An unexpectedly low oscillator strength as the origin of the Fe XVII emission problem.

Highly charged iron (Fe(16+), here referred to as Fe XVII) produces some of the brightest X-ray emission lines from hot astrophysical objects, including galaxy clusters and stellar coronae, and it dominates the emission of the Sun at wavelengths near 15 ångströms. The Fe XVII spectrum is, however, poorly fitted by even the best astrophysical models. A particular problem has been that the intensity of the strongest Fe XVII line is generally weaker than predicted. This has affected the interpretation of observations by the Chandra and XMM-Newton orbiting X-ray missions, fuelling a continuing controversy over whether this discrepancy is caused by incomplete modelling of the plasma environment in these objects or by shortcomings in the treatment of the underlying atomic physics. Here we report the results of an experiment in which a target of iron ions was induced to fluoresce by subjecting it to femtosecond X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser; our aim was to isolate a key aspect of the quantum mechanical description of the line emission. Surprisingly, we find a relative oscillator strength that is unexpectedly low, differing by 3.6σ from the best quantum mechanical calculations. Our measurements suggest that the poor agreement is rooted in the quality of the underlying atomic wavefunctions rather than in insufficient modelling of collisional processes.

Hyperfine splitting of the 2s1/2 and 2p1/2 levels in Li- and be-like ions of (59)(141) Pr.

High-resolution spectroscopy of the 2s(1/2)-2p(1/2) transition in the extreme ultraviolet region is shown to resolve the level splitting induced by the nuclear magnetic field of both the 2s(1/2) and the 2p(1/2) levels in lithiumlike (141)Pr(56+) and of the 2s(1/2)2p(1/2) (3)P(1) level in berylliumlike (141)Pr(55+). The (141)Pr ions are an ideal test of this measurement approach because their energy levels are known well from first principles and are unaffected by small energy contributions from QED and nuclear magnetization effects. The accuracy attained in the measured 196.5 ± 1.2 meV 2s(1/2) splitting is more than an order of magnitude better than that achieved before using crystal spectroscopy of the 2s(1/2)-2p(3/2) x-ray transition and at the level needed to implement a proposed scheme for disentangling the contributions from QED and nuclear magnetization effects in higher-Z ions, such as (209)Bi.

Observations of the effect of ionization-potential depression in hot dense plasma.

The newly commissioned Orion laser system has been used to study dense plasmas created by a combination of short pulse laser heating and compression by laser driven shocks. Thus the plasma density was systematically varied between 1 and 10 g/cc by using aluminum samples buried in plastic foils or diamond sheets. The aluminum was heated to electron temperatures between 500 and 700 eV allowing the plasma conditions to be diagnosed by K-shell emission spectroscopy. The K-shell spectra show the effect of the ionization potential depression as a function of density. The data are compared to simulated spectra which account for the change in the ionization potential by the commonly used Stewart and Pyatt prescription and an alternative due to Ecker and Kröll suggested by recent x-ray free-electron laser experiments. The experimental data are in closer agreement with simulations using the model of Stewart and Pyatt.

Viscoelastic suppression of gravity-driven counterflow instability.

Attempts to achieve "top kill" of flowing oil wells by pumping dense drilling "muds," i.e., slurries of dense minerals, from above will fail if the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the gravity-driven counterflow produces turbulence that breaks up the denser fluid into small droplets. Here we estimate the droplet size to be submillimeter for fast flows and suggest the addition of a shear-thickening or viscoelastic polymer to suppress turbulence. We find in laboratory experiments a variety of new physical effects for a viscoelastic shear-thickening liquid in a gravity-driven counterstreaming flow. There is a progression from droplet formation to complete turbulence suppression at the relevant high velocities. Thick descending columns show a viscoelastic analogue of the viscous buckling instability. Thinner streams form structures resembling globules on a looping filament.

Measurements of electron transport in foils irradiated with a picosecond time scale laser pulse.

The heating of solid foils by a picosecond time scale laser pulse has been studied by using x-ray emission spectroscopy. The target material was plastic foil with a buried layer of a spectroscopic tracer material. The laser pulse length was either 0.5 or 2 ps, which resulted in a laser irradiance that varied over the range 10(16)-10(19) W/cm(2). Time-resolved measurements of the buried layer emission spectra using an ultrafast x-ray streak camera were used to infer the density and temperature conditions as a function of laser parameters and depth of the buried layer. Comparison of the data to different models of electron transport showed that they are consistent with a model of electron transport that predicts the bulk of the target heating is due to return currents.

Absolute throughput calibration of multiple spherical crystals for the Orion High-REsolution X-ray spectrometer (OHREX).

We present absolute throughput analysis of several crystals for the Orion High-REsolution X-ray (OHREX) imaging crystal spectrometer using ray tracing and experimental measurements. The OHREX spectrometer is a high-resolution x-ray spectrometer designed to measure spectral line shapes at the Orion laser facility. The spectrometer is fielded with up to two spherical crystals simultaneously covering two independent spectral ranges. Each crystal has a nominal radius of curvature of R = 67.2 cm and is fielded at a nominal Bragg angle of 51.3°. To cover different bands of interest, several different crystals are available, including Ge (111), KAP, and several cuts of quartz, whose resolving power λ/Δλ exceeds 10 000. The calibrated response of the available crystals has previously been reported from measurements at the EBIT-I electron beam ion trap at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Here, we model the absolute throughput of each crystal using ray tracing and verify the results using experimental data for the quartz (101¯1) crystal.

Recent enhancements in the performance of the Orion high-resolution x-ray spectrometers.

During the past few years, the Orion high-resolution x-ray spectrometers have been successful tools for measuring x-ray spectra from plasmas generated in the Orion laser facility. Duplicate spectrometers also operate successfully at the Livermore EBIT-I and SuperEBIT electron beam ion traps for measuring x-ray polarization. We have recently implemented very high-quality, optically bonded, spherically bent quartz crystals to remove the structure in the x-ray image that had been observed in earlier measurements. The structure had been caused by focusing defects and limited the accuracy of our measurements. We present before and after images that show a drastic improvement. We, furthermore, have implemented a spherically bent potassium acid phthalate (KAP) crystal on one of our spectrometers. The KAP crystal was prepared in a similar fashion, and we present measurements of the N Ly-ß and Ne Lyß lines taken in first- and second-order reflections at 600 and 1200 eV, respectively. These measurements confirm that KAP crystals can be produced at a quality suitable for extending the spectral coverage to wavelengths longer than those accessible by different quartz crystals, especially those that cover the astrophysically important lines of iron.

Microcalorimeter measurement of x-ray spectra from a high-temperature magnetically confined plasma.

A NASA-built x-ray microcalorimeter spectrometer has been installed on the MST facility at the Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory and has recorded x-ray photons emitted by impurity ions of aluminum in a majority deuterium plasma. Much of the x-ray microcalorimeter development has been driven by the needs of astrophysics missions, where imaging arrays with few-eV spectral resolution are required. The goal of our project is to adapt these single-photon-counting microcalorimeters for magnetic fusion energy research and demonstrate the value of such measurements for fusion science. Microcalorimeter spectrometers combine the best characteristics of the x-ray instrumentation currently available on fusion devices: high spectral resolution similar to an x-ray crystal spectrometer and the broadband coverage of an x-ray pulse height analysis system. Fusion experiments are increasingly employing high-Z plasma-facing components and require measurement of the concentration of all impurity ion species in the plasma. This diagnostic has the capability to satisfy this need for multi-species impurity ion data and will also contribute to measurements of impurity ion temperature and flow velocity, Zeff, and electron density. Here, we introduce x-ray microcalorimeter detectors and discuss the diagnostic capability for magnetic fusion energy experiments. We describe our experimental setup and spectrometer operation approach at MST, and we present the results from an initial measurement campaign.

Measurement of anomalously strong emission from the 1s-9p transition in the spectrum of H-like phosphorus following charge exchange with molecular hydrogen.

We have measured K-shell x-ray spectra of highly ionized argon and phosphorus following charge exchange with molecular hydrogen at low collision energy in an electron beam ion trap using an x-ray calorimeter array with ∼6 eV resolution. We find that the emission at the high end of the Lyman series is greater by a factor of 2 for phosphorus than for argon, even though the measurement was performed concurrently and the atomic numbers are similar. This does not agree with current theoretical models and deviates from the trend observed in previous measurements.

Relativistic quasimonoenergetic positron jets from intense laser-solid interactions.

Detailed angle and energy resolved measurements of positrons ejected from the back of a gold target that was irradiated with an intense picosecond duration laser pulse reveal that the positrons are ejected in a collimated relativistic jet. The laser-positron energy conversion efficiency is ∼2×10{-4}. The jets have ∼20 degree angular divergence and the energy distributions are quasimonoenergetic with energy of 4 to 20 MeV and a beam temperature of ∼1 MeV. The sheath electric field on the surface of the target is shown to determine the positron energy. The positron angular and energy distribution is controlled by varying the sheath field, through the laser conditions and target geometry.

Investigation of the 2p_{32}-3d_{52} line emission of Au;{53+}-Au;{69+} for diagnosing high energy density plasmas.

Measurements of the L -shell emission of highly charged gold ions were made under controlled laboratory conditions using the SuperEBIT electron beam ion trap, allowing detailed spectral observations of lines from Fe-like Au53+ through Ne-like Au69+ . Using atomic data from the Flexible Atomic Code, we have identified strong 3d_{52}-->2p_{32} emission features that can be used to diagnose the charge state distribution in high energy density plasmas, such as those found in the laser entrance hole of hot hohlraum radiation sources. We provide collisional-radiative calculations of the average ion charge Z as a function of temperature and density, which can be used to relate charge state distributions inferred from 3d_{52}-->2p_{32} emission features to plasma conditions, and investigate the effects of plasma density on calculated L -shell Au emission spectra.

Measurements of the effective electron density in an electron beam ion trap using extreme ultraviolet spectra and optical imaging.

In an electron beam ion trap (EBIT), the ions are not confined to the electron beam, but rather oscillate in and out of the beam. As a result, the ions do not continuously experience the full density of the electron beam. To determine the effective electron density, n e,eff, experienced by the ions, the electron beam size, the nominal electron density n e, and the ion distribution around the beam, i.e., the so-called ion cloud, must be measured. We use imaging techniques in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and optical to determine these. The electron beam width is measured using 3d → 3p emission from Fe xii and xiii between 185 and 205 Å. These transitions are fast and the EUV emission occurs only within the electron beam. The measured spatial emission profile and variable electron current yield a nominal electron density range of n e ∼ 1011-1013 cm-3. We determine the size of the ion cloud using optical emission from metastable levels of ions with radiative lifetimes longer than the ion orbital periods. The resulting emission maps out the spatial distribution of the ion cloud. We find a typical electron beam radius of ∼60 µm and an ion cloud radius of ∼300 µm. These yield a spatially averaged effective electron density, n e,eff, experienced by the ions in EBIT spanning ∼ 5 × 109-5 × 1011 cm-3.

Experimental comparison of spherically bent HAPG and Ge crystals.

The Orion high-resolution X-ray (OHREX) imaging spherically bent crystal spectrometer, operated with both image plates and CCD cameras, provides time-averaged plasma diagnostics through high-resolution spectroscopy with good signal-to-noise at the Orion laser facility. In order to provide time-resolved spectra, the OHREX will be outfitted with a streak camera, and in this case, even higher signal to noise will be desired. Using the OHREX's sister instrument, the EBIT High-resolution X-ray (EBHiX) spectrometer, at the LLNL electron beam ion trap EBIT-I, we therefore compare the efficiency of a high-quality Ge (111) crystal (2d = 6.532 Å) with that of a higher integrated reflectivity, but lower-resolution highly annealed pyrolytic graphite (HAPG) crystal (2d = 6.708 Å) in the energy range 2408-2452 eV. We find that the HAPG provides overall more signal across the entire image; however, because of the much better focusing properties of the Ge crystal, the latter provides more signal within the central 100 µm of the spatial profile in the cross-dispersion direction and is thus more suitable for the narrow entrance window of the Livermore-built streak camera.

The Warm Electron Beam Ion Trap (WEBIT): An instrument for ground calibration of space-borne x-ray spectrometers.

The warm electron beam ion trap (WEBIT) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is being developed as a pre-launch, ground calibration source for space-borne, high-throughput, high-resolution x-ray spectrometers, such as the x-ray imaging and spectroscopy mission Resolve quantum calorimeter. Historically, calibration sources for calorimeter spectrometers have relied on characteristic line emission from x-ray tubes, fluorescing metals, and radioactive sources. The WEBIT, by contrast, relies on emission from x-ray transitions in highly charged ions, for example, hydrogen-like and helium-like ions, whose energies are well known and whose line shapes are relatively simple. The WEBIT can create astrophysically relevant ions whose x-ray emission falls in the 0.3-12 keV science bandpass of Resolve and has a portable design advantageous for a calibration source. The WEBIT will be used to help calibrate Resolve's instrumental line shape and gain scale as a function of various operational parameters during both detector subsystem level testing and instrumental level testing.

High resolution, high signal-to-noise crystal spectrometer for measurements of line shifts in high-density plasmas.

The Orion high-resolution x-ray (OHREX) spectrometer has been a successful tool for measuring the shapes of density-broadened spectral lines produced in short-pulse heated plasmas at the Orion laser facility. We have recently outfitted the instrument with a charge-couple device (CCD) camera, which greatly increased the accuracy with which we can perform line-shift measurements. Because OHREX is located on the outside of the Orion target chamber, no provisions for the shielding of electromagnetic pulses are required. With the CCD, we obtained a higher signal-to-noise ratio than we previously obtained with an image-plate detector. This allowed us to observe structure in the image produced by the diffraction from the two OHREX crystals, which was highly reproducible from shot to shot. This structure will ultimately limit the accuracy of our spectroscopic measurements.

Fast-electron-relaxation measurement for laser-solid interaction at relativistic laser intensities.

We present measurements of the fast-electron-relaxation time in short-pulse (0.5 ps) laser-solid interactions for laser intensities of 10(17), 10(18), and 10(19) Wcm2, using a picosecond time-resolved x-ray spectrometer and a time-integrated electron spectrometer. We find that the laser coupling to hot electrons increases as the laser intensity becomes relativistic, and that the thermalization of fast electrons occurs over time scales on the order of 10 ps at all laser intensities. The experimental data are analyzed using a combination of models that include Kalpha generation, collisional coupling, and plasma expansion.

Experimentally determining the relative efficiency of spherically bent germanium and quartz crystals.

We have used the EBIT-I electron beam ion trap at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a duplicate Orion High Resolution X-ray Spectrometer (OHREX) to measure the relative efficiency of a spherically bent quartz (101̄1) crystal (2d = 6.687 Å) and a spherically bent germanium (111) crystal (2d = 6.532 Å). L-shell X-ray photons from highly charged molybdenum ions generated in EBIT-I were simultaneously focussed and Bragg reflected by each crystal, both housed in a single spectrometer, onto a single CCD X-ray detector. The flux from each crystal was then directly compared. Our results show that the germanium crystal has a reflection efficiency significantly better than the quartz crystal, however, the energy resolution is significantly worse. Moreover, we find that the spatial focussing properties of the germanium crystal are worse than those of the quartz crystal. Details of the experiment are presented, and we discuss the advantages of using either crystal on a streak-camera equipped OHREX spectrometer.

Calibration of the OHREX high-resolution imaging crystal spectrometer at the Livermore electron beam ion traps.

We report the calibration of the Orion High-Resolution X-ray (OHREX) imaging crystal spectrometer at the EBIT-I electron beam ion trap at Livermore. Two such instruments, dubbed OHREX-1 and OHREX-2, are fielded for plasma diagnostics at the Orion laser facility in the United Kingdom. The OHREX spectrometer can simultaneously house two spherically bent crystals with a radius of curvature of r = 67.2 cm. The focusing properties of the spectrometer allow both for larger distance to the source due to the increase in collected light and for observation of extended sources. OHREX is designed to cover a 2.5°-3° spectral range at Bragg angles around 51.3°. The typically high resolving powers at these large Bragg angles are ideally suited for line shape diagnostics. For instance, the nominal resolving power of the instrument (>10 000) is much higher than the effective resolving power associated with the Doppler broadening due to the temperature of the trapped ions in EBIT-I. The effective resolving power is only around 3000 at typical EBIT-I conditions, which nevertheless is sufficient to set up and test the instrument's spectral characteristics. We have calibrated the spectral range for a number of crystals using well known reference lines in the first and second order and derived the ion temperatures from these lines. We have also made use of the 50 µm size of the EBIT-I source width to characterize the spatial focusing of the spectrometer.

Imaging crystal spectrometer for high-resolution x-ray measurements on electron beam ion traps and tokamaks.

We describe a crystal spectrometer implemented on the Livermore electron beam ion traps that employ two spherically bent quartz crystals and a cryogenically cooled back-illuminated charge-coupled device detector to measure x rays with a nominal resolving power of λ/Δλ ≥ 10 000. Its focusing properties allow us to record x rays either with the plane of dispersion perpendicular or parallel to the electron beam and, thus, to preferentially select one of the two linear x-ray polarization components. Moreover, by choice of dispersion plane and focussing conditions, we use the instrument either to image the distribution of the ions within the 2 cm long trap region, or to concentrate x rays of a given energy to a point on the detector, which optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio. We demonstrate the operation and utility of the new instrument by presenting spectra of Mo34+, which prepares the instrument for use as a core impurity diagnostic on the NSTX-U spherical torus and other magnetic fusion devices that employ molybdenum as plasma facing components.

Responsivity calibration of the LoWEUS spectrometer.

We performed an in situ calibration of the relative responsivity function of the Long-Wavelength Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (LoWEUS), while operating on the Lithium Tokamak Experiment (LTX) at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The calibration was accomplished by measuring oxygen lines, which are typically present in LTX plasmas. The measured spectral line intensities of each oxygen charge state were then compared to the calculated emission strengths given in the CHIANTI atomic database. Normalizing the strongest line in each charge state to the CHIANTI predictions, we obtained the differences between the measured and predicted values for the relative strengths of the other lines of a given charge state. We find that a 3rd degree polynomial function provides a good fit to the data points. Our measurements show that the responsivity between about 120 and 300 Švaries by factor of ∼30.