Laser Cooling and Spectroscopy of Relativistic C^{3+} Beams at the ESR

We report on the first laser cooling of a bunched beam of multiply charged ions performed at the ESR (GSI) at a beam energy of GeV. Moderate bunching provided a force counteracting the decelerating laser force of one counterpropagating laser beam. This versatile type of laser cooling lead to longitudinally space-charge dominated beams with an unprecedented momentum spread of . Concerning the beam energy and charge state of the ion, the experiment depicts an important intermediate step from the established field of laser cooling of ion beams at low energies toward the unique laser cooling scheme proposed for relativistic beams of highly charged heavy ions at SIS 300 (FAIR). Funded by the German BMBF under contract number 06ML183.     

Laser Accelerated, High Quality Ion Beams

Intense beams of protons and heavy ions have been observed in ultra-intense laser-solid interaction experiments. Thereby, a considerable fraction of the laser energy is transferred to collimated beams of energetic ions (e.g. up to 50 MeV protons; 100 MeV fluorine), which makes these beams highly interesting for various applications. Experimental results indicate very short pulse duration and an excellent beam quality, leading to beam intensities in the TW range. To characterize the beam quality and its dependence on laser parameters and target conditions, we performed experiments at several high-power laser systems. We found a strong dependence on the target rear surface conditions allowing to tailor the ion beam by an appropriate target design. We also succeeded in the generation of heavy ion beams by suppressing the proton amount at the target surface. We will present recent experimental results demonstrating a transverse beam emittance far superior to accelerator-based ion beams. Finally, we will discuss the prospect of laser-accelerated ion beams as new diagnostics in laser-solid interaction experiements. Special fields of interest are proton radiography, electric field imaging, and relativistic electron transport inside the target.     

飞行时间质谱峰值的漂移

飞行时间质谱仪(time-of-flight mass spectrometer, TOF-MS)在分子团簇的激光电离/解离动力学研究中广泛使用。文章报道了在用脉冲355 nm的YAG激光进行水/甲醇二元团簇的多光子电离研究中,发现在电离激光相对于脉冲分子束的不同延时下,即激光作用于脉冲束的不同位置,飞行时间质谱仪测得的离子的质谱峰值发生漂移。在激光作用于脉冲束的中段时,离子的信号最强,同时离子的峰值漂移达到最大。分析认为：这种峰值漂移不是因为新质量数谱峰的出现,而是离子在穿越质谱仪的离子引出区和加速区极板时发生部分离子吸附,引起极板间电压的起伏造成的。离子在电场起伏下的数值模拟与实验中观测到的离子峰值漂移规律一致。     

纳秒强激光中乙腈团簇增强的高价电离研究

利用脉宽为25 ns的脉冲Nd∶YAG 1 064 nm的激光,在1010～1011 W·cm-2的强度下,用飞行时间质谱对乙腈分子束激光电离过程进行了研究。实验中利 用氦气作为载气,乙腈分子束采用扩散和脉冲两种方式进样,当扩散束进样时,乙腈分子的谱峰可用多光子电离来解释,而当脉冲分子束进样时,实验中产生了外层价电子高剥离的Nq+ (q=2～5) 和Cq+(q=1～4)信号谱。实验中同时发现,激光波长增大时,高价离子的谱强度也趋向于增大。激光延迟及谱峰的相关性分析表明,这些高价离子可能来源于乙腈团簇的库仑爆炸 过程。提出一个多光子电离引发,逆韧致吸收加热-电子碰撞电离模型来解释高价离子的产生,对高价离子伴随的波长效应也给出了较为合理的解释。     

High power acceleration of an HSC type injector for cancer therapy

A hybrid single cavity(HSC) linac, which is formed by combining a radio frequency quadrupole(RFQ)and a drift tube(DT) structure into one interdigital-H(IH) cavity, is fabricated and assembled as a proof of principle injector for cancer therapy synchrotron, based on the culmination of several years of research. The HSC linac adopts a direct plasma injection scheme(DPIS), which can inject a high intensity heavy ion beam produced by a laser ion source(LIS). The input beam current of the HSC is designed to be 20 m A C~(6+) ions. According to numerical simulations, the HSC linac can accelerate a 6-m AC~(6+) beam, which meets the requirement of the needed particle number for cancer therapy(108-9ions/pulse). The HSC injector with the DPIS method makes the existing multiturn injection system and stripping system unnecessary, and can also bring down the size of the beam pipe in existing synchrotron magnets, which could reduce the whole cost of synchrotron. The radio frequency(rf) measurements show excellent rf properties for the resonator, with a measured Q equal to 91% of the simulated value. AC~(6+) ion beam extracted from the LIS was used for the HSC commissioning. In beam testing, we found the measured beam parameters agreed with simulations. More details of the measurements and the results of the high power test are reported in this paper.     

Generation of a fast-ion beam upon the interaction of a multiterawatt picosecond laser pulse with a solid target

The parameters of fast particles generated upon the interaction of 10¹⁹ W/cm² laser pulses with solid targets are studied. The spatial and energy parameters of fast ions are investigated. It is found that approximately 1–3% of the laser energy is transformed to the energy of mega-and submegaelectronvolt ions at laser pulse intensities ≥10¹⁸ W/cm². It is shown experimentally that an ion beam is directed perpendicular to the target surface. The analytic and numerical simulations agree with experimental results and predict the propagation of fast electrons in the mirror direction with respect to the incident laser beam and of ions perpendicular to the target. The theoretical calculations are compared with the experimental output and spectra of fast electrons and ions.     

超强激光与固体气体复合靶作用产生高能氦离子

激光氦离子源产生的MeV能量的氦离子因有望用于聚变反应堆材料辐照损伤的模拟研究而得到关注.目前激光驱动氦离子源的主要方案是采用相对论激光与氦气射流作用加速高能氦离子,但这种方案在实验上难以产生具有前向性和准单能性、数MeV能量、高产额的氦离子束,而这些氦离子束特性是材料辐照损伤研究中十分关注的.不同于上述激光氦离子产生方法,我们提出了一种利用超强激光与固体-气体复合靶作用产生氦离子的新方法.利用这种方法,在实验上,采用功率密度5×10~(18)W/cm~2的皮秒脉宽的激光脉冲与铜-氦气复合靶作用,产生了前向发射的2.7 MeV的准单能氦离子束,能量超过0.5 MeV的氦离子产额约为10~(13)/sr.二维粒子模拟显示,氦离子在靶背鞘场加速和类无碰撞冲击波加速两种加速机理共同作用下得到加速.同时粒子模拟还显示氦离子截止能量与超热电子温度成正比.     

Nuclear reactions triggered by laser-accelerated high-energy ions

A technique is suggested for triggering nuclear reactions by accelerating ions with a powerful ultrashort laser pulse in a plasma. The underlying idea of the suggested compact “reactor” is utilization of high-energy ions accelerated by the charge-separation electrostatic field in the direction perpendicular to the laser beam axis in a gas-filled capillary. Accelerated ions with energies of several MeV penetrating the target from the inside surface of a channel give rise to nuclear reactions which can be used to create a compact source of fast neutrons and neutrons of intermediate energies for generating various (short-and long-lived, light and heavy) isotopes, for generating gamma radiation over a broad energy range, for making sources of light ion and induced radioactivity. The yield of the corresponding nuclear reactions as a function of the laser beam parameters has been investigated. The suggested technique for triggering nuclear reactions provides a practical tool for studies of nuclear transformation on the pico-and nanosecond scales, which cannot be achieved using other methods. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 2080–2090 (June 1999)     

纳秒强激光中丙酮团簇增强的多价电离现象

利用脉宽为25 ns的脉冲Nd: YAG 532 nm的激光，在10¹⁰—10¹¹ W/cm²的强度下，用飞行时间质谱对丙酮团簇的激光电离过程进行了研究. 观察到了较强的O^q+(q=2—4)和C^q+(q=1—4)高价离子信号，这些高价离子 C⁴⁺，C³⁺，C²⁺，O⁴⁺，O³⁺，O²⁺的最大概然平动能分别为240 eV，70 eV，30 eV，90 eV，80 eV，40 eV. 高价离子的强度和平动能随激光强度的增大而增大. 我们提出一个多光子电离引发，逆韧致吸收加热-电子碰撞电离模型来解释高价离子的产生. 关键词： 丙酮 团簇 库仑爆炸 高价离子     

团簇增强的纳秒激光电离产生Xez+(z≤20)高价离子

利用功率密度为1011—1012W·cm-2的1064nm纳秒激光电离氙原子团簇，在飞行时间质谱中观察到电离态高达+20的高价离子.不同脉冲束位置实验表明，仅当激光作用于分子束的中段时，才能观察到高价离子，且高价离子的强度随束源压力的增加而迅速增强.实验结果表明束中大尺寸团簇的存在与高价离子的形成密切相关.讨论了高价离子产生的可能机理. 关键词： 氙 纳秒激光 高价离子 飞行时间质谱     

Isotope selective loading of an ion trap using resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization

We have demonstrated that resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization of atomic beams provides an effective tool for isotope selective loading of ions into a linear Paul trap. Using a tunable, narrow-bandwidth, continuous wave (cw) laser system for the ionization process, we have succeeded in producing Mg⁺ and Ca⁺ ions at rates controlled by the atomic beam flux, the laser intensity, and the laser frequency detuning from resonance. We have observed that with a proper choice of control parameters, it is rather easy to load a specific number of ions into a string. This observation has direct applications in quantum optics and quantum computation experiments. Furthermore, resonant photo-ionization loading facilitates the formation of large isotope-pure Coulomb crystals. Received: 21 December 1999 / Published online: 11 May 2000     

利用HIRFL高能重离子束的核能材料辐照损伤研究

载能重离子与高能中子在材料中能够产生相似的级联碰撞损伤,加之重离子具有大的离位损伤截面和在材料样品中低的感生放射性,载能重离子束成为模拟先进核能装置内部结构材料辐照损伤的重要手段。HIRFL能区的重离子在结构材料中的射程一般远大于晶粒尺寸,因此能够产生材料体损伤,借助小样品技术可以获得材料力学性能变化（尤其辐照脆化）的有用信息,为探讨材料辐照损伤微结构和宏观力学性能变化的关联提供了重要条件。本文简要介绍了近年来我们基于HIRFL高能离子束开展的聚变堆候选材料辐照损伤的研究,包括低活化钢的辐照脆化行为、氧化物弥散强化（ODS）铁素体钢的结构优化对于抗辐照性能的影响、不同载能粒子辐照条件下铁素体/马氏体钢的辐照肿胀数据的关联,以及高能重离子辐照的钨材料中氢同位素的滞留行为。研究表明,结合特殊的测试技术及数据分析方法,高能重离子可作为核能结构材料辐照损伤研究及评估的有效手段。Because of the similarity in cascade damage structure in materials produced by energetic heavy ions and by fast neutrons, and the high displacement rate and low induced radioactivity of samples by heavy ions, heavy ion beam becomes an important tool to simulate radiation damage by energetic neutrons in materials in advanced nuclear energy systems. The ranges of heavy ions provided by HIRFL (Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou) are generally much larger than the mean dimensions of grains in alloys candidate to advanced nuclear reactors, and is capable of producing radiation damage in bulk scale. It therefore makes possible the evaluation of change of mechanical properties including the radiation induced embrittlement from the irradiated specimens by using miniaturized specimen techniques. In the present paper, we provide an introduction of our recent studies of radiation damage of materials candidate to future fusion reactors by utilizing heavy ion beams in HIRFL.The studies include issues as follows:ductility loss of RAFM steels causes by high-energy Ne ions, impact of oxide dispersoids on the radiation resistance of ODS ferritic steels, correlation of void swelling of ferritic/martensitic steels under different particle irradiation, and behavior of deuterium retention in tungsten under irradiation with high-energy heavy ions. The results show that high-energy heavy ions can be used as a tool to efficiently investigate or evaluate radiation damage in structure materials if combined with some special test techniques and data analysis.     

Radiation-pressure acceleration of ion beams from nanofoil targets: the leaky light-sail regime

A new ion radiation-pressure acceleration regime, the "leaky light sail," is proposed which uses sub-skin-depth nanometer foils irradiated by circularly polarized laser pulses. In the regime, the foil is partially transparent, continuously leaking electrons out along with the transmitted laser field. This feature can be exploited by a multispecies nanofoil configuration to stabilize the acceleration of the light ion component, supplementing the latter with an excess of electrons leaked from those associated with the heavy ions to avoid Coulomb explosion. It is shown by 2D particle-in-cell simulations that a monoenergetic proton beam with energy 18 MeV is produced by circularly polarized lasers at intensities of just 101? W/cm2. 100 MeV proton beams are obtained by increasing the intensities to 2 × 102? W/cm2.     

Towards optical spectroscopy of the element nobelium ({\sf Z }= \mathsf{102}) in a buffer gas cell

For the investigation of the atomic level structure of heavy elements which can only be produced at on-line facilities such as GSI, a novel experimental procedure has been developed. It is based on Radiation Detected Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (RADRIS) and can be applied to elements like nobelium produced at rates of a few ions per second. Fusion reaction products are separated from the primary beam by the velocity filter SHIP at GSI, stopped in a buffer gas cell, collected on a tantalum filament and then re-evaporated as atoms. The ions produced by resonance ionization with tunable laser beams are detected via their characteristic α decay. First on-line experiments on α-active ¹⁵⁵Yb, which is supposed to have an atomic level structure similar to nobelium, were performed. These test experiments focused on the optimization of the collection and re-evaporation process of the radioactive ions, the laser ionization efficiency and the detection via α decay. An overall efficiency for RADRIS of 0.8% with respect to the target production rate was measured. While further improvements of this efficiency are in progress it should already be sufficient for the search for atomic levels in nobelium.     

Some contributions from SSNTD towards nuclear science: from multifragmentation towards accelerator driven systems (ADS)

Three examples are chosen to show the importance of SSNTD as one of the essential tools in nuclear science:

(1) Multifragmentation into more than two heavy reaction products: Starting with the observation of three heavy reaction products in the interaction of relativistic protons or 414 MeV ⁴⁰Ar with actinides in the early 1960s, up to the observation of five heavy reaction products in the interaction of 2400 MeV ²³⁸U with uranium, SSNTD had a leading role in this research.

(2) In the search for superheavy elements (SHE: Z around 114): Many different techniques are used. However, SSNTD are exclusively decisive in the possible observation of SHE within the heavy element component of galactic cosmic rays.

(3) Accelerator driven systems: They are increasingly important in the discussion of energy producing nuclear power stations and in the corresponding ability to transmute long-lived poisonous radioactive materials (above all plutonium) into shorter lived fission fragments or stable nuclides. SSNTDs play an important role in the determination of the energy dependent neutron fluence in small volumes (≈cm³) or in the exact beam profile determinations of the primary proton beams.

This contribution ends with an outlook into possible future fields of physics research: With the advent of a new generation of relativistic heavy ion accelerators, such as the NUCLOTRON at the JINR in Dubna, Russia, and RHIC in Brookhaven in the United States, one can continue to study (and finally confirm or disprove) all phenomena mentioned already, as well as additional controversial phenomena, such as “enhanced nuclear cross-sections over short distances”, called colloquially “anomalons”. Again SSNDT can be used in at least a twofold manner as an important tool: (a) the enhanced neutron production with ¹²C ions or heavier ions in thick targets at energies above approximately 50 GeV and (b) the reduced “mean-free-path” of secondary fragments produced by the same heavy and energetic ions.     

Short-laser-pulse-driven emission of energetic ions into a solid target from a surface layer spalled by a laser prepulse

An efficient emission of picosecond bunches of energetic protons and carbon ions from a thin layer spalled from a organic solid by a laser prepulse is demonstrated numerically. We combine the molecular dynamics technique and multi-component collisional particle-in-cell method with plasma ionization to simulate the laser spallation and ejection of a thin (∼20–30 nm) solid layer from an organic target and its further interaction with an intense femtosecond laser pulse. In spite of its small thickness, a layer produced by laser spallation efficiently absorbs ultrashort laser pulses with the generation of hot electrons that convert their energy to ion energy. The efficiency of the conversion of the laser energy to ions can be as high as 20%, and 10% to MeV ions. A transient electrostatic field created between the layer and surface of the target is up to 10 GV/cm. Received: 13 March 2001 / Accepted: 20 March 2001 / Published online: 20 June 2001     

All-optical ion generation for ion trap loading

We have investigated the all-optical generation of ions by photo-ionisation of atoms generated by pulsed laser ablation. A direct comparison between a resistively heated oven source and pulsed laser ablation is reported. Pulsed laser ablation with 10 ns Nd:YAG laser pulses is shown to produce large calcium flux, corresponding to atomic beams produced with oven temperatures greater than 650 K. For an equivalent atomic flux, pulsed laser ablation is shown to produce a thermal load more than one order of magnitude smaller than the oven source. The atomic beam distributions obey Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics with most probable speeds corresponding to temperatures greater than 2200 K. Below a threshold pulse fluence between 280 mJ/cm² and 330 mJ/cm², the atomic beam is composed exclusively of ground-state atoms. For higher fluences ions and excited atoms are generated.     

A new detector for laser induced recombination at the ESR

For laser induced recombination of heavy ions a new detector was developed that in comparison to a multiwire proportional counter provides better time resolution. It is able to cope with very high rates and gives the possibility for very easy online monitoring of the detected beam. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Laser-triggered quasi-monoenergetic ion beams at a moderate intensity and pulse duration

Plasma produced by short laser pulses from thin homogeneous foils with light and heavy ions is capable of generating quasi-monoenergetic light ions. This happens for the tail of light ions near the front of heavy ions. It was found that this effect is well pronounced for a moderate laser intensity (～10¹⁸ W/cm²) and pulse duration (～1 ps) by using a 2D particle-in-cell simulation of the laser interaction with thin CD₂ foils. Quasi-monoenergetic deuterons form a jet from the rear side of the foil with the energy ～1 MeV. The conversion efficiency to these quasi-monoenergetic ions is 10^?3.     

Experimental evaluation of the measurement of isotope ratios by time of flight mass spectrometry with laser ablation

Time of flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) in combination with laser ablation (LA) applied for low isotope composition measurements is limited by energy and spatial dispersion of ions, spatial charge density, and some other factors. In order to reduce these factors that make the extraction of the plasma ions difficult, we used a second laser to create ions by non-isotope-selective photoionization of neutral particles. The photoionization was carried out in uranium vapor beam by the third harmonic of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. This work presents the results of tentative experiments to estimate the characteristics of the LA-TOF-MS method with non-selective photoionization.