Characterization of bright betatron radiation generated by direct laser acceleration of electrons in plasma of near critical density

Directed x-rays produced in the interaction of sub-picosecond laser pulses of moderate relativistic intensity with plasma of near-critical density are investigated. Synchrotron-like (betatron) radiation occurs in the process of direct laser acceleration (DLA) of electrons in a relativisticlaser channel when the electrons undergo transverse betatron oscillations in self-generated quasi-static electric and magnetic fields. In anexperiment at the PHELIX laser system, high-current directed beams of DLA electrons with a mean energy ten times higher than the ponderomotive potential and maximum energy up to 100 MeV were measured at 10^(19) W/cm^(2)laser intensity. The spectrum of directed x-raysin the range of 5–60 keV was evaluated using two sets of Ross filters placed at 0°and 10°to the laser pulse propagation axis. The differential x-ray absorption method allowed for absolute measurements of the angular-dependent photon fluence. We report 10^(13) photons/sr withenergies >5 keV measured at 0°to the laser axis and a brilliance of 10^(21) photons s^(−1) mm^(−2) mrad−2(0.1%BW)−1. The angular distributionof the emission has an FWHM of 14°–16°. Thanks to the ultra-high photon fluence, point-like radiation source, and ultra-short emissiontime, DLA-based keV backlighters are promising for various applications in high-energy-density research with kilojoule petawatt-class laserfacilities.

Collisionless shock acceleration of protons in a plasma slab produced in a gas jet by the collision of two laser-driven hydrodynamic shockwaves

We have recently proposed a new technique of plasma tailoring by laser-driven hydrodynamic shockwaves generated on both sides of a gas jet[Marquès et al.,Phys.Plasmas 28,023103(2021)].In a continuation of this numerical work,we study experimentally the influence of the tailoring on proton acceleration driven by a high-intensity picosecond laser in three cases:without tailoring,by tailoring only the entrance side of the picosecond laser,and by tailoring both sides of the gas jet.Without tailoring,the acceleration is transverse to the laser axis,with a low-energy exponential spectrum,produced by Coulomb explosion.When the front side of the gas jet is tailored,a forward acceleration appears,which is significantly enhanced when both the front and back sides of the plasma are tailored.This forward acceleration produces higher-energy protons,with a peaked spectrum,and is in good agreement with the mechanism of collisionless shock acceleration(CSA).The spatiotemporal evolution of the plasma profile is characterized by optical shadowgraphy of a probe beam.The refraction and absorption of this beam are simulated by post-processing 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the plasma tailoring.Comparison with the experimental results allows estimation of the thickness and near-critical density of the plasma slab produced by tailoring both sides of the gas jet.These parameters are in good agreement with those required for CSA.

Applying the Kalman filter particle method to strange and open charm hadron reconstruction in the STAR experiment

We applied KF Particle, a Kalman Filter package for secondary vertex finding and fitting, to strange and open charm hadron reconstruction in heavy-ion collisions in the STAR experiment. Compared to the conventional helix swimming method used in STAR, the KF Particle method considerably improved the reconstructed Λ, Ω, and D~0 significance. In addition, the Monte Carlo simulation with STAR detector responses could adequately reproduce the topological variable distributions reconstructed in real data using the KF Particle method, thereby retaining substantial control of the reconstruction efficiency uncertainties for strange and open charm hadron measurements in heavy-ion collisions.

Characterization of hot electrons generated by laser-plasma interaction at shock ignition intensities

In an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System at laser intensities relevant to shock ignition conditions(I>10^(16) W/cm^(2)),the heating and transport of hot electrons were studied by using several complementary diagnostics,i.e.,K_(α)time-resolved imaging,hard x-ray filtering(a bremsstrahlung cannon),and electron spectroscopy.Ablators with differing composition from low Z(parylene N)to high Z(nickel)were used in multilayer planar targets to produce plasmas with different coronal temperature and collisionality and modify the conditions of hot-electron generation.The variety of available diagnostics allowed full characterization of the population of hot electrons,retrieving their conversion efficiency,time generation and duration,temperature,and angular divergence.The obtained results are shown to be consistent with those from detailed simulations and similar inertial confinement fusion experiments.Based on the measured data,the advantages,reliability,and complementarity of the experimental diagnostics are discussed.

Theory of X-Ray Anisotropy and Polarization Following the Dielectronic Recombination of Initially Hydrogen-Like Ions

The angular distribution and polarization of the x-ray photoemission of highly charged helium-like ions is studied following the K-LL dielectronic recombination of initially hydrogen-like ions.Calculation is carried out within the framework of the density matrix theory combined with the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock approach.Attention is paid to magnetic sublevel alignment in the resonant intermediate state and to its nonuniform radiative decay processes.It is shown that the Breit interaction between the incident and target electrons plays a significant role for the alignment of the resonant state and thus causes a substantial change in the x-ray emission characteristic,when compared to the incorporation of only the(non-relativistic)Coulomb interaction.The most prominent difference in alignment parameter is found in the 2s2p_(1/2) J=1 resonant state for a wide range of atomic numbers from 9 to 92.For this resonant state of helium-like ions,the Breit interaction becomes significant for ions with nuclear charge Z~30 already.

Zero Sound Propagation in Femto-Scale Quantum Liquids

Charge equilibration has been recognized as a dominant process at the early stage of low-energy heavy-ion reactions. The production of exotic nuclei is suppressed under the appearance of charge equilibration, in which the proton-neutron ratios of the final reaction products are inevitably averaged. Therefore charge equilibration plays one of the most crucial roles in the synthesis of chemical elements. Focusing on how and when the charge equilibration takes place, zero sound propagation in femto-scale quantum liquids is explained.

Ground-state mass of ^(22)Al and test of state-of-the-art ab initio calculations

The ground-state mass excess of the T_(z)=−2 drip-line nucleus ^(22)Al is measured for the first time as 18103(10)keV using the newly-developed Bρ-defined isochronous mass spectrometry method at the cooler storage ring in Lanzhou.The new mass excess value allowed us to determine the excitation energies of the two low-lying 1+states in ^(22)Al with significantly reduced uncertainties of 51 keV.When compared to the analogue states in its mirror nucleus ^(22)F,the mirror energy differences of the two 1^(+)states in the ^(22)Al-^(22)F mirror pair are determined to be−625(51)keV and−330(51)keV.The excitation energies and mirror energy differences are used to test the state-of-the-art ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group calculations with four sets of interactions derived from the chiral effective field theory.The mechanism leading to the large mirror energy differences is investigated and attributed to the occupation of theπs_(1/2) orbital.

interferometry;laser±plasma interaction;off-harmonic probe laser;streaked shadowgraphy

This paper presents the development and experimental utilization of a synchronized off-harmonic laser system designed as a probe for ultra-intense laser±plasma interaction experiments. The system exhibits a novel seed-generation design,allowing for a variable pulse duration spanning over more than three orders of magnitude, from 3.45 picoseconds to 10 nanoseconds. This makes it suitable for various plasma diagnostics and visualization techniques. In a side-view configuration, the laser was employed for interferometry and streaked shadowgraphy of a laser-induced plasma while successfully suppressing the self-emission background of the laser±plasma interaction, resulting in a signal-to-self-emission ratio of 110 for this setup. These properties enable the probe to yield valuable insights into the plasma dynamics and interactions at the PHELIX facility and to be deployed at various laser facilities due to its easy-to-implement design.

Millijoule ultrafast optical parametric amplification as replacement for high-gain regenerative amplifiers

We report on the development of an ultrafast optical parametric amplifier front-end for the Petawatt High Energy Laser for heavy Ion eXperiments(PHELIX)and the Petawatt ENergy-Efficient Laser for Optical Plasma Experiments(PEnELOPE)facilities.This front-end delivers broadband and stable amplification up to 1 mJ per pulse while maintaining a high beam quality.Its implementation at PHELIX allowed one to bypass the front-end amplifier,which is known to be a source of pre-pulses.With the bypass,an amplified spontaneous emission contrast of 4.9×10^(−13)and a pre-pulse contrast of 6.2×10^(−11)could be realized.Due to its high stability,high beam quality and its versatile pump amplifier,the system offers an alternative for high-gain regenerative amplifiers in the front-end of various laser systems.

A data analysis method for isochronous mass spectrometry using two time-of-flight detectors at CSRe

The concept of isochronous mass spectrometry(IMS) applying two time-of-flight(TOF) detectors originated many years ago at GSI. However, the corresponding method for data analysis has never been discussed in detail. Recently, two TOF detectors have been installed at CSRe and the new working mode of the ring is under test. In this paper, a data analysis method for this mode is introduced and tested with a series of simulations. The results show that the new IMS method can significantly improve mass resolving power via the additional velocity information of stored ions. This improvement is especially important for nuclides with Lorentz factor γ-value far away from the transition point γt of the storage ring CSRe.

Calculations of β-decay half-lives of proton-rich nuclei

We investigate the half-lives of β + /EC(electron capture) decay using the proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation(pnQRPA) with a δ-form Gamow-Teller residual interaction.Both particle-hole and particle-particle residual interactions are consistently introduced in dealing with the pnQRPA matrix equation.The sensitivity of the calculated half-lives to some physical quantities used in the calculations is examined.Calculations are performed for even-even neutron-deficient isotopes ranging from Z = 10 to Z = 76.Good agreement between experiment and theory is achieved especially for the nuclei far from stability,and the results of our calculations are discussed with comparison with other theoretical results.Predictions on the β-decay half-lives of some very neutron-deficient nuclei are also given for reference in future experiments.

Direct mass measurements of neutron-rich ^(86)Kr projectile fragments and the persistence of neutron magic number N=32 in Sc isotopes

In this paper, we present direct mass measurements of neutron-rich86 Kr projectile fragments conducted at the HIRFL-CSR facility in Lanzhou by employing the Isochronous Mass Spectrometry(IMS) method. The new mass excesses of52-54 Sc nuclides are determined to be-40492(82),-38928(114),-34654(540) ke V, which show a significant increase of binding energy compared to the reported ones in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012(AME12).In particular,53 Sc and54Sc are more bound by 0.8 Me V and 1.0 Me V, respectively. The behavior of the two neutron separation energy with neutron numbers indicates a strong sub-shell closure at neutron number N =32 in Sc isotopes.

Reflecting laser-driven shocks in diamond in the megabar pressure range

In this work we present experimental results on the behavior of diamond at megabar pressure. The experiment was performed using the PHELIX facility at GSI in Germany to launch a planar shock into solid multi-layered diamond samples. The target design allows shock velocity in diamond and in two metal layers to be measured as well as the free surface velocity after shock breakout. As diagnostics, we used two velocity interferometry systems for any reflector(VISARs). Our measurements show that for the pressures obtained in diamond(between 3 and 9 Mbar),the propagation of the shock induces a reflecting state of the material. Finally, the experimental results are compared with hydrodynamical simulations in which we used different equations of state, showing compatibility with dedicated SESAME tables for diamond.

Revisit to Two-Proton Radioactivity of 19Mg and Observation of Two-Proton Decay of 30Ar

An experiment aimed to investigate the two-proton(2p) decay of the previously unknown nucleus ^(30)Ar was performed at GSI. By tracking the decay products in-flight with silicon micro-strip detectors, the 2p decays of ^(30)Ar were observed for the first time. For the calibration purpose, 2p decays of ^(19)Mg were also remeasured by tracking the coincident ^(17)Ne+p+p trajectories. By comparing the measured angular p-17 Ne correlations with those obtained from the corresponding Monte Carlo simulations,the simultaneous 2p decay of ^(19)Mg ground state and the sequential 2p emission of several known excited states of ^(19)Mg were confirmed. One new excited state in ^(19)Mg and two new excited states in ^(18)Na were observed.

Recent results on hadron spectroscopy from BES

The BES-Ⅲ Detector is a very versatile multipurpose device located at the Institute of High Energy Physics(IHEP) in Beijing,China.Concerning the physics program it ties stringently up to the past BES and BES-Ⅱ experiments.Since start of the data taking in the middle of 2008 the accumulated dataset of 200·106 J/ψ events and 100·106 ψ events already exceeds the world data on these resonances.In addition to studies of the charmonium systems the data offers great opportunity for investigations in the light hadron sector.In detail it will be reported about the confirmation of the enhancement in p invariant mass in radiative J/ψ decays,the search for decays Y(2175) → K0 K0,observation of a charged κ± in K±π0 and observation of a new excited baryon N(2065) decaying to pπ0 and charged conjugate.The first result is based on data taken by BES-Ⅱ and BES-Ⅲ,the latter three on data collected by BES-Ⅱ only.

The proton radius:from a puzzle to precision

The proton charge radius rP is a fundamental quantity in particle physics,as it challenges our understanding of the so successful Standard Model in the non-perturbative regime of the strong interactions.It is defined by the slope of the proton charge form factor GE p etT at zero momentum transfer,with t the invariant four-momentum transfer squared.The proton charge radius was first indirectly measured in the Nobel prize winning electron scattering experiments by Hofstadter et al.[1,2],who fitted the form factor data with a dipole form and extracted the radius from the slope of the dipole.

Design,installation and commissioning of the ELI-Beamlines high-power,high-repetition rate HAPLS laser beam transport system to P3

The design and the early commissioning of the ELI-Beamlines laser facility’s 30 J,30 fs,10 Hz HAPLS(High-repetitionrate Advanced Petawatt Laser System)beam transport(BT)system to the P3 target chamber are described in detail.It is the world’s first and with 54 m length,the longest distance high average power petawatt(PW)BT system ever built.It connects the HAPLS pulse compressor via the injector periscope with the 4.5 m diameter P3 target chamber of the plasma physics group in hall E3.It is the largest target chamber of the facility and was connected first to the BT system.The major engineering challenges are the required high vibration stability mirror support structures,the high pointing stability optomechanics as well as the required levels for chemical and particle cleanliness of the vacuum vessels to preserve the high laser damage threshold of the dielectrically coated high-power mirrors.A first commissioning experiment at low pulse energy shows the full functionality of the BT system to P3 and the novel experimental infrastructure.

Ultra-compact post-compressor on-shot wavefront measurement for beam correction at PHELIX

In order to reach the highest intensities,modern laser systems use adaptive optics to control their beam quality.Ideally,the focal spot is optimized after the compression stage of the system in order to avoid spatio-temporal couplings.This also requires a wavefront sensor after the compressor,which should be able to measure the wavefront on-shot.At PHELIX,we have developed an ultra-compact post-compressor beam diagnostic due to strict space constraints,measuring the wavefront over the full aperture of 28 cm.This system features all-reflective imaging beam transport and a high dynamic range in order to measure the wavefront in alignment mode as well as on shot.

Accelerating ions with high-energy short laser pulses from submicrometer thick targets

Using the example of the PHELIX high-energy short pulse laser we discuss the technical preconditions to investigate ion acceleration with submicrometer thick targets. We show how the temporal contrast of this system was improved to prevent pre-ionization of such targets on the nanosecond timescale. Furthermore the influence of typical fluctuations or uncertainties of the on-target intensity on ion acceleration experiments is discussed. We report how these uncertainties were reduced by improving the assessment and control of the on-shot intensity and by optimizing the positioning of the target into the focal plane. Finally we report on experimental results showing maximum proton energies in excess of 85 MeV for ion acceleration via the target normal sheath acceleration mechanism using target thicknesses on the order of one micrometer.

Ultrahigh temporal contrast performance of the PHELIX petawatt facility

We report on the temporal contrast performance of the PHELIX facility in view of the requirements imposed by solidtarget interaction experiments. The requirement analysis for the nanosecond and picosecond temporal contrast is derived from empirical data and simple theoretical modeling, while the realization shows that using an ultrafast optical parametric amplifier and plasma mirrors enables meeting this specification.