Feasible Design of a Free Electron Laser Based on the Smith–Parsell Effect

A free electron laser design is considered in which coherent radiation is generated during the flight of a bunched electron beam near a periodic metal target (Smith–Parsell radiation). If the target (array) is placed in a special resonator, optical feedback can be realized. It is proposed to use an array made of thin conductive strips separated with vacuum gaps, since the radiation output in this case is much higher than that attainable with conventional arrays. Varying the array parameters, one can choose the necessary direction and required spectral distribution of the Smith–Parsell radiation. When radiation is generated in the direction normal to the trajectory of the electron beam, the array acts as one of the resonator mirrors.     

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.     

Experimental observation of optical diffraction radiation

The optical diffraction radiation of ultrarelativistic electrons at the boundary of a conducting medium is observed experimentally. Backward diffraction radiation, which, like transition radiation, is emitted at the angle of specular reflection from the target, is detected. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 10, 760–764 (25 May 1998)     

Optical second harmonic generation induced by picosecond terahertz pulses in centrosymmetric antiferromagnet NiO

Optical second harmonic generation at the photon energy of 2?ω = 2eV in the model centrosymmetric antiferromagnet NiO irradiated with picosecond terahertz pulses (0.4–2.5 THz) at room temperature is detected. The analysis of experimental results shows that induced optical second harmonic generation at the moment of the impact of a terahertz pulse arises through the electric dipole mechanism of the interaction of the electric field of a pump pulse with the electron subsystem of NiO. Temporal changes in optical second harmonic generation during 7 ps after the action of the pulse are also of an electric dipole origin and are determined by the effects of propagation of the terahertz pulse in a NiO platelet. Coherent oscillations of spins at the antiferromagnetic resonance frequency induced by the magnetic component of the terahertz pulse induce a relatively weak modulation of magnetic dipole optical second harmonic generation.     

Generation of hard x rays by femtosecond laser pulse interaction with solid targets in atmosphere

X ray radiation as high as 50 keV, including K(α) of Ba and Mo, have been observed from a solid target during the interaction of low energy ~0.65 mJ, 1 kHz 40 femtosecond laser pulses focused in air at atmospheric pressure. Energetic electrons generating such x rays are possibly produced when the field strength in laser pulse wake exceeds the runaway threshold in air. Two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that include optical field ionization of air and elastic collisions support this mechanism.     

Investigation of resonance diffractive radiation from relativistic electrons in conducting periodic targets

Optical resonance diffractive and transition radiation from 200-MeV electrons in conducting periodic targets with spaced strips are investigated experimentally at the Tomsk synchrotron. The orientation and spectral properties of the radiation are measured.     

Experimental study of the acceleration of protons emitted from thin foils irradiated by ultrahigh-contrast laser pulses

Experimental results are presented for proton acceleration from the back of a target irradiated by laser pulses with intensities up to 2 × 10¹⁹ W/cm² generated by the SOKOL-P facility. The proton acceleration efficiency increases with decreasing of the target thickness. However, thin targets are destroyed by the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) prepulse before the main pulse arrival. An additional optical switch based on a Pockels cell has been used in the amplification section to carry out the experiments with ultrathin foils. As a result, the energy contrast with respect to the ASE prepulse has been increased up to 4 × 10⁶. Owing to high contrast, the experiments on studying proton acceleration from foils with thicknesses less than 100 nm have been carried out.     

Optical Polarization Radiation of Relativistic Electrons in Conducting Targets

A theoretical model and results of experiments on optical polarization radiation of relativistic electrons from conducting targets performed on the synchrotron and microtron of Nuclear Physics Institute at Tomsk Polytechnic University are reported. The measurements of spectral characteristics of resonance polarization radiation in periodic targets over a wide range of electron energies (both in the Smyth–Purcell geometry and for different angles between the targets and the direction of the electron beam) show reasonable agreement with theoretical estimates.