Direct observation of shock-induced phase transformation in polycrystalline iron via in situ x-ray diffraction

Phase transition of polycrystalline iron compressed along the Hugoniot is studied by combining laser-driven shock with in situ x-ray diffraction technique.It is suggested that polycrystalline iron changes from an initial body-centered cubic structure to a hexagonal close-packed structure with increasing pressure(i.e.,a phase transition fromαtoε).The relationship between density and pressure for polycrystalline iron obtained from the present experiments is found to be in good agreement with the gas-gun Hugoniot data.Our results show that experiments with samples at lower temperatures under static loading,such as in a diamond anvil cell,lead to higher densities measured than those found under dynamic loading.This means that extrapolating results of static experiments may not predict the dynamic responses of materials accurately.In addition,neither the face-centered cubic structure seen in previous molecular-dynamics simulations or twophase coexistence are found within our experimental pressure range.

Real-Time Observation of Instantaneous ac Stark Shift of a Vacuum Using a Zeptosecond Laser Pulse

Based on the numerical solution of the time-dependent Dirac equation,we propose a method to observe in real time the ac Stark shift of a vacuum driven by an ultra-intense laser field.By overlapping the ultra-intense pump pulse with another zeptosecond probe pulse whose photon energy is smaller than 2mc^(2),electron–positron pair creation can be controlled by tuning the time delay between the pump and probe pulses.Since the pair creation rate depends sensitively on the instantaneous vacuum potential,one can reconstruct the ac Stark shift of the vacuum potential according to the time-delay-dependent pair creation rate.

Plasma density transition-based electron injection in laser wake field acceleration driven by a flying focus laser

By using a high-intensity flying focus laser,the dephasingless[Phys.Rev.Lett.124134802(2020)]or phase-locked[Nat.Photon.14475(2020)]laser wakefield acceleration(LWFA)can be realized,which may overcome issues of laser diffraction,pump depletion,and electron dephasing which are always suffered in usual LWFA.The scheme thus has the potentiality to accelerate electrons to Te V energy in a single acceleration stage.However,the controlled electron injection has not been self-consistently included in such schemes.Only external injection was suggested in previous theoretical studies,which requires other accelerators and is relatively difficulty to operate.Here,we numerically study the actively controlled density transition injection in phase-locked LWFA to get appropriate density profiles for amount of electron injection.The study shows that compared with LWFA driven by lasers with fixed focus,a larger plasma density gradient is necessary.Electrons experience both transverse and longitudinal loss during acceleration due to the superluminal group velocity of the driver and the variation of the wakefield structure.Furthermore,the periodic deformation and fracture of the flying focus laser in the high-density plasma plateau make the final injected charge also depend on the beginning position of the density downramp.Our studies show a possible way for amount of electron injection in LWFA driven by flying focus lasers.

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.

Characteristics of Plasma Jets in Laser-Driven Magnetic Reconnection

The jets driven by magnetic reconnection in laser-plasma interactions are investi- gated experimentally. The diagnostics in the optical and X-ray ranges provide detailed information about the jet characteristics. The plasma jets perpendicular to and along the target surface are observed clearly, which is evident signatures of laser driven magnetic reconnection. The jet formation is also investigated for different experimental parameters.

Ultrafast magneto-optical dynamics in nickel(111)single crystal studied by the integration of ultrafast reflectivity and polarimetry probes

With the integration of ultrafast reflectivity and polarimetry probes,we observed carrier relaxation and spin dynamics induced by ultrafast laser excitation of Ni(111)single crystals.The carrier relaxation time within the linear excitation range reveals that electron-phonon coupling and dissipation of photon energy into the bulk of the crystal take tens of picoseconds.On the other hand,the observed spin dynamics indicate a longer time of about 120 ps.To further understand how the lattice degree of freedom is coupled with these dynamics may require the integration of an ultrafast diffraction probe.

Post-solitons and electron vortices generated by femtosecond intense laser interacting with uniform near-critical-density plasmas

Generation of nonlinear structures,such as stimulated Raman side scattering waves,post-solitons and electron vortices,during ultra-short intense laser pulse transportation in near-critical-density(NCD)plasmas is studied by using multidimensional particle-in-cell(PIC)simulations.In two-dimensional geometries,both P-and S-polarized laser pulses are used to drive these nonlinear structures and to check the polarization effects on them.In the S-polarized case,the scattered waves can be captured by surrounding plasmas leading to the generation of post-solitons,while the main pulse excites convective electric currents leading to the formation of electron vortices through Kelvin-Helmholtz instability(KHI).In the P-polarized case,the scattered waves dissipate their energy by heating surrounding plasmas.Electron vortices are excited due to the hosing instability of the drive laser.These polarization dependent physical processes are reproduced in two different planes perpendicular to the laser propagation direction in three-dimensional simulation with linearly polarized laser driver.The current work provides inspiration for future experiments of laser-NCD plasma interactions.

Metrology for sub-Rayleigh-length target positioning in~10^(22)W/cm^(2)laser-plasma experiments

Tight focusing with very small f-numbers is necessary to achieve the highest at-focus irradiances.However,tight focusing imposes strong demands on precise target positioning in-focus to achieve the highest on-target irradiance We describe several near-infrared,visible,ultraviolet and soft and hard X-ray diagnostics employed in a~10^(22)W/cm^(2)laser±plasma experiment.We used nearly 10 J total energy femtosecond laser pulses focused into an approximately1.3-μm focal spot on 5±20μm thick stainless-steel targets.We discuss the applicability of these diagnostics to determine the best in-focus target position with approximately 5μm accuracy(i.e.,around half of the short Rayleigh length)and show that several diagnostics(in particular,3ωreflection and on-axis hard X-rays)can ensure this accuracy.We demonstrated target positioning within several micrometers from the focus,ensuring over 80%of the ideal peak laser intensity on-target.Our approach is relatively fast(it requires 10±20 laser shots)and does not rely on the coincidence of low-power and high-power focal planes.

Electromagnetic Emission from Laser Wakefields in Magnetized Underdense Plasmas

A wakefield driven by a short intense laser pulse in a perpendicularly magnetized underdense plasma is studied analytically and numerically for both weakly relativistic and highly relativistic situations. Owing to the DC magnetic field, a transverse component of the electric fields associated with the wakefield appears, while the longitudinal wave is not greatly affected by the magnetic field up to 22 Tesla. Moreover, the scaling law of the transverse field versus the longitudinal field is derived. One-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation results confirm the analytical results. Wakefield transmission through the plasma-vacuum boundary, where electromagnetic emission into vacuum occurs, is also investigated numerically. These results are useful for the generation of terahertz radiation and the diagnosis of laser wakefields.

High power terahertz pulses generated in intense laser-plasma interactions

Terahertz （THz） radiation has attracted much attention due to its wide potential applications. Though radiation can be generated with various ways, it is still a big challenge to obtain strong tabletop sources. Plasma, with the advantage of no damage limit, is a promising medium to generate strong THz radiation. This review reports recent advances on strong THz radiation generation from low-density gases and high-density solid targets at different laser intensities.

Interesting Features of Ionization Potentials for Elements(Z≤119)along the Periodic Table

The ionization potential （IP） is a basic property of an atom, which has many applications such as in element analysis. With the Dirac-Slater methods （i.e., mean field theory）, IPs of all occupied orbitals for elements with atomic number （Z ≤ 119） are calculated conveniently and systematically. Compared with available experimental measurements, the theoretical accuracies of IPs for various occupied orbitals are ascertained. The map of the inner orbital IPs with Mood accuracies should be useful to select x-ray energies for element analysis. Based on systematic variations of the first IPs for the outermost orbitals in good agreement with experimental values as well as other IPs, mechanisms of electronic configurations of all atomic elements （Z ≤ 119） along the periodic table are elucidated. It is interesting to note that there exist some deficiencies of the intermediate orbital IPs, which are due to electron correlations and should be treated beyond the mean field theory.

Time-Resolved Visualization of Laser-Induced Heating of Gold with MeV Ultrafast Electron Diffraction

Time-resolved electron diffraction employing MeV electron beams is demonstrated experimentally at the center for ultrafast diffraction and microscopy of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. A high-quality diffraction pattern is recorded by a single shot of electron pulse. Synchronization between the pump laser and the probe electron beam is achieved through measurement of electron deflection caused by the laser-induced plasmas in a metal tip. We study the ultrafast structural dynamics of the gold lattice excited by a femtosecond laser through tracing the change of Bragg peaks intensity at different time delays. It is expected that the combination of MeV ultrashort electron beams and femtoseeond laser pulses will open many new opportunities in the ultrafast and ultrasmall world.

Time-Grating for the Generation of STUD Pulse Trains

Spike train of uneven duration or delay(STUD)pulses hold potential for laser-plasma interaction(LPI)control in laser fusion.The technique based on time grating is applied to generate an STUD pulse train.Time grating,a temporal analogy of the diffraction grating,can control the pulse width,shape,and repetition rate easily through the use of electro-optical devices.The pulse width and repetition rate are given by the modulation frequency and depth of the phase modulation function in theory and numerical calculation.The zero-chirped phase modulation is good for the compression effect of the time grating.A principle experiment of two pulses interfering is shown to verify the time grating function.

Temperature dependence of pattern transitions on water surface in contact with DC microplasmas

The DC-driven atmospheric-pressure microplasma is generated in a helium gas flowing through the metal tube cathode and is brought into contact with the surface of the water with the immersed Pt anode.By adjusting the gas flow,discharge current and gap distance,self-organized patterns are observed and varied sequentially from the homogeneous spot to the ring-like shape,distinct spot shape and the gearwheel shape on the water surface.The electrode temperature is measured and the gas temperature of the plasma discharge is calculated through the numericalfitting of the second positive system of the spectrum of N2 molecules.It is shown that the pattern transition is related to the electrode and gas temperatures of the plasma.Moreover,specific discretization features of the patterns are shown to appear at certain gas temperatures.

Application of multi-pulse optical imaging to measure evolution of laser-produced counter-streaming flows

A counter-streaming flow system is a test-bed to investigate the astrophysical collisionless shock（CS） formation in the laboratory. Electrostatic/electromagnetic instabilities, competitively growing in the system and exciting the CS formation, are sensitive to the flows parameters. One of the most important parameters is the velocity, determining what kind of instability contributes to the shock formation. Here we successfully measure the evolution of the counter-streaming flows within one shot using a multi-pulses imaging diagnostic technique. With the technique, the average velocity of the high-density-part（ne ≥ 8–9 × 10^19cm^-3） of the flow is directly measured to be of ～ 10^6cm/s between 7 ns and 17 ns.Meanwhile, the average velocity of the low-density-part（ne ≤ 2 × 10^19cm^-3） can be estimated as ～ 10^7cm/s. The experimental results show that a collisionless shock is formed during the low-density-part of the flow interacting with each other.

Generation of a curved plasma channel from a discharged capillary for intense laser guiding

Straight plasma channels are widely used to guide relativistic intense laser pulses over several Rayleigh lengths for laser wakefield acceleration.Recently,a curved plasma channel with gradually varied curvature was suggested to guide a fresh intense laser pulse and merge it into a straight channel for staged wakefield acceleration[Phys.Rev.Lett.120,154801(2018)].In this work,we report the generation of such a curved plasma channel from a discharged capillary.Both longitudinal and transverse density distributions of the plasma inside the channel were diagnosed by analyzing the discharging spectroscopy.Effects of the gas-filling mode,back pressure and discharging voltage on the plasma density distribution inside the specially designed capillary are studied.Experiments show that a longitudinally uniform and transversely parabolic plasma channel with a maximum channel depth of 47.5µm and length of 3 cm can be produced,which is temporally stable enough for laser guiding.Using such a plasma channel,a laser pulse with duration of 30 fs has been successfully guided along the channel with the propagation direction bent by 10.4◦.

The importance of Righi-Leduc heat flux to the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability during a laser irradiating targets

The Righi±Leduc heat flux generated by the self-generated magnetic field in the ablative Rayleigh±Taylor instability driven by a laser irradiating thin targets is studied through two-dimensional extended-magnetohydrodynamic simulations.The perturbation structure gets into a low magnetization state though the peak strength of the self-generated magnetic field could reach hundreds of teslas.The Righi±Leduc effect plays an essential impact both in the linear and nonlinear stages,and it deflects the total heat flux towards the spike base.Compared to the case without the self-generated magnetic field included,less heat flux is concentrated at the spike tip,finally mitigating the ablative stabilization and leading to an increase in the velocity of the spike tip.It is shown that the linear growth rate is increased by about 10%and the amplitude during the nonlinear stage is increased by even more than 10%due to the feedback of the magnetic field,respectively.Our results reveal the importance of Righi±Leduc heat flux to the growth of the instability and promote deep understanding of the instability evolution together with the self-generated magnetic field,especially during the acceleration stage in inertial confinement fusion.

Manipulation and optimization of electron transport by nanopore array targets

The transport of sub-picosecond laser-driven fast electrons in nanopore array targets is studied.Attributed to the generation of micro-structured magnetic fields,most fast electron beams are proven to be effectively guided and restricted during the propagation.Different transport patterns of fast electrons in the targets are observed in experiments and reproduced by particle-in-cell simulations,representing two components:initially collimated low-energy electrons in the center and high-energy scattering electrons turning into surrounding annular beams.The critical energy for confined electrons is deduced theoretically.The electron guidance and confinement by the nano-structured targets offer a technological approach to manipulate and optimize the fast electron transport by properly modulating pulse parameters and target design,showing great potential in many applications including ion acceleration,microfocus x-ray sources and inertial confinement fusion.

Angle-Resolved Plasmonic Properties of Single Gold Nanorod Dimers

Through wet-chemical assembly methods, gold nanorods were placed close to each other and formed a dimer with a gap distance *1 nm, and hence degenerated plasmonic dipole modes of individual nanorods coupled together to produce hybridized bonding and antibonding resonance modes. Previous studies using a condenser for illumination result in averaged signals over all excitation angles. By exciting an individual dimer obliquely at different angles, we demonstrate that these two new resonance modes are highly tunable and sensitive to the angle between the excitation polarization and the dimer orientation, which follows cos2 u dependence. Moreover, for dimer structures with various structure angles, the resonance wavelengths as well as the refractive index sensitivities were found independent of the structure angle. Calculated angle-resolved plasmonic properties are in good agreement with the measurements. The assembled nanostructures investigated here are important for fundamental researches as well as potential applications when they are used as building blocks in plasmon-based optical and optoelectronic devices.

Upper-limit power for self-guided propagation of intense lasers in underdense plasma

It is found that there is an upper-limit critical power for self-guided propagation of intense lasers in plasma in addition to the well-known lower-limit critical power set by the relativistic effect.Above this upper-limit critical power,the laser pulse experiences defocusing due to expulsion of local plasma electrons by the transverse ponderomotive force.Associated with the upper-limit power,a lower-limit critical plasma density is also found for a given laser spot size,below which self-focusing does not occur for any laser power.Both the upper-limit power and the lower-limit density are derived theoretically and verified by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.The present study provides new guidance for experimental designs,where self-guided propagation of lasers is essential.