Coulomb explosion of CS_2 molecule under an intense femtosecond laser field

We experimentally demonstrate the Coulomb explosion process of CS_2 molecule under a near-infrared(800 nm)intense femtosecond laser field by a DC-sliced ion imaging technique. We obtain the DC-sliced images of these fragment ions S~+, S~(2+), CS~+, and CS~(2+)by breaking one C–S bond, and assign their Coulomb explosion channels by considering their kinetic energy release and angular distribution. We also numerically simulate the dissociation dynamics of parent ions CS_2~(k+)(k = 2–4) by a Coulomb potential approximation, and obtain the time evolution of Coulomb energy and kinetic energy release, which indicates that the dissociation time of parent ions CS_2~(k+) decreases with the increase of the charge number k.These experimental and theoretical results can serve as a useful benchmark for those researchers who work in the related area.     

Coulomb explosion of a cluster with a complex ion composition

The problem of the Coulomb explosion of a homogeneous cluster with light and heavy ions has been analytically solved. The space-time and spectral distributions of accelerated ions have been obtained. The characteristics of scattered light ions are determined as functions of the atomic composition of the cluster. It has been shown that sources of monoenergetic ions can be created using the interaction of high-power ultrashort laser pulses with molecular clusters.     

Electron gas compression and Coulomb explosion in the surface layer of a conductor heated by femtosecond laser pulse

The hypothesis is put forward on the basis of experimental data that strong inhomogeneous heating of the skin layer of conducting materials by a femtosecond pulse gives rise to a double electrical layer that is formed of a “surface” layer of positive ions and a thin (about 1 nm) “subsurface” layer of a superdense (10²³–10²⁵ cm^?3) degenerate electron gas. The double layer breaks within one picosecond through the Coulomb explosion.     

The dissociative ionization and Coulomb explosion of ethane by a femtosecond laser field

Femtosecond laser-induced dissociation and Coulomb explosion of polyatomic molecule C_2H_6 were systematically investigated using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer and a chirped pulse amplifier laser. With the laser intensity varying from 2.4×10^{15}W/cm^{2} to 1.2×10^{16}W/cm^2, strong molecular ions C_2H_n^+ (n=0－6) and atomic ions C^{m+} (m=1－3) signals were observed. The double-peak structure of atomic ions indicated the occurrence of Coulomb explosion. Compared with the nearly isotropic distribution of C^{+}, highly charged ions C^{m+} (m=2－3) exhibited a sharply anisotropic angular distribution, which was attributed to the geometric alignment.     

Above threshold Coulomb explosion of molecules in intense laser pulses

We have measured and explained a new mechanism of molecular ionization near the appearance intensity that produces a sequence of peaks in the nuclear kinetic energy spectrum separated by the photon energy. Our interpretation is based on an internally consistent model for the nuclear motion during an intense laser pulse. Within this model, the same concepts and language can be used for both dissociation and ionization, leading to a more unified understanding of the dynamics.     

Energetic-ion generation by the combination of laser pressure and Coulomb explosion

A scheme of generating energetic ions by the interaction of an ultrahigh-intensity laser pulse and a thin solid foil is studied. The combination of the effects of radiation pressure and Coulomb explosion makes the ion acceleration more effective. The maximum ion velocity variation with time is predicted theoretically while the temporal evolution of the electrostatic field due to the Coulomb explosion is taken into consideration. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are done to verify the theory.     

Dynamics of Coulomb explosion of hydrogen clusters in a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse

Using Bethe model, the dynamics of the ionization and Coulomb explosion of hydrogen clusters (0.5-5nm) in high-intensity (1015-1017 W/cm2) femtosecond laser pulses have been studied theoretically, and the dependence of energy of protons emitted from exploding clusters on cluster size and laser intensity has been investigated. It is found that the maximum proton energy increases exponentially with the cluster size, and the exponent is mainly determined by the laser intensity. For a given cluster size, the maximum proton energy increases with increasing laser intensity and gets saturation gradually. The calculation results are in agreement with the recent experimental observation.     

Evidence for rescattering in intense, femtosecond laser interactions with a negative ion

It is now well established that energetic electron emission, nonsequential ionization, and high harmonic generation, produced during the interaction of intense, femtosecond laser pulses with atoms (and atomic positive ions), can be explained by invoking rescattering of the active electron in the laser field, the so-called rescattering mechanism. In contrast for negative ions, the role of rescattering has not been established experimentally. By irradiating F- ions with ultrashort laser pulses, F+ ion yields as a function of intensity for both linearly and circularly polarized light have been measured. We find that, at intensities well below saturation for F+ production by sequential ionization, there is a small but significant enhancement in the yield for the case of linearly polarized light, providing the first clear experimental evidence for the existence of the rescattering mechanism in negative ions.     

High-order harmonic generation spectrum of an excited one-dimensional Coulomb atom in an intense laser field

Response of the wave packet of a one-dimensional Coulomb atom to an intense laser field is calculated using the symmetrized split operator fast Fourier method. The high-order harmonic generation (HHG) of the initial state separately being the ground and excited states is presented. When the hardness parameter \alpha in the soft Coulomb potential V(x)=-1/\sqrt{x^2+\alpha} is chosen to be small enough, the so-called hard Coulomb potential V(x)=-1/|x| can be obtained. It is well known that the hard one-dimensional Coulomb atom has an unstable ground state with an energy eigenvalue of $\sim0.5$ and it has no states corresponding to physical states in the true atoms, and has the first and second excited states being degenerate. The parity effects on the HHG can be seen from the first and second excited states of the hard one-dimensional Coulomb atom. The HHG spectra of the excited states from both the soft and hard Coulomb atom models are shown to have more complex structures and to be much stronger than the corresponding HHG spectrum of the ground state of the soft Coulomb model with $\alpha=2$ in the same laser field. Laser-induced non-resonant one-photon emission is also observed.     

Size dependence of the maximum energy of protons from Coulomb explosion of methane clusters under intense femtosecond laser irradiation

An investigation of the cluster size dependence of the maximum energy of protons ejected from explosion of methane clusters in an intense femtosecond laser field has been conducted on the basis of the cluster size estimation by Rayleigh scattering measurements. The interaction of a 2 × 1016-W/cm2 intense laser pulse (790 nm, 60 fs) with the methane clusters revealed that the clusters were Coulomb exploded and the maximum energy (Emax) of the protons produced was linearly proportional to the square of the cluster radius (r2c). In a cluster size range, with the methane cluster radii up to about 3 nm, the established relation of Emax and rc2 was found to be Emax (keV) = 3.3 + 0.75r2c (nm2), in good agreement with the simulation results. This demonstrated that Coulomb explosion of ionic clusters (C+4H4+)n took place following the cluster vertical ionization in the laser-cluster interaction.     

Continuum generation of the third-harmonic pulse generated by an intense femtosecond IR laser pulse in air

The continuum generation by intense femtosecond IR laser pulses focused in air including the effect of third-harmonic generation is investigated. We have used a theoretical model that includes the full spatio-temporal dynamics of both the fundamental and the third-harmonic pulses. Results of our numerical calculations show that a two-color filamentation effect occurs, in which the third-harmonic conversion efficiency remains almost constant over the whole filament length. It is found that this effect is rather independent of the wavelength of the input beam and the focal geometry. During the filamentation process the third-harmonic pulse itself generates a broad continuum, which can even overlap with the continuum of the fundamental pulse for the longer pump wavelengths. In consequence, the continuum generation generated by intense IR laser pulses is further extended into the UV. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Ky; 52.35.Mw     

Forward acceleration and generation of femtosecond megaelectronvolt electron beams by an ultrafast intense laser pulse

We present a new mechanism of energy gain of electrons accelerated by a laser pulse.It is shown thatwhen the intensity of an ultrafast intense laser pulse decreases rapidly along the direction of propagation,electrons leaving the pulse experience an action of ponderomotivc deceleration at the descending part ofa lower-intensity laser field than acceleration at the ascending part of a high-intensity field, thus gain netenergy from the pulse and move directly forward. By means of such a mechanism, a megaelectronvoltelectron beam with a bunch length shorter than 100 fs could be realized with an ultrafast(≤30 fs),intense (>10~(19)W/cm~2)laser pulse.     

A plasma channel scheme for the interaction of an intense femtosecond laser pulse with a deuterium cluster jet

We propose a plasma channel scheme to obtain an improved table-top laser driven fusion neutron yield as a result of explosions of large deuterium clusters irradiated by an intense laser pulse. A cylindrical plasma channel is created by two moderate intensity laser prepulses at the edge of a deuterium cluster jet along which an intense main laser pulse propagates several nanoseconds later. With the aid of this plasma channel, the main laser pulse will be allowed to deposit its energy into the central region of the deuterium gas jet where the cluster sizes are larger and the atomic density is higher. The plasma channel formation and its impact on the deuterium ion energy spectrum and the consequent fusion neutron yield have been investigated. The calculated results show that a remarkable increase of the table-top laser driven fusion neutron yield would be expected.     

分子的飞秒强光电离

文章以一个实验者的角度，介绍了分子的飞秒强光电离的研究现状。文章从对比飞秒激光电离质谱与纳秒激光电离质谱开始，接着介绍分子在激光场作用下的可能电离机理，着重描述了几个处理分子场致电离的理论模型和实验验证，最后对飞秒激光导致的分子在激光脉冲作用后取向研究进行了简单介绍。     

分子的飞秒强光电离

文章以一个实验者的角度,介绍了分子的飞秒强光电离的研究现状.文章从对比飞秒激光电离质谱与纳秒激光电离质谱开始,接着介绍分子在激光场作用下的可能电离机理,着重描述了几个处理分子场致电离的理论模型和实验验证,最后对飞秒激光导致的分子在激光脉冲作用后取向研究进行了简单介绍.     

Overrun phenomenon and neutron yield in Coulomb explosion of deuterated alkane clusters driven by intense laser field

By using a simplified Coulomb explosion model, the laser-driven Coulomb explosion processes of three deuterated alkane clusters, i.e., deuterated methane(CD_4)_N, ethane(C_2D_6)_N and propane(C_3D_8)_N clusters are simulated numerically.The overrun phenomenon that the deuterons overtake the carbon ions inside the expanding clusters, as well as the dependence of the energetic deuterons and fusion neutron yield on cluster size, is discussed in detail. Researches show that the average kinetic energy of deuterons and neutron yield generated in the Coulomb explosion of(C_2D_6)_N cluster are higher than those of(CD_4)_N cluster with the same size, in qualitative agreement with the reported conclusions from the experiments of(C2 H6)_N and(CH4)_N clusters. It is indicated that(C_2D_6)_N clusters are superior to(CD_4)_N clusters as a target for the laser-induced nuclear fusion reaction to achieve a higher neutron yield. In addition, by comparing the relevant data of(C_3D_8)_N cluster with those of(C_2D_6)_N cluster with the same size, it is theoretically concluded that(C_3D_8)_N clusters with a larger competitive parameter might be a potential candidate for improving neutron generation. This will provide a theoretical basis for target selection in developing experimental schemes on laser-driven nuclear fusion in the future.     

Energetic protons from a few-micron metallic foil evaporated by an intense laser pulse

With detailed experimental studies and hydrodynamics and particle-in-cell simulations we investigate the role of the prepulse in laser proton acceleration. The prepulse or pedestal (amplified spontaneous emission) can completely evaporate the irradiated region of a sufficiently thin foil; therefore, the main part of the laser pulse interacts with an underdense plasma. The multiparametric particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the main pulse generates the quasistatic magnetic field, which in its turn produces the long-lived charge separation electrostatic field, accelerating the ions.     

空气中激光等离子体通道的三次谐波辐射研究

对超强飞秒激光脉冲在空气中形成的长等离子体通道的三次谐波辐射进行了研究．实验研究发现三次谐波的转换效率在通道范围内基本保持不变.还对等离子体通道锥角辐射中的三次 谐波的辐射角进行了研究，结果表明其辐射角接近6mrad，与理论计算结果符合得很好． 关键词： 三次谐波 等离子体通道     

飞秒激光氘团簇库仑爆炸引发核聚变的机理研究

在超强飞秒激光与氘团簇的相互作用中，利用库仑爆炸模型，分析了可以引发核聚变的高能氘核产生的机理，提出了氘离子团簇膨胀尺寸与时间的关系式，计算了多种尺寸的氘团簇库仑爆炸时氘核的动能以及氘团簇的解体时间． 关键词： 飞秒强激光 氘团簇 库仑爆炸 核聚变