPA without placing strong requirements on its seed oscillator.

We report on the development of an ultrafast optical parametric amplifier (uOPA) front-end for the Petawatt High Energy Laser for heavy Ion eXperiments (PHELIX) and the Petawatt ENergy-Efficient Laser for Optical Plasma Experiments (PE NELOPE). This front-end delivers broadband and stable amplification up to 1 mJ per pulse while maintaining a high beam quality. Its implementation at PHELIX allowed to bypass a front-end amplifier that was known to be a source of pre-pulses. With the bypass, an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) contrast of 4.9·10−13 and a pre-pulse c ntrast of 6.2·10−11 could be realized. Due to its high stability, high beam quality and its versatile pump amplifier, the system offers an alternative for high-gain regenerative amplifiers in the front-end of vario

We introduce an Öffner stretcher for the diode-pumped Petawatt laser system PENELOPE developed at the HZDR. Spectral and temporal aspects of the stretcher system with large aperture spherical mirrors (600 mm and 250 mm) are analyzed with respect to pulse shape and pulse contrast ratio.

We report on experimental investigations of proton acceleration from solid foils irradiated with PW‑class laser‑pulses, where highest proton cut‑off energies were achieved for temporal pulse parameters that varied significantly from those of an ideally Fourier transform limited (FTL) pulse. Controlled spectral phase modulation of the driver laser by means of an acousto‑optic programmable dispersive filter enabled us to manipulate the temporal shape of the last picoseconds around the main pulse and to study the effect on proton acceleration from thin foil targets. The results show that applying positive third order dispersion values to short pulses is favourable for proton acceleration and can lead to maximum energies of 70 MeV in target normal direction at 18 J laser energy for thin plastic foils, significantly enhancing the maximum energy compared to ideally compressed FTL pulses. The paper further proves the robustness and applicability of this enhancement effect for the use of different target materials and thicknesses as well as laser energy and temporal intensity contrast settings. We demonstrate that application relevant proton beam quality was reliably achieved over many months of operation with appropriate control of spectral phase and temporal contrast conditions using a state‑of‑the‑art high‑repetition rate PW laser system.

We report on a compact diode-pumped, chirped pulse regenerative amplifier system with a pulse duration of 162 fs and an output pulse energy of 1 mJ before as well as 910 µJ after compression optimized for the probing of ultrafast relativistic laser-plasma processes. A chirped volume Bragg grating (CVBG) acts as a combined pulse stretcher/compressor representing a robust solution for a CPA laser system in the millijoule range. Yb3+:CaF2 is used as gain medium to support a large bandwidth of 16 nm (FWHM) when spectral gain shaping is applied. Chirped mirrors compensate for any additional dispersion introduced to the system.

High-intensity short-pulse lasers enable novel compact accelerator schemes for the generation of energetic ion beams. The experimental investigation of the process remains challenging due to the femtosecond timescale and micrometer size of the acceleration. Commonly, diagnostic results are explained by a comparison of the experimental findings with computationally expensive particle-in-cell simulations. Cryogenic hydrogen jet targets (~30 critical densities) with µm-scale transverse size are particularly well suited for this approach. Time-resolved diagnostics like optical probing can infer the state of the target at the initialization time of the simulation and benchmark the simulation results. Here we present the implementation of an off-harmonic optical probing setup at an experiment for laser proton acceleration with a cylindrical hydrogen jet target at the DRACO PW laser with plasma-mirror cleaned laser contrast. We show under which conditions the technique overcomes the problem of parasitic plasma self-emission, present technical aspects of the off-harmonic probing technique together with experimental results of the observed plasma dynamics.

We present a status update of the PEnELOPE laser system currently under construction at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. We show the first energetic activation of the first major amplification stage on the 10 Joule-level in order to benchmark the performance of the whole last two amplifier sections and the progress at the last amplifier section in order to achieve a first activation.

Laser ion accelerators utilize high-power laser pulses in tight-focusing geometries to provide pulsed, high-intensity ion beams. Efficient capturing, transport and application of these beams is an ongoing effort which depends on precise knowledge of the accelerated ion distribution's properties and how to control these. For example, it is known that the propagation direction of the accelerated ions can be controlled by tilting the driving laser pulse-front. Since laser pulse-front tilts can be present accidentally, for example by a small misalignment of the compressor gratings in a chirped-pulse amplification system, knowledge of the scaling of the pulse-front tilt at a target position is desired. The talk gives relations for pulse-front orientation dependent on setup parameters and identifies regimes were pulse-front tilt has a sizable impact.

We show how optical free-electron lasers and enhanced incoherent Thomson scattering radiation sources can be realized with Traveling-Wave Thomson-Scattering (TWTS) today. Emphasis is put on the realization of optical free-electron lasers (OFELs) with existing state-of-the-art technology for laser systems and electron accelerators. The conceptual design of optical setups for the preparation of laser pulses suitable for TWTS OFELs and enhanced Thomson sources is presented. We further provide expressions to estimate the acceptable alignment tolerances of optical components for TWTS OFEL operation. Examples of TWTS OFELs radiating at 100 nm, 13.5 nm and 1.5 Å as well as an incoherent source at 40 pm highlight the feasibility of the concept and detail the procedure to determine the optical components parameters of a TWTS setup.

We present an update on the development of the PENELOPE laser system currently under construction at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany. Pulses from an oscillator are stretched to the nanosecond scale before several amplification stages will boost the energy up to the 150 J level on target. About 150 fs are foreseen at repetition rates of up to 1 Hz, ultimately yielding a peak power of 1 PW. Our primary objective lies currently on the compression of the amplified pulses on the Joule scale. First tests used a direct compression of the stretched oscillator output (hence a small beam size), while the amplified compression will be performed with the full sized beam. Compressibility of the full scale beam is therefore of major interest. The second target is the improvement of the average power capacity of especially the second to the last amplifiers section. Room temperature operation is the main aim for the close future with lower temperature operation envisioned.

We demonstrate the results of morphometric investigations of hybrids in Veronica subg. Pseudolysimachium (V. × altaica Kosachev und V. × kolyvanensis Kosachev et Shmakov) and their parents. Based on PCoA analysis with seven morphological characters, we reveal an intermediate position of the investigated hybrids and the most important taxonomic characters: ratio of length and width of the lamina of the upper leaves, height of plants, length of the longest corolla lobe and calyx lobe, presence of hairs on the calyx and their position, as well as the length of hairs on the internode below the inflorescence.

Compact synchrotron and SASE-FEL sources in the hard X-ray range require both compact electron accelerators and undulators. Traveling-Wave Thomson-Scattering (TWTS) provides an all-optical undulator with hundreds to thousands of undulator periods from high-power, pulse-front tilted lasers pulses. These allow to realize optical free-electron lasers (OFELs) with state-of-the-art technology in electron accelerators and laser systems. We provide an overview on the applications that become possible with TWTS -- bright Thomson sources with high photon-yields, all-optical FELs and a novel class of laser-plasma accelerators not limited by dephasing and pump depletion. We outline both experimental and computational challenges and present recent results.

Generating and controlling ultrashort, pulse-front tilted laser pulses is essential for Traveling-Wave Electron Acceleration (TWEAC), Traveling-Wave Thomson Scattering (TWTS) and Traveling-Wave Optical FELs (TWTS-OFELs). All these applications require controlling angular and group-delay dispersion, while keeping experimental setups as compact as possible. However, the varying requirements with respect to laser power, extent of focal region, incident angles and laser mode quality lead to differing strategies in designing experimental setups. In this overview poster we provide answers to the question: What experimental efforts in terms of laser system and optics are necessary in current labs for first proof-of-principle realizations of the different applications of "Traveling-Wave" laser pulses -- ranging from low-bandwidth and yield-enhanced Thomson sources (TWTS), laser-based electron accelerators beyond the LWFA depletion and dephasing limits (TWEAC) and ultimately an optical free-electron laser (TWTS-OFEL)?

In Traveling-Wave Thomson-Scattering pulse-front tilted, petawatt class laser pulses are scattered off relativistic electrons to realize compact optical free-electron lasers or brilliant incoherent X-ray sources with state-of-the-art electron accelerators and high-power laser systems. Example setups of TWTS OFELs providing ultraviolet radiation are presented together with an optical setup to compensate laser dispersion.

Traveling-Wave Thomson-Scattering (TWTS) provides optical undulators with hundreds to thousands of undulator periods from high-power, pulse-front tilted lasers pulses. These allow to realize optical free-electron lasers (OFELs) with state-of-the-art technology in electron accelerators and laser systems. TWTS employs a side-scattering geometry where laser and electron propagation direction of motion enclose the interaction angle. Tilting the laser pulse front with respect to the wave front by half the interaction angle ensures continuous overlap over the whole laser pulse width while the electrons cross the laser beam path. Scaling laws and analytical models allow identifying experimentally promising FEL regimes for feasible setup geometries. However, selfconsistently including all non-ideal effects in a 3D FEL simulations is desirable for predicting TWTS-OFEL designs with quantitive performance and tolerance characteristics suitable for engineering an optimal proof-of-principle experiment. In this talk we outline the challenges that existing FEL codes cannot cope with the non-collinear geometry of TWTS-OFELs, show how we solve these using the particle-in-cell code PIConGPU as 3D-FEL code and present first results.

We present an Yb:YAG laser system for transform limited pulses with variable tuning range between 10ps and 100ps. The spectral bandwidth of fs pulses is narrowed by an intra-cavity grating monochromator in a regenerative amplifier.

Traveling-Wave Thomson-Scattering (TWTS) allows for the realization of ultra-compact, inherently synchronized and highly brilliant light sources by providing optical undulators with hundreds to thousands of undulator periods from high-power, pulse-front tilted lasers pulses. With TWTS the realization of optical free-electron lasers (OFELs) as well as incoherent radiation sources with orders of magnitude higher photon yields than classic head-on Thomson sources becomes possible with state-of-the-art technology in electron accelerators and laser systems. The talk will show how pulse-front tilted, petawatt class laser pulses and relativistic electrons work together in a side-scattering geometry, where laser end electron propagation direction of motion enclose an angle, to realize long but compact optical undulators with centimeter to meter-scale interaction distances at sub-millimeter undulator periods. Example setups of TWTS OFELs emitting ultraviolet radiation are presented which are realizable today with existing technology for electron accelerators and laser systems. Especially the ultra-low emittance of laser wakefield accelerated electron bunches can be exploited to compensate for their one percent level energy spreads. Further an experimental setup is presented to generate the tilted TWTS laser pulses. This setup strategy provides dispersion compensation, required due to angular dispersion of the laser pulse, and is especially relevant when building compact, high-yield hard X-ray TWTS sources in large interaction angle setups.

We report on first commissioning results of the DRACO Petawatt ultra-short pulse laser system implemented at the ELBE center for high power radiation sources of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Key parameters of the laser system essential for efficient and reproducible performance of plasma accelerators are presented and discussed with the demonstration of 40MeV proton acceleration under TNSA conditions as well as peaked electron spectra with unprecedented bunch charge in the 0.5 nC range.

We present the status of the PENELOPE laser system currently under construction at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. We show the first energetic activation of the second to last major amplification stage boosting available energies to the 10 Joule-level, while benchmarking the performance of the whole last two amplifier sections. The expected small-signal gain at the full bandwidth of 20 nm was cross-checked with the front-end amplifier at 100 mJ.

Generating and controlling ultrashort, pulse-front tilted laser pulses is essential for Traveling-Wave Electron Acceleration (TWEAC), Traveling-Wave Thomson Scattering (TWTS) and Traveling-Wave Optical FELs (TWTS-OFELs). All these applications require controlling angular and group-delay dispersion, while keeping experimental setups as compact as possible. However, the varying requirements with respect to laser power, extent of focal region, incident angles and laser mode quality lead to differing strategies in designing experimental setups. This overview poster provides answers to the question: What experimental efforts in terms of laser system and optics are necessary in current labs for first proof-of-principle realizations of the different applications of "Traveling-Wave" laser pulses -- ranging from low-bandwidth and yield-enhanced Thomson sources (TWTS), laser-based electron accelerators beyond the LWFA depletion and dephasing limits (TWEAC) and ultimately an optical free-electron laser (TWTS-OFEL)?