Statistical and quantum photoionization cross sections in plasmas:Analytical approaches for any configurations including inner shells

Statistical models combined with the local plasma frequency approach applied to the atomic electron density are employed to study the photoionization cross-section for complex atoms.It is demonstrated that the Thomas–Fermi atom provides surprisingly good overall agreement even for complex outer-shell configurations,where quantum mechanical approaches that include electron correlations are exceedingly difficult.Quantum mechanical photoionization calculations are studied with respect to energy and nl quantum number for hydrogen-like and non-hydrogen-like atoms and ions.Ageneralized scaled photoionizationmodel(GSPM)based on the simultaneous introduction of effective charges for non-H-like energies and scaling charges for the reduced energy scale allows the development of analytical formulas for all states nl.Explicit expressions for nl1s,2s,2p,3s,3p,3d,4s,4p,4d,4f,and 5s are obtained.Application to H-like and non-H-like atoms and ions and to neutral atoms demonstrates the universality of the scaled analytical approach including inner-shell photoionization.Likewise,GSPMdescribes the near-threshold behavior and high-energy asymptotes well.Finally,we discuss the various models and the correspondence principle along with experimental data and with respect to a good compromise between generality and precision.The results are also relevant to large-scale integrated light–matter interaction simulations,e.g.,X-ray free-electron laser interactions with matter or photoionization driven by a broadband radiation field such as Planckian radiation.

Scattering of ultrashort laser pulses on plasmons in a Maxwellian plasma

On the basis of equations obtained in the framework of second-order quantum-mechanical perturbation theory,the standard approach to the calculation of scattering radiation probability is extended to the case of ultrashort laser pulses.Weinvestigate the mechanism of the appearance of plasmon peaks in the spectrum of the plasma form factor for different parameters of the problem.For the case in which scattering on plasmons dominates over scattering on electron density fluctuations caused by chaotic thermal motion,we derive analytical expressions describing the scattering probability of ultrashort laser pulses on plasmons.Together with this,we obtain a simple expression connecting the frequency of scattered radiation and the energy transmitted from the incident pulse to plasmon,and vice versa.In considering the scattering probability,our emphasis is on the dependence on the pulse duration.Weassess in detail the trends of this dependence for various relations between pulse carrier frequency and plasmon energy.

Evidence of Electronic Phase Separation in the Strongly Correlated Semiconductor YbB_(12)

We investigate high-quality single-domain crystals of YbB_(12)using the precise x-ray diffraction technique in combination with the low-temperature polarized THz–infrared spectroscopy and accurate magnetotransport measurements.It is shown for the first time that this archetypal strongly correlated system with a metal-insulator transition to a mysterious dielectric ground state with a metal Fermi surface[Science 362,65(2018)and ibid 362,32(2018)]is actually a heterogeneous compound in the regime of electronic phase separation.Changes in the configuration of the discovered dynamic charge stripes are proposed upon cooling.As a result,a conclusion is drawn in favor of a crossover between different patterns of the filamentary electronic structure penetrating the semiconducting matrix of YbB_(12).We argue that the discovery of stripes in YbB_(12)is fundamental,elucidating the nature of exotic dielectric state in Kondo insulators.

Kinetics of dense plasma in the field of short laser pulses:A generalized approach

A generalized kinetic model of atomic level populations in an optically dense plasma excited by laser pulses of arbitrary duration is formulated and studied.This model is based on a nonstationary expression for the probability of excitation of an atomic transition and takes into account the effects of laser pulse penetration into an optically dense medium.A universal formula for the excitation probability as a function of time and propagation length is derived and applied to the case of a Lorentzian spectral profile of an atomic transition excited by a laser pulse with a Gaussian envelope.The features of nonstationary excitation probabilities are presented for different optical depths of the plasma,laser pulse durations,and carrier frequencies.The formulas derived here will be useful for the description of atomic populations excited by laser pulses under realistic conditions of dense plasmas.

Dielectronic recombination in non-LTE plasmas

Novel phenomena andmethods related to dielectronic capture and dielectronic recombination are studied for non-local thermodynamic equilibrium(LTE)plasmas and for applications to non-LTE ionization balance.It is demonstrated thatmultichannel autoionization and radiative decay strongly suppress higher-order contributions to the total dielectronic recombination rates,which are overestimated by standard approaches by orders of magnitude.Excited-state coupling of dielectronic capture is shown to be much more important than ground-state contributions,and electron collisional excitation is also identified as a mechanism driving effective dielectronic recombination.A theoretical description of the effect of angularmomentum-changing collisions on dielectronic recombination is developed from an atomic kinetic point of view and is visualized with a simple analytical model.The perturbation of the autoionizing states due to electric fields is discussed with respect to ionization potential depression and perturbation of symmetry properties of autoionizationmatrix elements.The first steps in the development of statistical methods are presented and are realized in the framework of a local plasma frequency approach.Finally,the impact of collisional–radiative processes and atomic population kinetics on dielectronic recombination is critically discussed,and simple analytical formulas are presented.

Transient electromagnetic fields generated in experiments at the PHELIX laser facility

Large-amplitude electromagnetic radiofrequency fields are created by the charge-separation induced in interactions of high-intensity,short-pulse lasers with solid targets and have intensity that decreases with the distance from the target.Alternatively,it was experimentally proved very recently that charged particles emitted by petawatt laser±target interactions can be deposited on a capacitor-collector structure,far away from the target,and lead to the rapid(nanosecond-scale)generation of large quasi-static electric fields(MV/m),over wide regions.We demonstrate here the generation of both these fields in experiments at the PHELIX laser facility,with approximately 20 J energy and approximately 10^(19)W/cm^(2)intensity,for picoseconds laser pulses,interacting with pre-ionized polymer foams of near critical density.Quasi-static fields,up to tens of k V/m,were here observed at distances larger than 1 m from the target,with results much higher than the radiofrequency component.This is of primary importance for inertial-confinement fusion and laser±plasma acceleration and also for promising applications in different scenarios.