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The recent achievement of fusion ignition with laser-driven technologies at the National Ignition Facility sets a historic accomplishment in fusion energy research. This accomplishment paves the way for using laser inertial fusion as a viable approach for future energy production. Europe has a unique opportunity to empower research in this field internationally, and the scientific community is eager to engage in this journey. We propose establishing a European programme on inertial-fusion energy with the mission to demonstrate laser-driven ignition in the direct-drive scheme and to develop pathway technologies for the commercial fusion reactor. The proposed roadmap is based on four complementary axes: (i) the physics of laser–plasma interaction and burning plasmas; (ii) high-energy high repetition rate laser technology; (iii) fusion reactor technology and materials; and (iv) reinforcement of the laser fusion community by international education and training programmes. We foresee collaboration with universities, research centres and industry and establishing joint activities with the private sector involved in laser fusion. This project aims to stimulate a broad range of high-profile industrial developments in laser, plasma and radiation technologies along with the expected high-level socio-economic impact.

Supersonic turbulence is relevant to astrophysical plasmas with their study mostly limited to numerical simulations. Here the authors demonstrate supersonic turbulence in collisional high Mach number plasma jets generated in laboratory by using high power lasers.

A novel mechanism for injection, emittance selection, and postacceleration for laser wakefield electron acceleration is identified and described. It is shown that a laser prepulse can create an ionized plasma filament through multiphoton ionization and this heats the electrons and ions, driving an ellipsoidal blast-wave aligned with the laser-axis. The subsequent high-intensity laser-pulse generates a plasma wakefield which, on entering the leading edge of the blast-wave structure, encounters a sharp reduction in electron density, causing density down-ramp electron injection. The injected electrons are accelerated to ∼2 MeV within the blast-wave. After the main laser-pulse has propagated past the blast-wave, it drives a secondary wakefield within the homogenous background plasma. On exiting the blast-wave structure, the preaccelerated electrons encounter these secondary wakefields, are retrapped, and accelerated to higher energies. Due to the longitudinal extent of the blast-wave, only those electrons with small transverse velocity are retrapped, leading to the potential for the generation of electron bunches with reduced transverse size and emittance.

A new physical model of the hosing instability that includes relativistic laser pulses and moderate densities is presented and derives the density dependence of the hosing equation. This is tested against two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. These simulations further examine the feasibility of using multiple pulses to mitigate the hosing instability in a Nd:glass-type parameter space. An examination of the effects of planar versus cylindrical exponential density gradients on the hosing instability is also presented. The results show that strongly relativistic pulses and more planar geometries are capable of mitigating the hosing instability which is in line with the predictions of the physical model.

Experiments were performed on the Omega EP laser facility to study laser pulse propagation, channeling phenomena and electron acceleration from high-intensity, high-power laser interactions with underdense plasma. A CH plasma plume was used as the underdense target and the interaction of the laser pulse channeling through the plasma was imaged using proton radiography. High-energy electron spectra were measured for different experimental laser parameters. Structures observed along the channel walls are interpreted as having developed from surface waves, which are likely to serve as an injection mechanism of electrons into the cavitated channel for acceleration via direct laser acceleration mechanisms. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations give good agreement with these channeling and electron acceleration phenomena.

Experimental measurements of the fast electron beam created by the interaction of relativistically intense, frequency-doubled laser light with planar solid targets and its subsequent transport within the target are presented and compared with those of a similar experiment using the laser fundamental frequency. Using frequency-doubled laser light, the fast electron source size is significantly reduced, while evidence suggests the divergence angle may be reduced. Pyrometric measurements of the target rear surface temperature and the Cu K _α imager data indicate the laser to fast electron absorption fraction is reduced using frequency doubled laser light. Bremsstrahlung measurements indicate the fast electron temperature is 125 keV, while the laser energy absorbed into forward-going fast electrons was found to be 16 ± 4% for frequency doubled light at a mean laser intensity of 5 ± 3 × 10 ^18 W cm ^−2 .

Laser plasma electron acceleration from the interaction of an intense femtosecond laser pulse with an isolated microparticle surrounded by a low-density gas is studied here. Experiments presented here show that optimized plasma tailoring by introducing a pre-pulse boosts parametric instabilities to produce MeV electron energies and generates electron temperatures as large as 200 keV with the total charge being as high as 350 fC/shot/sr, even at a laser intensity of a few times 10 ^16 Wcm ^−2 . Corroborated by particle-in-cell simulations, these measurements reveal that two plasmon decay in the vicinity of the microparticle is the main contributor to hot electron generation.