超短超强激光产生正电子的蒙特卡罗模拟

通过理论分析,建立了超短超强激光与固体靶作用产生正电子的蒙特卡罗模拟模型及Geant4模拟程序。模拟研究了靶材料、靶厚度及超热电子温度等对正电子产额的影响,结果表明:对铝、铜、锡、钽、金、铅6种靶材料,金靶的正电子产额最高,是优秀的正电子产生靶;不同超热电子温度下存在不同的最佳靶厚度,在最佳靶厚度以下,正电子产额随靶厚度增长而增大,靶厚度取3 mm较为合适;超热电子温度越高,正电子产额也越高,提高激光强度是增加正电子产额的有效途径。模拟研究给出了正电子角分布及其能谱,结果显示,正电子发射明显前倾,从大于90方向范围发射的正电子数量极少,且超热电子温度越高前倾特点越明显,能量呈类麦克斯韦分布,靶背法线方向出射的正电子的温度随超热电子温度升高而升高。     

激光与近相对论临界密度薄层相互作用产生大电量高能电子束

研究了激光与近相对论临界密度等离子体薄层相互作用时所产生的高能电子束的主要特征,包括平均有效温度以及截止能量等.实验结果表明,电子束的电量超过nC量级,平均有效温度可达8 MeV以上.PIC数值模拟证明,近相对论临界密度等离子体内,相对论自透明效应和激光钻孔效应共同形成一条磁化等离子体通道,电子与激光将在角向磁场的协助下发生Betatron共振.激光可将电子直接加速到很高能量,因此电子束平均有效温度("斜坡温度")远远超过Wilks定标率预计的平均温度.该研究为产生高亮度X射线源提供了一种新的可能途径.     

Dense pair plasma generation by two laser pulses colliding in a cylinder channel

An all-optical scheme for high-density pair plasmas generation is proposed by two laser pulses colliding in a cylinder channel. Two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that, when the first laser pulse propagates in the cylinder,electrons are extracted out of the cylinder inner wall and accelerated to high energies. These energetic electrons later run into the second counter-propagating laser pulse, radiating a large amount of high-energy gamma photons via the Compton back-scattering process. The emitted gamma photons then collide with the second laser pulse to initiate the Breit–Wheeler process for pairs production. Due to the strong self-generated fields in the cylinder, positrons are confined in the channel to form dense pair plasmas. Totally, the maximum density of pair plasmas can be 4.60 × 10~(27)m~(-3), for lasers with an intensity of 4×10~(22)W·cm~(-2). Both the positron yield and density are tunable by changing the cylinder radius and the laser parameters. The generated dense pair plasmas can further facilitate investigations related to astrophysics and particle physics.     

Near QED regime of laser interaction with overdense plasmas

Interaction of laser plulses with intensities up to 10²⁵?W/cm² with overdense plasma targets is investigated via three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. At these intensities, radiation of electrons in the laser field becomes important. Electrons transfer a significant fraction of their energy to γ-photons and obtain strong feedbacks due to radiation reaction (RR) force. The RR effect on the distribution of laser energies among three main species: electrons, ions and photons is studied. The RR and electron-positron pair creation are implemented by a QED model. As the laser intensity inreases, the ratio of laser energy coupled to electrons drops while the one for γ-photons reaches up to 35%. Two distinctive plasma density regimes of the high-density carbon target and low-density solid hydrogen target are identified from the laser energy partitions and angular distributions of photons. The power-laws of absorption efficiency versus laser intensity and the transition of photon divergence are revealed. These show enhanced generation of γ-photon beams with improved collimation in the relativistically transparent regime. A new effect of transverse trapping of electrons inside the laser field caused by the RR force is observed: electrons can be unexpectedly confined by the intense laser field when the RR force is comparable to the Lorentz force. Finally, the RR effect and different regions of photon emission in laser-foil interactions are clarified.     

相对论飞秒激光辐照表面调制靶产生高定向性正电子束

激光驱动的正电子源具有高产额、短脉宽、高能量的优点。采用粒子模拟和蒙特卡罗模拟相结合的方法,对相对论飞秒激光与表面具有微米丝阵结构的调制靶相互作用产生正电子束的过程进行了全三维的模拟研究。结果表明,在激光能量约3.2 J、脉宽约为40 fs的情况下,可得到产额为1011量级、最大能量达120 MeV的超热电子束,其轰击高Z转换靶可达到产额为109量级、截止能量约50 MeV的正电子,且正电子的发散角仅为4.92°。相比于平板靶,表面调制靶的使用可以提高正电子的产额、能量和定向性。     

Laser shaping of a relativistic intense, short Gaussian pulse by a plasma lens

By 3D particle-in-cell simulation and analysis, we propose a plasma lens to make high intensity, high contrast laser pulses with a steep front. When an intense, short Gaussian laser pulse of circular polarization propagates in near-critical plasma, it drives strong currents of relativistic electrons which magnetize the plasma. Three pulse shaping effects are synchronously observed when the laser passes through the plasma lens. The laser intensity is increased by more than 1 order of magnitude while the initial Gaussian profile undergoes self-modulation longitudinally and develops a steep front. Meanwhile, a nonrelativistic prepulse can be absorbed by the overcritical plasma lens, which can improve the laser contrast without affecting laser shaping of the main pulse. If the plasma skin length is properly chosen and kept fixed, the plasma lens can be used for varied laser intensity above 10(19) W/cm(2).     

The processes of thermal and “cold” ionization in caesium vapours

The processes of thermal and “cold” ionization for the calculation of the composition and conductivity of near-critical caesium vapours are considered. The degrees of thermal and “cold” ionization are calculated for the near-critical region, and the temperature and density regions with predominant role of the processes of “cold” ionization are indicated. The conductivity of caesium vapours is calculated as the sum of the conductivities of thermal electrons and jellium electrons. The obtained results agree with the experimental data on the gas branch of the binodal and the near-critical isotherms. These facts can serve as confirmation of the proposed hypothesis about the existence of the jellium in the gas–plasma region and its coexistence with thermally ionized electrons.     

Excitation of X rays by electrons accelerated in air in the wake wave of a laser pulse

The characteristics of X rays of a laser plasma generated in the interaction of a femtosecond pulse with solid targets in an air atmosphere have been investigated. It has been shown that the mechanism for the generation of X rays in the interaction of short intense laser pulses with solid targets in a gas atmosphere is attributed to the generation of fast electrons in the region of the filamentation of a laser pulse. It has been proven experimentally that under such conditions, the solid target irradiated by laser radiation of even a low density of about 10¹⁵ W/cm² very efficiently emits ∼10-keV photons. It has been shown theoretically that the maximum energy of accelerated electrons can reach ɛ_max ∼ 100–200 keV under these conditions. This means that the proposed method can provide characteristic radiation with the energy of photons much higher than 10 keV.     

High-energy ions from near-critical density plasmas via magnetic vortex acceleration

Ultraintense laser pulses propagating in near-critical density plasmas generate magnetic dipole vortex structures. In the region of decreasing plasma density, the vortex expands both in forward and lateral directions. The magnetic field pressure pushes electrons and ions to form a density jump along the vortex axis and induces a longitudinal electric field. This structure moves together with the expanding dipole vortex. The background ions located ahead of the electric field are accelerated to high energies. The energy scaling of ions generated by this magnetic vortex acceleration mechanism is derived and corroborated using particle-in-cell simulations.     

Numerical simulation of the creation of a hollow neutral-hydrogen channel by an electron beam

An experimental method is proposed for the creation of plasma optical waveguides at low electron densities. The method consists of creating a hollow neutral-hydrogen channel by means of fast local heating of a hydrogen volume by a needlelike electron beam, followed by laser ionization of the hydrogen to provide the plasma waveguide. Results of numerical simulations are presented which show that guiding with an axial electron density in the range of 10(17) cm-3 can be achieved with a matched spot size of 30 microm. Its application for laser wakefield acceleration of electrons is discussed. The method would enable guiding lengths up to 30 cm at maximal energies of accelerated electrons in the range 10-100 GeV.     

Electrostatic Nonplanar Positron-Acoustic Shock Waves in Superthermal Electron-Positron-Ion Plasmas

The basic properties of the nonlinear propagation of the nonplanar(cylindrical and spherical) positronacoustic(PA) shock waves(SHWs) in an unmagnetized electron-positron-ion(e-p-i) plasma containing immobile positive ions,mobile cold positrons,and superthermal(kappa distributed) hot positrons and electrons are investigated both analytically and numerically.The modified Burgers equation(mBE) is derived by using the reductive perturbation method.The basic features of PA SHWs are significantly modified by the cold positron kinematic viscosity(η),superthermal parameter of electrons(κ_e),superthermal parameter of hot positrons(κ_p),the ratio of the electron temperature to hot positron temperature(σ),the ratio of the electron number density to cold positron number density(μ_e),and the ratio of the hot positron number density to cold positron number density(μ_(ph)).This study could be useful to identify the basic properties of nonlinear electrostatic disturbances in dissipative space and laboratory plasmas.     

Estimates of electron-positron pair production in the interaction of high-power laser radiation with high-Z targets

Electron-positron production processes occurring in the interaction of 10¹⁸–10²⁰ W/cm² laser radiation with high-Z targets are examined. Computational results are presented for the pair production and the positron yield from the target with allowance for the contribution of pair production processes due to electrons and bremsstrahlung photons. Monte Carlo simulations using the PRIZMA code confirm the estimates obtained. The possible positron yield from high-Z targets irradiated with 10²–10³ TW laser radiation is estimated to be 10⁹–10¹¹. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 4, 239–244 (25 February 1998)     

Effects of atomic number Z on the energy distribution of hot electrons generated by femtosecond laser interaction with metallic targets

The effects of atomic number Z on the energy distribution of hot electrons generated by the interaction of 60fs, 130mJ, 800nm, and 7×10^17W/cm^2 laser pulses with metallic targets have been studied experimentally. The results show that the number and the effective temperature of hot electrons increase with the atomic number Z of metallic targets, and the temperature of hot electrons are in the range of 190-230keV, which is consistent with a scaling law of hot electrons temperature.     

Interaction of a high-intensity ultrashort laser pulse with extended nanofilaments of dense plasma

Generation and propagation of fast electrons in laser targets consisting of thin nanofilaments are studied numerically and analytically. Such targets completely absorb laser radiation and exhibit a large coefficient of laser-energy conversion to kinetic energy of a flow of fast electrons. Analytical estimates show that the optimal thickness of the filament is on the order of the skin depth of the laser plasma, while an optimal distance between filaments is on the order of the Debye radius of hot electrons. A bunch of relativistic electrons can propagate as far as several hundred micrometers in such targets, while the fastest electrons can propagate several millimeters. Upon bending of filaments, the flow of electrons propagates along the filaments and can be focused by bringing the filaments together. Laser targets of the discussed composition are used as sources of dense bunches of relativistic electrons and subsequent generation of high-intensity X-ray radiation with their help.     

Stimulated emission of x-rays from plasmas generated by short-pulse-laser-heating of solid targets

The problem of heating of a solid target to generate a nonequilibrium plasma by subnanosecond laser pulses is considered. For an appreciable absorption of energy from a Nd-glass laser, the critical density of the electrons in the plasma turns out to be 10²¹ cm⁻³. These electrons can be heated up to 10⁷ K or more by using pulses of about 10 picosecond duration and absorbed energy flux of the order of 10²¹ erg cm⁻² sec⁻¹. Starting from neutral atoms in a solid with a high atomic number, e.g., Z=26, for times in the picosecond regime the relevant rate equations are solved analytically to predict densities of the atoms at different ionization levels. It is shown that during such a short time the population density of the ions isoelectronic to neon builds up to a very large amount. This in turn leads to the population inversion in the 4s → 3p soft x-ray laser transition, via the electron-impact excitation of the 4s level of the isoelectronic neon ion. For the effective pumping times of the order of 5 picoseconds, a gain of the order of 10² db cm⁻¹ is predicted for the laser transition in Fe XVII, Co XVIII or Cu XX.     

Role of hot-electron preheating in the compression of direct-drive imploding targets with cryogenic D2 ablators

The compression of direct-drive, spherical implosions is studied using cryogenic D2 targets on the 60-beam, 351-nm OMEGA laser with intensities ranging from approximately 3x10(14) to approximately 1x10(15) W/cm2. The hard-x-ray signal from hot electrons generated by laser-plasma instabilities increases with laser intensity, while the areal density decreases. Mitigating hot-electron production, by reducing the laser intensity to approximately 3x10(14) W/cm2, results in areal density of the order of approximately 140 mg/cm2, in good agreement with 1D simulations. These results will be considered in future direct-drive-ignition designs.     

High-intensity lasers as radiation sources

In the last decade or so, an evolution in experimental relativistic laser-plasma physics has led to highly sophisticated lasers which are now capable of generating ultra-short pulses and can be focused to intensities in excess of 10²¹ W cm^-2. The laser interaction with solid or gas targets can generate collimated beams of highly energetic electrons, protons and ions. These high-intensity laser systems, therefore, turn out to be versatile and powerful sources of radiation and high-energy particles, without recourse to large-scale facilities such as nuclear reactors or particle accelerators. The potential to induce various kinds of nuclear reactions with laser-induced radiation fields has been demonstrated at several laboratories in recent years. The present paper lays out a comprehensive overview of nuclear reactions induced by high-intensity laser matter interactions. Mechanisms for electron, proton and ion acceleration, in addition to secondary bremsstrahlung, positron and neutron production, are addressed, with a focus on the types of nuclear reactions that are possible and potential applications. Discussion of the extrapolation of these processes and applications to the next generation of table-top lasers under construction is also presented.     

Studies of plastic-ablator compressibility for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion on OMEGA

The compression of planar plastic targets was studied with x-ray radiography in the range of laser intensities of I approximately 0.5 to 1.5x10(15) W/cm2 using square (low-compression) and shaped (high-compression) pulses. Two-dimensional simulations with the radiative hydrocode DRACO show good agreement with measurements at laser intensities up to I approximately 10(15) W/cm2. These results provide the first experimental evidence for low-entropy, adiabatic compression of plastic shells in the laser intensity regime relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. A density reduction near the end of the drive at a high intensity of I approximately 1.5x10(15) W/cm2 has been correlated with the hard x-ray signal caused by hot electrons from two-plasmon-decay instability.     

超强激光与泡沫微结构靶相互作用提高强流电子束产额模拟研究

利用二维粒子模拟方法,本文研究了超强激光与泡沫微结构镀层靶相互作用产生强流电子束问题.研究发现泡沫区域产生了百兆高斯级准静态磁场,形成具有选能作用的"磁势垒",强流电子束中的低能端电子在"磁势垒"的作用下返回激光作用区域,在鞘场和激光场的共同作用下发生多次加速过程,从而显著提升高能电子产额.还应用单粒子模型,分析了电子在激光场作用下的运动行为,验证了多次加速的物理机理.     

激光脉冲诱导的等离子体密度调制及其产生的相位反射

理论研究和数值模拟发现入射光和反射光在低密度等离子体中形成的干涉场可以产生深度的等离子体密度调制. 对于中等强度的入射光，譬如10¹⁵W／cm² ，产生密度调制的时间尺度在几十个光周期的范围. 这样的等离子体密度调制可以起类似布拉格反射镜的 作用，使得后面的入射光在临界面以下的区域产生相位反射. 因为密度调制的周期是光在等 离子体中波长的一半，其产生的反射率可以接近100％. 相位反射也可以在不均匀的低密度 等离子体中产生，它可以极大地减少等离子体对光的吸收，因此在惯性约束核聚变中需要考 虑到它的影响. 关键词： 相位反射 密度调制 激光等离子体 粒子模拟