Time-Resolved Investigation of Ionization of Clusters Irradiated by a Strong Laser

Ionization dynamics of clusters irradiated by chirped femtosecond lasers is investigated by using a linearly chirped pulse spectral interferometry with a time resolution of less than lOOfs. The production of an average charged-Xe^18 and -Kr^9 ions indicates a strong energy coupling between laser and cluster. Ultrafast depletion of the probing laser is observed to be strictly coincident with the ionization front as seen in other experiments. Moreover,a two-step ionization process for Xe and Kr clusters irradiated by high-intensity lasers has been observed, which implies the role of resonance enhancement during the cluster explosion.     

Interaction of intense laser pulses with atomic clusters at different gas densities

The interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with rare gas clusters was studied experimentally, the time-of-flight spectra of ions from exploding clusters at different gas densities have been measured. It is found that while the relative components of ions in low and high energy of the ion energy spectrum decrease with the increase of the gas density, the average ion energies are the same for different gas densities, which indicates that the effect of gas density on laser-cluster interaction is not important under our experimental conditions.     

Cooling-induced increase of methane cluster size investigated under a Coulomb explosion scheme

In this letter, we discuss the increase in the average cluster size by lowering the stagnation temperature of the methane （CH4） gas. The Coulomb explosion experiments are conducted to estimate the cluster size and the size distribution. The average CH4 cluster sizes Nay of 6 230 and 6 580 are acquired with the source conditions of 30 bars at 240 K and 60 bars at 296 K, respectively. Empirical estimation suggests a five-fold increase in the average size of the CH4 clusters at 240 K compared with that at room temperature under a backing pressure of 30 bars. A strong nonlinear Hagena parameter relation （Г^＊∝ T0^-3.3） for the CH4 clusters is revealed. The results may be favorable for the production of large-sized clusters by using gases at low temperature and high back pressures.     

Deuterium cluster jet produced at moderate backing pressures

A deuterium cluster jet produced in the supersonic expansion into vacuum of deuterium gas at liquid nitrogen temperature and moderate backing pressures are studied by Rayleigh scattering techniques. The experimental results show that deuterium clusters can be created at moderate gas backing pressures ranging from 8 to 23 bar, and a maximum average cluster size of 350 atoms per cluster is estimated. The temporal evolution of the cluster jet generated at the backing pressure of 20 bar demonstrates a two-plateau structure. The possible mechanism responsible for this structure is discussed. The former plateau with higher average atom and cluster densities is more suitable for the general laser-cluster interaction experiments.     

中国环流器二号A(HL-2A)超声分子束注入最新结果

HL-2A装置电子回旋共振加热时,氘脉冲超声分子束穿越分界面,等离子体各项重要参数,包括等离子体储能、极向比压、中平面线平均密度、中心密度和温度上升,中子产额急剧增加. 超声分子束注入有可能较常规脉冲送气在台基顶部提供较强的粒子源,被认为是可供ITER替换脉冲送气的加料方法之一. HL-2A装置氢超声分子束注入的平均速度约为1.7km,与溢流(分子流)注入真空的速度测量作了比较. 关键词： 超声分子束注入 托卡马克 飞行时间法 加料     

HL-2A 装置超声分子束注入缓解偏滤器靶板上边缘局域模热通量研究

在HL-2A 装置上优化和发展了偏滤器靶板上的红外测温系统,并利用该系统分析了高约束模放电期间边缘局域模的热沉积分布特性。在高约束模式放电期间,超声分子束注入使边缘局域模所引起的偏滤器靶板上瞬间热通量峰值下降了~60%,并伴随着边缘局域模爆发频率增加了2~3 倍,而等离子体储能仅下降了~8%。分析结果表明,大幅度的丝状结构在超声分子束注入之后得到了有效抑制,沉积到偏滤器靶板上的瞬间热通量峰值也随之下降。此外,在超声分子束注入之后偏滤器室内的热辐射损失大幅度增加,从而耗散了热输运所携带的部分能量,进一步分散了沉积到偏滤器靶板上的能量,有效地保护了偏滤器靶板。     

Coulomb expansion of deuterated methane clusters irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse

The simulations of three-dimensional particle dynamics show that when irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse, the deuterated methane cluster expands and the majority of deuterons overrun the more slowly expanding carbon ions, resulting in the creation of two separated subelusters. The enhanced deuteron kinetic energy and a narrow peak around the energy maximum in the deuteron energy distribution make a considerable contribution to the efficiency of nuclear fusion compared with the ease of homonuelear deuterium clusters. With the intense laser irradiation, the nuclear fusion yield increases with the increase of the cluster size, so that deuterated heteronuelear clusters with larger sizes are required to achieve a greater neutron yield.     

Study on the interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with nanometre-sized hydrogen clusters

The interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with hydrogen clusters has been experimentally studied. The hydrogen clusters were produced from expansion of high-pressure hydrogen gas (backed up to 8\tm10⁶Pa) into vacuum through a conical nozzle cryogenically cooled by liquid nitrogen. The average size of hydrogen clusters was estimated by Rayleigh scattering measurement and the maximum proton energy of up to 4.2keV has been obtained from the Coulomb explosion of hydrogen clusters under 2×10¹⁶ W/cm² laser irradiation. Dependence of the maximum proton energy on cluster size and laser intensity was investigated, indicating the correlation between the laser intensity and the cluster size. The maximum proton energy is found to be directly proportional to the laser intensity, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction.     

混合／掺杂团簇研究进展

本文系统地评述了混合/掺杂团簇的研究现状及其在近十余年来取得的重要进展,着重讨论各类混合/掺杂团簇体系的电子结构和几何结构特点。同时,论述了混合/掺杂团簇的研究背景,概述了混合/掺杂团簇发生装置的研制进展及其特色,提出了若干有待进一步研究的问题。     

The first results of divertor discharge and supersonic molecular beam injection on the HL-2A tokamak

HL-2A tokamak is the first tokamak with divertors in China. The plasma boundary and the position of the striking point on the target plates of the HL-2A closed divertor were simulated by the current filament code and they were in agreement with the diagnostic results in the divertor. Supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) system was first installed and tested on the HL-2A tokamak in 2004. In the present experiment low pressure SMBI fuelling on the HL-2A closed divertor was carried out. The experimental results indicate that the divertor was operated in the `linear regime' and during the period of SMB pulse injection into the HL-2A plasma the power density convected at the target plate surfaces was 0.4 times of that before or after the beam injection. It is a useful fuelling method for decreasing the heat load on the neutralizer plates of the divertor.