Ion emission from warm dense matter produced by irradiation with a soft x-ray free-electron laser

We report on an experiment performed at the FLASH2 free-electron laser(FEL)aimed at producing warm dense matter via soft x-ray isochoric heating.In the experiment,we focus on study of the ions emitted during the soft x-ray ablation process using time-of-flight electron multipliers and a shifted Maxwell–Boltzmann velocity distribution model.We find that most emitted ions are thermal,but that some impurities chemisorbed on the target surface,such as protons,are accelerated by the electrostatic field created in the plasma by escaped electrons.The morphology of the complex crater structure indicates the presence of several ion groups with varying temperatures.We find that the ion sound velocity is controlled by the ion temperature and show how the ion yield depends on the FEL radiation attenuation length in different materials.

High-repetition-rate source of nanosecond duration kA-current pulses driven by relativistic laser pulses

We report the first high-repetition-rate generation and simultaneous characterization of nanosecond-scale return currents of kA-magnitude issued by the polarization of a target irradiated with a PW-class high-repetition-rate titanium:sapphire laser system at relativistic intensities.We present experimental results obtained with the VEGA-3 laser at intensities from5×10^(18)to 1.3×10^(20)W cm^(-2).A non-invasive inductive return-current monitor is adopted to measure the derivative of return currents of the order of kA ns-1and analysis methodology is developed to derive return currents.We compare the current for copper,aluminium and Kapton targets at different laser energies.The data show the stable production of current peaks and clear prospects for the tailoring of the pulse shape,which is promising for future applications in highenergy-density science,for example,electromagnetic interference stress tests,high-voltage pulse response measurements and charged particle beam lensing.We compare the target discharge of the order of hundreds of nC with theoretical predictions and a good agreement is found.

Laser produced electromagnetic pulses: generation, detection and mitigation

This paper provides an up-to-date review of the problems related to the generation,detection and mitigation of strong electromagnetic pulses created in the interaction of high-power,high-energy laser pulses with different types of solid targets.It includes new experimental data obtained independently at several international laboratories.The mechanisms of electromagnetic field generation are analyzed and considered as a function of the intensity and the spectral range of emissions they produce.The major emphasis is put on the GHz frequency domain,which is the most damaging for electronics and may have important applications.The physics of electromagnetic emissions in other spectral domains,in particular THz and MHz,is also discussed.The theoretical models and numerical simulations are compared with the results of experimental measurements,with special attention to the methodology of measurements and complementary diagnostics.Understanding the underlying physical processes is the basis for developing techniques to mitigate the electromagnetic threat and to harness electromagnetic emissions,which may have promising applications.