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We investigate the competition of magnetic reconnections in self-generated and external magnetic fields in laser-produced plasmas. The temporal evolution of plasma structures measured with self-emission imaging shows the vertical expansions and horizontal separation of plasma, which can be signatures of reconnection outflows in self-generated and external magnetic fields, respectively. Because the outflows in self-generated magnetic fields are not clear in the presence of the external magnetic field, the external magnetic field can suppress the magnetic reconnection in self-generated magnetic fields., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, High Energy Density Physics, in press

The laser field depletion in laser-electron beam collision is generally small. However, a properly chosen parameter of the laser and electron, the laser field depletion can be optimized. To access the laser energy evolution, simulations of laser-electron beam collision by Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation is performed. In this paper, the laser and electron parameters are chosen such that the ponderomotive force is compensated by the radiation reaction force in the head-on collision configuration. Then, the relativistic electron beam can quiver in the laser pulse for a longer time to increase the energies conversion. The optimum of laser field energy depletion is observed at $\gamma_0= a_0 \sim 400$ and limited beyond this point due to the impenetrability threshold. The total energy conversion from laser and electron beam into radiation emission is optimum at $\gamma_0= a_0 \sim 250$. This conversion efficiency can be up to several percent for an electron bunch with charges of a few nC. This efficient gamma-ray sources may provide some useful application in photonuclear experiments., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabel

The non-linear (strong-field) Breit-Wheeler $e^+e^-$ pair production by a probe photon traversing two consecutive short and ultra short (sub-cycle) laser pulses is considered within a QED framework. The temporal shape of the pulses and the distance between them are essential for the differential cross section as a function of the azimuthal angle distribution of the outgoing electron (positron). The found effect of a pronounced azimuthal anisotropy is important for sub-cycle pulses and decreases rapidly with increasing width of the individual pulses., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures

The effects of radiation reaction (RR) have been studied extensively by using the ultraintense laser interacts with the counter-propagating relativistic electron. At the laser intensity at the order of $10^{23}$ W/cm$^2$, the effects of RR are significant in a few laser period for a relativistic electron. However, the laser at such intensity is tightly focused and the laser energy is usually assumed to be fixed. Then, the signal of RR and energy conservation cannot be guaranteed. To assess the effects of RR in a tightly focused laser pulse and the evolution of the laser energy, we simulate this interaction with a beam of $10^9$ electrons by means of Particle-in-Cell (PIC) method. We observed that the effects of RR are suppressed due to the ponderomotive force and accompanied by a non-negligible amount of laser field energy reduction. This is due to the ponderomotive force that prevents the electrons from approaching the center of the laser pulse and leads to the interaction at weaker field region. At the same time, the laser energy is absorbed through ponderomotive acceleration. Thus, the kinetic energy of the electron beam has to be carefully selected such that the effects of RR become obvious., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

Collisionless shocks can be produced as a result of strong magnetic fields in a plasma flow, and therefore are common in many astrophysical systems. The Weibel instability is one candidate mechanism for the generation of sufficiently strong fields to create a collisionless shock. Despite their crucial role in astrophysical systems, observation of the magnetic fields produced by Weibel instabilities in experiments has been challenging. Using a proton probe to directly image electromagnetic fields, we present evidence of Weibel-generated magnetic fields that grow in opposing, initially unmagnetized plasma flows from laser-driven laboratory experiments. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reveal that the instability efficiently extracts energy from the plasma flows, and that the self-generated magnetic energy reaches a few percent of the total energy in the system. This result demonstrates an experimental platform suitable for the investigation of a wide range of astrophysical phenomena, including collisionless shock formation in supernova remnants, large-scale magnetic field amplification, and the radiation signature from gamma-ray bursts.

The generalized Breit-Wheeler process, i.e. the emission of $e^+e^-$ pairs off a probe photon propagating through a polarized short-pulsed electromagnetic (e.g.\ laser) wave field, is analyzed. We show that the production probability is determined by the interplay of two dynamical effects. The first one is related to the shape and duration of the pulse and the second one is the non-linear dynamics of the interaction of $e^\pm$ with the strong electromagnetic field. The first effect manifests itself most clearly in the weak-field regime, where the small field intensity is compensated by the rapid variation of the electromagnetic field in a limited space-time region, which intensifies the few-photon events and can enhance the production probability by orders of magnitude compared to an infinitely long pulse. Therefore, short pulses may be considered as a powerful amplifier. The non-linear dynamics in the multi-photon Breit-Wheeler regime plays a decisive role at large field intensities, where effects of the pulse shape and duration are less important. In the transition regime, both effects must be taken into account simultaneously. We provide suitable expressions for the $e^+e^-$ production probability for kinematic regions which can be used in transport codes., Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures

The emission of electron-positron pairs off a probe photon propagating through a polarized short-pulsed electromagnetic (e.g.\ laser) wave field is analyzed. A significant increase of the total cross section of pair production in the subthreshold region is found for decreasing laser pulse duration even in case of moderate laser pulse intensities., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

The emission of $\nu\bar\nu$ pairs off electrons in a polarized ultra-intense electromagnetic (e.g.\ laser) wave field is analyzed. We elaborate on the significance of non-linear electrodynamics effects (i.e., multi-photon processes) and the peculiarities of neutrino production. Special attention is devoted to the convergence of the reaction probabilities as a function of the number of absorbed photons. Expressions for large field intensities are provided. The asymmetry between the probabilities of electron and $\mu+\tau$ neutrino production depends on initial conditions such as energy of the wave field photons and the field intensity. These findings differ from the lowest order perturbative calculation of the reaction $\gamma + e \to e' + \nu \bar \nu$., Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures

Preliminary experiments have been performed to investigate the effects of radiative cooling on plasma jets. Thin (3 um - 5 um) conical shells were irradiated with an intense laser, driving jets with velocities > 100 km/s. Through use of different target materials - aluminium, copper and gold - the degree of radiative losses was altered, and their importance for jet collimation investigated. A number of temporally resoved optical diagnostics was used, providing information about the jet evolution. Gold jets were seen to be narrower than those from copper targets, while aluminium targets produced the least collimated flows., Comment: Presented at the 8th High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics conference, March 15th - 18th, Caltech, CA, USA

We analyze $\mu^+\mu^-$ pair production generated by high-energy electrons emerging from a laser-wakefield accelerator. The $\mu^+\mu^-$ pairs are created in a solid thick high-$Z$ target, following the electron accelerating plasma region. Numerical estimates are presented for electron beams obtained presently in the LBL TW laser experiment \cite{C2} and possible future developments. Reactions induced by the secondary bremsstrahlung photons dominate the dimuon production. According to our estimates, a 20 pC electron bunch with energy of 1 (10) GeV may create about 200 (6000) muon pairs. The produced $\mu^\pm$ can be used in studying various aspects of muon-related physics in table top installations. This may be considered as an important step towards the investigation of more complicated elementary processes induced by laser driven electrons., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures

We perform 2-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamical simulations in the context of collapsar model. Calculations of explosive nucleosynthesis are also accomplished. We investigate the influence of the structure of the progenitor and energy deposition rate on the resulting explosive nucleosynthesis, assuming that 56Ni is mainly synthesized in the jet launched by the neutrino heating. We show the amount of 56Ni is very sensitive to the energy deposition rate. Thus we conclude that it is quite natural not to detect an underlying supernova in some X-ray afterglows as in GRB 010921. We also point out the possibility that the relative abundance of the elements with intermediate mass number such as Si and S in the X-ray afterglow of GRB 011211 may be naturally explained if the energy deposition rate at the central engine is relatively long because little amount of 56Ni should be synthesized under such an environment. If this discussion is true, there should be correlation between the line features in the X-ray afterglow and duration of the GRB. It should be noted that the duration of GRB 011211 is 270 seconds, making it the longest burst ever observed by Beppo-SAX although it suffers from the effect of red-shift (z_host=2.14), which supports our conclusion. Our results also suggest that the type I collapsar model in which the energy deposition rate is relatively low (\dot{E} \sim 10^{51} erg/s) might have difficulty in reproducing the observed amount of 56Ni in a hypernova such as SN 1998bw. This means that the mechanism of the central engine of a hypernova accompanying GRB may be constrained by the discussion of explosive nucleosynthesis., Comment: 29 pages and 20 postscript figures. Accepted for Publication in Astrophysical Journal