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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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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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