High-energy-density plasma in femtosecond-laser-irradiated nanowire-array targets for nuclear reactions

In this work,the high-energy-density plasmas(HEDP)evolved from joule-class-femtosecond-laser-irradiated nanowire-array(NWA)targets were numerically and experimentally studied.The results of particle-in-cell simulations indicate that ions accelerated in the sheath field around the surfaces of the nanowires are eventually confined in a plasma,contributing most to the high energy densities.The protons emitted from the front surfaces of the NWA targets provide rich information about the interactions that occur.We give the electron and ion energy densities for broad target parameter ranges.The ion energy densities from NWA targets were found to be an order of magnitude higher than those from planar targets,and the volume of the HEDP was several-fold greater.At optimal target parameters,8%of the laser energy can be converted to confined protons,and this results in ion energy densities at the GJ/cm^(3) level.In the experiments,the measured energy of the emitted protons reached 4 MeV,and the changes in energy with the NWA’s parameters were found to fit the simulation results well.Experimental measurements of neutrons from 2H(d,n)3He fusion with a yield of(24±18)×10^(6)/J from deuterated polyethylene NWA targets also confirmed these results.

Photonuclear production of medical isotopes^(62,64)Cu using intense laser-plasma electron source

^(62,64)Cu are radioisotopes of medical interest that can be used for positron emission tomography(PET)imaging.Moreover,64Cu hasβ−decay characteristics that allowfor targeted radiotherapy of cancer.In the present work,a novel approach to experimentally demonstrate the production of ^(62,64)Cu isotopes fromphotonuclear reactions is proposed in which large-current laser-based electron(e−)beams are generated fromthe interaction between sub-petawatt laser pulses and near-critical-density plasmas.According to simulations,at a laser intensity of 3.431021 W/cm2,a dense e−beamwith a total charge of 100 nCcan be produced,and this in turn produces bremsstrahlung radiation of the order of 1010 photons per laser shot,in the region of the giant dipole resonance.The bremsstrahlung radiation is guided to a natural Cu target,triggering photonuclear reactions to produce themedical isotopes ^(62,64)Cu.An optimal target geometry is employed to maximize the photoneutron yield,and ^(62,64)Cuwith appropriate activities of 0.18 GBq and 0.06 GBq are obtained for irradiation times equal to their respective half-livesmultiplied by three.The detection of the characteristic energy for the nuclear transitions of ^(62,64)Cu is also studied.The results of our calculations support the prospect of producing PET isotopes with gigabecquerel-level activity(equivalent to the required patient dose)using upcoming high-intensity laser facilities.