Development of new diagnostics based on LiF detector for pump-probe experiments

We present new diagnostics for use in optical laser pump-X-ray Free Electron Laser(XFEL)probe experiments to monitor dimensions,intensity profile and focusability of the XFEL beam and to control initial quality and homogeneity of targets to be driven by optical laser pulse.By developing X-ray imaging,based on the use of an LiF crystal detector,we were able to measure the distribution of energy inside a hard X-ray beam with unprecedented high spatial resolution(~1 mm)and across a field of view larger than some millimetres.This diagnostic can be used in situ,provides a very high dynamic range,has an extremely limited cost,and is relatively easy to be implemented in pump-probe experiments.The proposed methods were successfully applied in pump-probe experiments at the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser(SACLA)XFEL facility and its potential was demonstrated for current and future High Energy Density Science experiments.

Detailed characterization of a laboratory magnetized supercritical collisionless shock and of the associated proton energization

Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in the Universe and are held responsible for the production of nonthermal particles and high-energy radiation.In the absence of particle collisions in the system,theory shows that the interaction of an expanding plasma with a pre-existing electromagnetic structure(as in our case)is able to induce energy dissipation and allow shock formation.Shock formation can alternatively take place when two plasmas interact,through microscopic instabilities inducing electromagnetic fields that are able in turn to mediate energy dissipation and shock formation.Using our platform in which we couple a rapidly expanding plasma induced by high-power lasers(JLF/Titan at LLNL and LULI2000)with high-strength magnetic fields,we have investigated the generation of a magnetized collisionless shock and the associated particle energization.We have characterized the shock as being collisionless and supercritical.We report here on measurements of the plasma density and temperature,the electromagnetic field structures,and the particle energization in the experiments,under various conditions of ambient plasma and magnetic field.We have also modeled the formation of the shocks using macroscopic hydrodynamic simulations and the associated particle acceleration using kinetic particle-in-cell simulations.As a companion paper to Yao et al.[Nat.Phys.17,1177–1182(2021)],here we show additional results of the experiments and simulations,providing more information to allow their reproduction and to demonstrate the robustness of our interpretation of the proton energization mechanism as being shock surfing acceleration.

Triggering star formation:Experimental compression of a foam ball induced by Taylor–Sedov blast waves

The interaction between a molecular cloud and an external agent(e.g.,a supernova remnant,plasma jet,radiation,or another cloud)is a common phenomenon throughout the Universe and can significantly change the star formation rate within a galaxy.This process leads to fragmentation of the cloud and to its subsequent compression and can,eventually,initiate the gravitational collapse of a stable molecular cloud.It is,however,difficult to study such systems in detail using conventional techniques(numerical simulations and astronomical observations),since complex interactions of flows occur.In this paper,we experimentally investigate the compression of a foam ball by Taylor–Sedov blast waves,as an analog of supernova remnants interacting with a molecular cloud.The formation of a compression wave is observed in the foam ball,indicating the importance of such experiments for understanding how star formation is triggered by external agents.

On the study of hydrodynamic instabilities in the presence of background magnetic fields in high-energy-density plasmas

Blast-wave-driven hydrodynamic instabilities are studied in the presence of a background B-field through experiments and simulations in the high-energy-density(HED)physics regime.In experiments conducted at the Laboratoire pour l’utilisation des lasers intenses(LULI),a laserdriven shock-tube platform was used to generate a hydrodynamically unstable interface with a prescribed sinusoidal surface perturbation,and short-pulse x-ray radiography was used to characterize the instability growth with and without a 10-T B-field.The LULI experiments were modeled in FLASH using resistive and ideal magnetohydrodynamics(MHD),and comparing the experiments and simulations suggests that the Spitzer model implemented in FLASH is necessary and sufficient for modeling these planar systems.These results suggest insufficient amplification of the seed B-field,due to resistive diffusion,to alter the hydrodynamic behavior.Although the ideal-MHD simulations did not represent the experiments accurately,they suggest that similar HED systems with dynamic plasma-β(=2μ_(0)ρv^(2)/B^(2))values of less than∼100 can reduce the growth of blast-wave-driven Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities.These findings validate the resistive-MHD FLASH modeling that is being used to design future experiments for studying B-field effects in HED plasmas.

Characterization and performance of the Apollon short-focal-area facility following its commissioning at 1 PW level

We present the results of the first commissioning phase of the short-focal-length area of the Apollon laser facility(located in Saclay,France),which was performed with the first available laser beam(F2),scaled to a nominal power of 1 PW.Under the conditions that were tested,this beam delivered on-target pulses of 10 J average energy and 24 fs duration.Several diagnostics were fielded to assess the performance of the facility.The on-target focal spot and its spatial stability,the temporal intensity profile prior to the main pulse,and the resulting density gradient formed at the irradiated side of solid targets have been thoroughly characterized,with the goal of helping users design future experiments.Emissions of energetic electrons,ions,and electromagnetic radiation were recorded,showing good laser-to-target coupling efficiency and an overall performance comparable to that of similar international facilities.This will be followed in 2022 by a further commissioning stage at the multipetawatt level.

Highly-collimated, high-charge and broadband MeV electron beams produced by magnetizing solids irradiated by high-intensity lasers

Laser irradiation of solid targets can drive short and high-charge relativistic electron bunches over micron-scale acceleration gradients.However,for a long time,this technique was not considered a viable means of electron acceleration due to the large intrinsic divergence(∼50°half-angle)of the electrons.Recently,a reduction in this divergence to 10°–20°half-angle has been obtained,using plasma-based magnetic fields or very high contrast laser pulses to extract the electrons into the vacuum.Here we show that we can further improve the electron beam collimation,down to∼1.5°half-angle,of a high-charge(6 nC)beam,and in a highly reproducible manner,while using standard stand-alone 100 TW-class laser pulses.This is obtained by embedding the laser-target interaction in an external,large-scale(cm),homogeneous,extremely stable,and high-strength(20 T)magnetic field that is independent of the laser.With upcoming multi-PW,high repetition-rate lasers,this technique opens the door to achieving even higher charges(>100 nC).

Short-pulse laser-driven x-ray radiography

We have developed a new radiography setup with a short-pulse laser-driven x-ray source. Using a radiography axis perpendicular to both long- and short-pulse lasers allowed optimizing the incident angle of the short-pulse laser on the x-ray source target. The setup has been tested with various x-ray source target materials and different laser wavelengths.Signal to noise ratios are presented as well as achieved spatial resolutions. The high quality of our technique is illustrated on a plasma flow radiograph obtained during a laboratory astrophysics experiment on POLARs.

Time evolution of stimulated Raman scattering and two-plasmon decay at laser intensities relevant for shock ignition in a hot plasma

Laser–plasma interaction(LPI)at intensities 1015–1016 W·cm^-2 is dominated by parametric instabilities which can be responsible for a significant amount of non-collisional absorption and generate large fluxes of high-energy nonthermal electrons.Such a regime is of paramount importance for inertial confinement fusion(ICF)and in particular for the shock ignition scheme.In this paper we report on an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System(PALS)facility to investigate the extent and time history of stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)and two-plasmon decay(TPD)instabilities,driven by the interaction of an infrared laser pulse at an intensity^1.2×1016 W·cm^-2 with a^100μm scalelength plasma produced from irradiation of a flat plastic target.The laser pulse duration(300 ps)and the high value of plasma temperature(~4 ke V)expected from hydrodynamic simulations make these results interesting for a deeper understanding of LPI in shock ignition conditions.Experimental results show that absolute TPD/SRS,driven at a quarter of the critical density,and convective SRS,driven at lower plasma densities,are well separated in time,with absolute instabilities driven at early times of interaction and convective backward SRS emerging at the laser peak and persisting all over the tail of the pulse.Side-scattering SRS,driven at low plasma densities,is also clearly observed.Experimental results are compared to fully kinetic large-scale,two-dimensional simulations.Particle-in-cell results,beyond reproducing the framework delineated by the experimental measurements,reveal the importance of filamentation instability in ruling the onset of SRS and stimulated Brillouin scattering instabilities and confirm the crucial role of collisionless absorption in the LPI energy balance.

Proton deflectometry of a capacitor coil target along two axes

A developing application of laser-driven currents is the generation of magnetic fields of picosecond-nanosecond duration with magnitudes exceeding B=10 T.Single-loop and helical coil targets can direct laser-driven discharge currents along wires to generate spatially uniform,quasi-static magnetic fields on the millimetre scale.Here,we present proton deflectometry across two axes of a single-loop coil ranging from 1 to 2 mm in diameter.Comparison with proton tracking simulations shows that measured magnetic fields are the result of kiloampere currents in the coil and electric charges distributed around the coil target.Using this dual-axis platform for proton deflectometry,robust measurements can be made of the evolution of magnetic fields in a capacitor coil target.