High-brightness betatron emission from the interaction of a sub picosecond laser pulse with pre-ionized low-density polymer foam for ICF research.
Sci Rep
; 14(1): 14785, 2024 Jun 26.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38926535
ABSTRACT
Direct laser acceleration (DLA) of electrons in plasmas of near-critical density (NCD) is a very advancing platform for high-energy PW-class lasers of moderate relativistic intensity supporting Inertial Confinement Fusion research. Experiments conducted at the PHELIX sub-PW Ndglass laser demonstrated application-promising characteristics of DLA-based radiation and particle sources, such as ultra-high number, high directionality and high conversion efficiency. In this context, the bright synchrotron-like (betatron) radiation of DLA electrons, which arises from the interaction of a sub-ps PHELIX laser pulse with an intensity of 1019 W/cm2 with pre-ionized low-density polymer foam, was studied. The experimental results show that the betatron radiation produced by DLA electrons in NCD plasma is well directed with a half-angle of 100-200 mrad, yielding (3.4 ± 0.4)·1010 photons/keV/sr at 10 keV photon energy. The experimental photon fluence and the brilliance agree well with the particle-in-cell simulations. These results pave the way for innovative applications of the DLA regime using low-density pre-ionized foams in high energy density research.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Sci Rep
/
Sci. rep. (Nat. Publ. Group)
/
Scientific reports (Nature Publishing Group)
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Germany