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Timmis RJL, Paddock RW, Ouatu I, Lee J, Howard S, Atonga E, Ruskov RT, Martin H, Wang RHW, Aboushelbaya R, Leyen MWVD, Gumbrell E, Norreys PA. Attosecond and nano-Coulomb electron bunches via the Zero Vector Potential mechanism. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10805. [PMID: 38734711 PMCID: PMC11088705 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61041-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The commissioning of multi-petawatt class laser facilities around the world is gathering pace. One of the primary motivations for these investments is the acceleration of high-quality, low-emittance electron bunches. Here we explore the interaction of a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse with a mass-limited dense target to produce MeV attosecond electron bunches in transmission and confirm with three-dimensional simulation that such bunches have low emittance and nano-Coulomb charge. We then perform a large parameter scan from non-relativistic laser intensities to the laser-QED regime and from the critical plasma density to beyond solid density to demonstrate that the electron bunch energies and the laser pulse energy absorption into the plasma can be quantitatively described via the Zero Vector Potential mechanism. These results have wide-ranging implications for future particle accelerator science and associated technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J L Timmis
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK.
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK.
| | - R W Paddock
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - I Ouatu
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - J Lee
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - S Howard
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - E Atonga
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - R T Ruskov
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - H Martin
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - R H W Wang
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - R Aboushelbaya
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | | | - E Gumbrell
- Plasma Physics Department, AWE, Aldermaston, RG7 4PR, UK
| | - P A Norreys
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
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2
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Feng QS, Aboushelbaya R, von der Leyen MW, Spiers BT, Paddock RW, Ouatu I, Timmis R, Wang RHW, Cao LH, Liu ZJ, Zheng CY, He XT, Norreys PA. Suprathermal electrons from the anti-Stokes Langmuir decay instability cascade. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:045208. [PMID: 35590581 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.045208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The study of parametric instabilities has played a crucial role in understanding energy transfer to plasma and, with that, the development of key applications such as inertial confinement fusion. When the densities are between 0.11n_{c}≲n_{e}≲0.14n_{c} and the electron temperature is in inertial confinement fusion-relevant temperatures, anomalous hot electrons with kinetic energies above 100keV are generated. Here a new electron acceleration mechanism-the anti-Stokes Langmuir decay instability cascade of forward stimulated Raman scattering-is investigated. This mechanism potentially explains anomalous energetic electron generation in indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion experiments, it also provides a new way of accelerating electrons to higher energy for applications such as novel x-ray sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Q S Feng
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - R Aboushelbaya
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - M W von der Leyen
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - B T Spiers
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - R W Paddock
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - I Ouatu
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - R Timmis
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - R H W Wang
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - L H Cao
- Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100094, China
- HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Z J Liu
- Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100094, China
- HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - C Y Zheng
- Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100094, China
- HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - X T He
- Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100094, China
- HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - P A Norreys
- Department of Physics, Atomic and Laser Physics sub-Department, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
- John Adams Institute, Denys Wilkinson Building, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
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3
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Paddock RW, Martin H, Ruskov RT, Scott RHH, Garbett W, Haines BM, Zylstra AB, Aboushelbaya R, Mayr MW, Spiers BT, Wang RHW, Norreys PA. One-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of low convergence ratio direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2021; 379:20200224. [PMID: 33280567 PMCID: PMC7741005 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Indirect drive inertial confinement fusion experiments with convergence ratios below 17 have been previously shown to be less susceptible to Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instabilities, making this regime highly interesting for fusion science. Additional limitations imposed on the implosion velocity, in-flight aspect ratio and applied laser power aim to further reduce instability growth, resulting in a new regime where performance can be well represented by one-dimensional (1D) hydrodynamic simulations. A simulation campaign was performed using the 1D radiation-hydrodynamics code HYADES to investigate the performance that could be achieved using direct-drive implosions of liquid layer capsules, over a range of relevant energies. Results include potential gains of 0.19 on LMJ-scale systems and 0.75 on NIF-scale systems, and a reactor-level gain of 54 for an 8.5 MJ implosion. While the use of 1D simulations limits the accuracy of these results, they indicate a sufficiently high level of performance to warrant further investigations and verification of this new low-instability regime. This potentially suggests an attractive new approach to fusion energy. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 2)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. W. Paddock
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - H. Martin
- University College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - R. T. Ruskov
- University College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - R. H. H. Scott
- Central Laser Facility, STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, UK
| | - W. Garbett
- AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire RG7 4PR, UK
| | - B. M. Haines
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS T087, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
| | - A. B. Zylstra
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | | | - M. W. Mayr
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - B. T. Spiers
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - R. H. W. Wang
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - P. A. Norreys
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- University College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Central Laser Facility, STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, UK
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4
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Norreys PA, Ceurvorst L, Sadler JD, Spiers BT, Aboushelbaya R, Mayr MW, Paddock R, Ratan N, Savin AF, Wang RHW, Glize K, Trines RMGM, Bingham R, Hill MP, Sircombe N, Ramsay M, Allan P, Hobbs L, James S, Skidmore J, Fyrth J, Luis J, Floyd E, Brown C, Haines BM, Olson RE, Yi SA, Zylstra AB, Flippo K, Bradley PA, Peterson RR, Kline JL, Leeper RJ. Preparations for a European R&D roadmap for an inertial fusion demo reactor. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2021; 379:20200005. [PMID: 33280565 PMCID: PMC7741006 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
A European consortium of 15 laboratories across nine nations have worked together under the EUROFusion Enabling Research grants for the past decade with three principle objectives. These are: (a) investigating obstacles to ignition on megaJoule-class laser facilities; (b) investigating novel alternative approaches to ignition, including basic studies for fast ignition (both electron and ion-driven), auxiliary heating, shock ignition, etc.; and (c) developing technologies that will be required in the future for a fusion reactor. A brief overview of these activities, presented here, along with new calculations relates the concept of auxiliary heating of inertial fusion targets, and provides possible future directions of research and development for the updated European Roadmap that is due at the end of 2020. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 2)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. A. Norreys
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- UKRI-STFC Central Laser Facility, Didcot, UK
| | - L. Ceurvorst
- CELIA, Université de Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, Talence, France
| | - J. D. Sadler
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | - B. T. Spiers
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - M. W. Mayr
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - R. Paddock
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - N. Ratan
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - A. F. Savin
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - R. H. W. Wang
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - K. Glize
- UKRI-STFC Central Laser Facility, Didcot, UK
| | | | - R. Bingham
- UKRI-STFC Central Laser Facility, Didcot, UK
- University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
| | - M. P. Hill
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - N. Sircombe
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - M. Ramsay
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - P. Allan
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - L. Hobbs
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - S. James
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - J. Skidmore
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - J. Fyrth
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - J. Luis
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - E. Floyd
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - C. Brown
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - B. M. Haines
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | - R. E. Olson
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | - S. A. Yi
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | | | - K. Flippo
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | | | | | - J. L. Kline
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | - R. J. Leeper
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
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5
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Spiers BT, Hill MP, Brown C, Ceurvorst L, Ratan N, Savin AF, Allan P, Floyd E, Fyrth J, Hobbs L, James S, Luis J, Ramsay M, Sircombe N, Skidmore J, Aboushelbaya R, Mayr MW, Paddock R, Wang RHW, Norreys PA. Whole-beam self-focusing in fusion-relevant plasma. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2021; 379:20200159. [PMID: 33280566 PMCID: PMC7741010 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Fast ignition inertial confinement fusion requires the production of a low-density channel in plasma with density scale-lengths of several hundred microns. The channel assists in the propagation of an ultra-intense laser pulse used to generate fast electrons which form a hot spot on the side of pre-compressed fusion fuel. We present a systematic characterization of an expanding laser-produced plasma using optical interferometry, benchmarked against three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Magnetic fields associated with channel formation are probed using proton radiography, and compared to magnetic field structures generated in full-scale particle-in-cell simulations. We present observations of long-lived, straight channels produced by the Habara-Kodama-Tanaka whole-beam self-focusing mechanism, overcoming a critical barrier on the path to realizing fast ignition. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 2)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. T. Spiers
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - M. P. Hill
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - C. Brown
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - L. Ceurvorst
- CELIA, Université de Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, Talence, France
| | - N. Ratan
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - A. F. Savin
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - P. Allan
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - E. Floyd
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - J. Fyrth
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - L. Hobbs
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - S. James
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - J. Luis
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - M. Ramsay
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - N. Sircombe
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | - J. Skidmore
- Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, UK
| | | | - M. W. Mayr
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - R. Paddock
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - R. H. W. Wang
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - P. A. Norreys
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- UKRI-STFC Central Laser Facility, Didcot, UK
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