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Streeter MJV, Colgan C, Carderelli J, Ma Y, Cavanagh N, Los EE, Ahmed H, Antoine AF, Audet T, Balcazar MD, Calvin L, Kettle B, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z, Rajeev PP, Symes DR, Thomas AGR, Sarri G. Narrow bandwidth, low-emittance positron beams from a laser-wakefield accelerator. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6001. [PMID: 38472232 PMCID: PMC10933426 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56281-1] [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: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The rapid progress that plasma wakefield accelerators are experiencing is now posing the question as to whether they could be included in the design of the next generation of high-energy electron-positron colliders. However, the typical structure of the accelerating wakefields presents challenging complications for positron acceleration. Despite seminal proof-of-principle experiments and theoretical proposals, experimental research in plasma-based acceleration of positrons is currently limited by the scarcity of positron beams suitable to seed a plasma accelerator. Here, we report on the first experimental demonstration of a laser-driven source of ultra-relativistic positrons with sufficient spectral and spatial quality to be injected in a plasma accelerator. Our results indicate, in agreement with numerical simulations, selection and transport of positron beamlets containingN e + ≥ 10 5 positrons in a 5% bandwidth around 600 MeV, with femtosecond-scale duration and micron-scale normalised emittance. Particle-in-cell simulations show that positron beams of this kind can be guided and accelerated in a laser-driven plasma accelerator, with favourable scalings to further increase overall charge and energy using PW-scale lasers. The results presented here demonstrate the possibility of performing experimental studies of positron acceleration in a laser-driven wakefield accelerator.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J V Streeter
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK
| | - C Colgan
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - J Carderelli
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - Y Ma
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - N Cavanagh
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK
| | - E E Los
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - H Ahmed
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - A F Antoine
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - T Audet
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK
| | - M D Balcazar
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - L Calvin
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK
| | - B Kettle
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - P P Rajeev
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - D R Symes
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - A G R Thomas
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - G Sarri
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK.
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2
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Doherty A, Fourmaux S, Astolfo A, Ziesche R, Wood J, Finlay O, Stolp W, Batey D, Manke I, Légaré F, Boone M, Symes D, Najmudin Z, Endrizzi M, Olivo A, Cipiccia S. Femtosecond multimodal imaging with a laser-driven X-ray source. Commun Phys 2023; 6:288. [PMID: 38665412 PMCID: PMC11041725 DOI: 10.1038/s42005-023-01412-9] [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] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Laser-plasma accelerators are compact linear accelerators based on the interaction of high-power lasers with plasma to form accelerating structures up to 1000 times smaller than standard radiofrequency cavities, and they come with an embedded X-ray source, namely betatron source, with unique properties: small source size and femtosecond pulse duration. A still unexplored possibility to exploit the betatron source comes from combining it with imaging methods able to encode multiple information like transmission and phase into a single-shot acquisition approach. In this work, we combine edge illumination-beam tracking (EI-BT) with a betatron X-ray source and present the demonstration of multimodal imaging (transmission, refraction, and scattering) with a compact light source down to the femtosecond timescale. The advantage of EI-BT is that it allows multimodal X-ray imaging technique, granting access to transmission, refraction and scattering signals from standard low-coherence laboratory X-ray sources in a single shot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Doherty
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, 2 Malet Pl, London, WC1E 7JE UK
| | - Sylvain Fourmaux
- Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique—Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Université du Québec, 1650 Lionel Boulet, Varennes, J3X 1P7 QC Canada
| | - Alberto Astolfo
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, 2 Malet Pl, London, WC1E 7JE UK
| | - Ralf Ziesche
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie Hahn Meitner Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonathan Wood
- The John Adam Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2BW UK
| | - Oliver Finlay
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX UK
| | - Wiebe Stolp
- UGCT-RP, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Darren Batey
- Diamond Light Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX UK
| | - Ingo Manke
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie Hahn Meitner Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - François Légaré
- Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique—Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Université du Québec, 1650 Lionel Boulet, Varennes, J3X 1P7 QC Canada
| | - Matthieu Boone
- UGCT-RP, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dan Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX UK
| | - Zulfikar Najmudin
- The John Adam Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2BW UK
| | - Marco Endrizzi
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, 2 Malet Pl, London, WC1E 7JE UK
| | - Alessandro Olivo
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, 2 Malet Pl, London, WC1E 7JE UK
| | - Silvia Cipiccia
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, 2 Malet Pl, London, WC1E 7JE UK
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3
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Arran C, Bradford P, Dearling A, Hicks GS, Al-Atabi S, Antonelli L, Ettlinger OC, Khan M, Read MP, Glize K, Notley M, Walsh CA, Kingham RJ, Najmudin Z, Ridgers CP, Woolsey NC. Measurement of Magnetic Cavitation Driven by Heat Flow in a Plasma. Phys Rev Lett 2023; 131:015101. [PMID: 37478421 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.131.015101] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
We describe the direct measurement of the expulsion of a magnetic field from a plasma driven by heat flow. Using a laser to heat a column of gas within an applied magnetic field, we isolate Nernst advection and show how it changes the field over a nanosecond timescale. Reconstruction of the magnetic field map from proton radiographs demonstrates that the field is advected by heat flow in advance of the plasma expansion with a velocity v_{N}=(6±2)×10^{5} m/s. Kinetic and extended magnetohydrodynamic simulations agree well in this regime due to the buildup of a magnetic transport barrier.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Arran
- York Plasma Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - P Bradford
- York Plasma Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - A Dearling
- York Plasma Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - G S Hicks
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - S Al-Atabi
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - L Antonelli
- First Light Fusion Ltd., Unit 9/10 Oxford Industrial Park, Mead Road, Yarnton, Kidlington OX5 1QU, United Kingdom
| | - O C Ettlinger
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - M Khan
- York Plasma Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - M P Read
- First Light Fusion Ltd., Unit 9/10 Oxford Industrial Park, Mead Road, Yarnton, Kidlington OX5 1QU, United Kingdom
| | - K Glize
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 OQX, United Kingdom
| | - M Notley
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 OQX, United Kingdom
| | - C A Walsh
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550-9234, USA
| | - R J Kingham
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - C P Ridgers
- York Plasma Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - N C Woolsey
- York Plasma Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
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4
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Dover NP, Ziegler T, Assenbaum S, Bernert C, Bock S, Brack FE, Cowan TE, Ditter EJ, Garten M, Gaus L, Goethel I, Hicks GS, Kiriyama H, Kluge T, Koga JK, Kon A, Kondo K, Kraft S, Kroll F, Lowe HF, Metzkes-Ng J, Miyatake T, Najmudin Z, Püschel T, Rehwald M, Reimold M, Sakaki H, Schlenvoigt HP, Shiokawa K, Umlandt MEP, Schramm U, Zeil K, Nishiuchi M. Enhanced ion acceleration from transparency-driven foils demonstrated at two ultraintense laser facilities. Light Sci Appl 2023; 12:71. [PMID: 36914618 PMCID: PMC10011581 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01083-9] [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] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Laser-driven ion sources are a rapidly developing technology producing high energy, high peak current beams. Their suitability for applications, such as compact medical accelerators, motivates development of robust acceleration schemes using widely available repetitive ultraintense femtosecond lasers. These applications not only require high beam energy, but also place demanding requirements on the source stability and controllability. This can be seriously affected by the laser temporal contrast, precluding the replication of ion acceleration performance on independent laser systems with otherwise similar parameters. Here, we present the experimental generation of >60 MeV protons and >30 MeV u-1 carbon ions from sub-micrometre thickness Formvar foils irradiated with laser intensities >1021 Wcm2. Ions are accelerated by an extreme localised space charge field ≳30 TVm-1, over a million times higher than used in conventional accelerators. The field is formed by a rapid expulsion of electrons from the target bulk due to relativistically induced transparency, in which relativistic corrections to the refractive index enables laser transmission through normally opaque plasma. We replicate the mechanism on two different laser facilities and show that the optimum target thickness decreases with improved laser contrast due to reduced pre-expansion. Our demonstration that energetic ions can be accelerated by this mechanism at different contrast levels relaxes laser requirements and indicates interaction parameters for realising application-specific beam delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas P Dover
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Ziegler
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Assenbaum
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Constantin Bernert
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Bock
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Florian-Emanuel Brack
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Thomas E Cowan
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Emma J Ditter
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Marco Garten
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lennart Gaus
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ilja Goethel
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - George S Hicks
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Hiromitsu Kiriyama
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Thomas Kluge
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - James K Koga
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Akira Kon
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Kotaro Kondo
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Stephan Kraft
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Florian Kroll
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hazel F Lowe
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | | | - Tatsuhiko Miyatake
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-8580, Japan
| | - Zulfikar Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Püschel
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Martin Rehwald
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marvin Reimold
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hironao Sakaki
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-8580, Japan
| | | | - Keiichiro Shiokawa
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-8580, Japan
| | - Marvin E P Umlandt
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ulrich Schramm
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Karl Zeil
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Mamiko Nishiuchi
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan.
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5
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Alejo A, Ahmed H, Krygier AG, Clarke R, Freeman RR, Fuchs J, Green A, Green JS, Jung D, Kleinschmidt A, Morrison JT, Najmudin Z, Nakamura H, Norreys P, Notley M, Oliver M, Roth M, Vassura L, Zepf M, Borghesi M, Kar S. Stabilized Radiation Pressure Acceleration and Neutron Generation in Ultrathin Deuterated Foils. Phys Rev Lett 2022; 129:114801. [PMID: 36154426 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.129.114801] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Premature relativistic transparency of ultrathin, laser-irradiated targets is recognized as an obstacle to achieving a stable radiation pressure acceleration in the "light sail" (LS) mode. Experimental data, corroborated by 2D PIC simulations, show that a few-nm thick overcoat surface layer of high Z material significantly improves ion bunching at high energies during the acceleration. This is diagnosed by simultaneous ion and neutron spectroscopy following irradiation of deuterated plastic targets. In particular, copious and directional neutron production (significantly larger than for other in-target schemes) arises, under optimal parameters, as a signature of plasma layer integrity during the acceleration.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Alejo
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
- Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain
| | - H Ahmed
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - A G Krygier
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - R Clarke
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - R R Freeman
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - J Fuchs
- LULI-CNRS, CEA, UPMC Univ Paris 06: Sorbonne Université, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - A Green
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - J S Green
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - D Jung
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A Kleinschmidt
- Institut für Kernphysik, TU Darmstadt, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - J T Morrison
- Propulsion Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Lab, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433, USA
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - H Nakamura
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - P Norreys
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - M Notley
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - M Oliver
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - M Roth
- Institut für Kernphysik, TU Darmstadt, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - L Vassura
- LULI-CNRS, CEA, UPMC Univ Paris 06: Sorbonne Université, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - M Zepf
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - S Kar
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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6
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Martin P, Ahmed H, Doria D, Alejo A, Clarke R, Ferguson S, Fernández-Tobias J, Freeman RR, Fuchs J, Green A, Green JS, Gwynne D, Hanton F, Jarrett J, Jung D, Kakolee KF, Krygier AG, Lewis CLS, McIlvenny A, McKenna P, Morrison JT, Najmudin Z, Naughton K, Nersisyan G, Norreys P, Notley M, Roth M, Ruiz JA, Scullion C, Zepf M, Zhai S, Borghesi M, Kar S. Absolute calibration of Fujifilm BAS-TR image plate response to laser driven protons up to 40 MeV. Rev Sci Instrum 2022; 93:053303. [PMID: 35649771 DOI: 10.1063/5.0089402] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Image plates (IPs) are a popular detector in the field of laser driven ion acceleration, owing to their high dynamic range and reusability. An absolute calibration of these detectors to laser-driven protons in the routinely produced tens of MeV energy range is, therefore, essential. In this paper, the response of Fujifilm BAS-TR IPs to 1-40 MeV protons is calibrated by employing the detectors in high resolution Thomson parabola spectrometers in conjunction with a CR-39 nuclear track detector to determine absolute proton numbers. While CR-39 was placed in front of the image plate for lower energy protons, it was placed behind the image plate for energies above 10 MeV using suitable metal filters sandwiched between the image plate and CR-39 to select specific energies. The measured response agrees well with previously reported calibrations as well as standard models of IP response, providing, for the first time, an absolute calibration over a large range of proton energies of relevance to current experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Martin
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - H Ahmed
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - D Doria
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A Alejo
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - R Clarke
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - S Ferguson
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - J Fernández-Tobias
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - R R Freeman
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - J Fuchs
- LULI - CNRS, CEA, UPMC Univ Paris 06 : Sorbonne Université, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris - F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - A Green
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - J S Green
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - D Gwynne
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - F Hanton
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - J Jarrett
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - D Jung
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - K F Kakolee
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A G Krygier
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - C L S Lewis
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A McIlvenny
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - P McKenna
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - J T Morrison
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | - Z Najmudin
- Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - K Naughton
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - G Nersisyan
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - P Norreys
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - M Notley
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - M Roth
- Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstrasse 9, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - J A Ruiz
- Instituto de Fusion Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - C Scullion
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Zepf
- Helmholtz Institut Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - S Zhai
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - S Kar
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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7
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McIlvenny A, Doria D, Romagnani L, Ahmed H, Booth N, Ditter EJ, Ettlinger OC, Hicks GS, Martin P, Scott GG, Williamson SDR, Macchi A, McKenna P, Najmudin Z, Neely D, Kar S, Borghesi M. Selective Ion Acceleration by Intense Radiation Pressure. Phys Rev Lett 2021; 127:194801. [PMID: 34797126 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.194801] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We report on the selective acceleration of carbon ions during the interaction of ultrashort, circularly polarized and contrast-enhanced laser pulses, at a peak intensity of 5.5×10^{20} W/cm^{2}, with ultrathin carbon foils. Under optimized conditions, energies per nucleon of the bulk carbon ions reached significantly higher values than the energies of contaminant protons (33 MeV/nucleon vs 18 MeV), unlike what is typically observed in laser-foil acceleration experiments. Experimental data, and supporting simulations, emphasize different dominant acceleration mechanisms for the two ion species and highlight an (intensity dependent) optimum thickness for radiation pressure acceleration; it is suggested that the preceding laser energy reaching the target before the main pulse arrives plays a key role in a preferential acceleration of the heavier ion species.
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Affiliation(s)
- A McIlvenny
- Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - D Doria
- Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
- Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI-NP) and Horia Hulubei National Institute for R & D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), 30 Reactorului Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
| | - L Romagnani
- Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
- LULI-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, CEA, Universit Paris-Saclay, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - H Ahmed
- Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - N Booth
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - E J Ditter
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - O C Ettlinger
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - G S Hicks
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - P Martin
- Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - G G Scott
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - S D R Williamson
- SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - A Macchi
- Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR/INO), research unit Adriano Gozzini, Pisa 56124, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica Enrico Fermi, Università di Pisa, Pisa 56127, Italy
| | - P McKenna
- SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - D Neely
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - S Kar
- Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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8
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Shalloo RJ, Dann SJD, Gruse JN, Underwood CID, Antoine AF, Arran C, Backhouse M, Baird CD, Balcazar MD, Bourgeois N, Cardarelli JA, Hatfield P, Kang J, Krushelnick K, Mangles SPD, Murphy CD, Lu N, Osterhoff J, Põder K, Rajeev PP, Ridgers CP, Rozario S, Selwood MP, Shahani AJ, Symes DR, Thomas AGR, Thornton C, Najmudin Z, Streeter MJV. Automation and control of laser wakefield accelerators using Bayesian optimization. Nat Commun 2020; 11:6355. [PMID: 33311487 PMCID: PMC7732832 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20245-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Laser wakefield accelerators promise to revolutionize many areas of accelerator science. However, one of the greatest challenges to their widespread adoption is the difficulty in control and optimization of the accelerator outputs due to coupling between input parameters and the dynamic evolution of the accelerating structure. Here, we use machine learning techniques to automate a 100 MeV-scale accelerator, which optimized its outputs by simultaneously varying up to six parameters including the spectral and spatial phase of the laser and the plasma density and length. Most notably, the model built by the algorithm enabled optimization of the laser evolution that might otherwise have been missed in single-variable scans. Subtle tuning of the laser pulse shape caused an 80% increase in electron beam charge, despite the pulse length changing by just 1%.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Shalloo
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - S J D Dann
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - J-N Gruse
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - C I D Underwood
- Department of Physics, York Plasma Institute, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - A F Antoine
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - C Arran
- Department of Physics, York Plasma Institute, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - M Backhouse
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - C D Baird
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
- Department of Physics, York Plasma Institute, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - M D Balcazar
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - N Bourgeois
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - J A Cardarelli
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - P Hatfield
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - J Kang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - K Krushelnick
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - C D Murphy
- Department of Physics, York Plasma Institute, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - N Lu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - J Osterhoff
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - K Põder
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - P P Rajeev
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - C P Ridgers
- Department of Physics, York Plasma Institute, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - S Rozario
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - M P Selwood
- Department of Physics, York Plasma Institute, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - A J Shahani
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - D R Symes
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - A G R Thomas
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - C Thornton
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - M J V Streeter
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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9
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Hussein AE, Senabulya N, Ma Y, Streeter MJV, Kettle B, Dann SJD, Albert F, Bourgeois N, Cipiccia S, Cole JM, Finlay O, Gerstmayr E, González IG, Higginbotham A, Jaroszynski DA, Falk K, Krushelnick K, Lemos N, Lopes NC, Lumsdon C, Lundh O, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z, Rajeev PP, Schlepütz CM, Shahzad M, Smid M, Spesyvtsev R, Symes DR, Vieux G, Willingale L, Wood JC, Shahani AJ, Thomas AGR. Laser-wakefield accelerators for high-resolution X-ray imaging of complex microstructures. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3249. [PMID: 30824838 PMCID: PMC6397215 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39845-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) are high acceleration-gradient plasma-based particle accelerators capable of producing ultra-relativistic electron beams. Within the strong focusing fields of the wakefield, accelerated electrons undergo betatron oscillations, emitting a bright pulse of X-rays with a micrometer-scale source size that may be used for imaging applications. Non-destructive X-ray phase contrast imaging and tomography of heterogeneous materials can provide insight into their processing, structure, and performance. To demonstrate the imaging capability of X-rays from an LWFA we have examined an irregular eutectic in the aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) system. The lamellar spacing of the Al-Si eutectic microstructure is on the order of a few micrometers, thus requiring high spatial resolution. We present comparisons between the sharpness and spatial resolution in phase contrast images of this eutectic alloy obtained via X-ray phase contrast imaging at the Swiss Light Source (SLS) synchrotron and X-ray projection microscopy via an LWFA source. An upper bound on the resolving power of 2.7 ± 0.3 μm of the LWFA source in this experiment was measured. These results indicate that betatron X-rays from laser wakefield acceleration can provide an alternative to conventional synchrotron sources for high resolution imaging of eutectics and, more broadly, complex microstructures.
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Affiliation(s)
- A E Hussein
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA.
| | - N Senabulya
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - Y Ma
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA.,Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK.,The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK
| | - M J V Streeter
- Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK.,The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK.,The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - B Kettle
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - S J D Dann
- Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK.,The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK
| | - F Albert
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NIF and Photon Sciences, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA
| | - N Bourgeois
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - S Cipiccia
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Fermi Avenue, Didcot, OX11 0DE, UK
| | - J M Cole
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - O Finlay
- Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK.,The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK
| | - E Gerstmayr
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | | | - A Higginbotham
- York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - D A Jaroszynski
- The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK.,SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, UK
| | - K Falk
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328, Dresden, Germany.,Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany.,Institute of Physics of the ASCR, 182 21, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - K Krushelnick
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - N Lemos
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NIF and Photon Sciences, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA
| | - N C Lopes
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.,GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, U.L., Lisboa, 1049-001, Portugal
| | - C Lumsdon
- York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - O Lundh
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, S-22100, Lund, Sweden
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - P P Rajeev
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - C M Schlepütz
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232, Villigen, Switzerland
| | - M Shahzad
- The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK.,SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, UK
| | - M Smid
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328, Dresden, Germany.,ELI Beamlines, Institute of Physics of the ASCR, 182 21, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - R Spesyvtsev
- The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK.,SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, UK
| | - D R Symes
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - G Vieux
- The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK.,SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, UK
| | - L Willingale
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - J C Wood
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - A J Shahani
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA
| | - A G R Thomas
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2099, USA.,Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK.,The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, WA4 4AD, UK
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10
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Behm KT, Cole JM, Joglekar AS, Gerstmayr E, Wood JC, Baird CD, Blackburn TG, Duff M, Harvey C, Ilderton A, Kuschel S, Mangles SPD, Marklund M, McKenna P, Murphy CD, Najmudin Z, Poder K, Ridgers CP, Sarri G, Samarin GM, Symes D, Warwick J, Zepf M, Krushelnick K, Thomas AGR. A spectrometer for ultrashort gamma-ray pulses with photon energies greater than 10 MeV. Rev Sci Instrum 2018; 89:113303. [PMID: 30501337 DOI: 10.1063/1.5056248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We present a design for a pixelated scintillator based gamma-ray spectrometer for non-linear inverse Compton scattering experiments. By colliding a laser wakefield accelerated electron beam with a tightly focused, intense laser pulse, gamma-ray photons up to 100 MeV energies and with few femtosecond duration may be produced. To measure the energy spectrum and angular distribution, a 33 × 47 array of cesium-iodide crystals was oriented such that the 47 crystal length axis was parallel to the gamma-ray beam and the 33 crystal length axis was oriented in the vertical direction. Using an iterative deconvolution method similar to the YOGI code, modeling of the scintillator response using GEANT4 and fitting to a quantum Monte Carlo calculated photon spectrum, we are able to extract the gamma ray spectra generated by the inverse Compton interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- K T Behm
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA
| | - J M Cole
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - A S Joglekar
- Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - E Gerstmayr
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - J C Wood
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - C D Baird
- York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - T G Blackburn
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - M Duff
- SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - C Harvey
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - A Ilderton
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - S Kuschel
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - M Marklund
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - P McKenna
- SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - C D Murphy
- York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - K Poder
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - C P Ridgers
- York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - G Sarri
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - G M Samarin
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - D Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - J Warwick
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - M Zepf
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - K Krushelnick
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA
| | - A G R Thomas
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA
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11
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Streeter MJV, Kneip S, Bloom MS, Bendoyro RA, Chekhlov O, Dangor AE, Döpp A, Hooker CJ, Holloway J, Jiang J, Lopes NC, Nakamura H, Norreys PA, Palmer CAJ, Rajeev PP, Schreiber J, Symes DR, Wing M, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z. Observation of Laser Power Amplification in a Self-Injecting Laser Wakefield Accelerator. Phys Rev Lett 2018; 120:254801. [PMID: 29979081 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.254801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We report on the depletion and power amplification of the driving laser pulse in a strongly driven laser wakefield accelerator. Simultaneous measurement of the transmitted pulse energy and temporal shape indicate an increase in peak power from 187±11 TW to a maximum of 318±12 TW after 13 mm of propagation in a plasma density of 0.9×10^{18} cm^{-3}. The power amplification is correlated with the injection and acceleration of electrons in the nonlinear wakefield. This process is modeled by including a localized redshift and subsequent group delay dispersion at the laser pulse front.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J V Streeter
- The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury WA4 4AD, United Kingdom
- Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, United Kingdom
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - S Kneip
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - M S Bloom
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - R A Bendoyro
- GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa 1049-001, Portugal
| | - O Chekhlov
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - A E Dangor
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - A Döpp
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
- Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Am Coulombwall 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - C J Hooker
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - J Holloway
- High Energy Physics Group, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - J Jiang
- GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa 1049-001, Portugal
| | - N C Lopes
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
- GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa 1049-001, Portugal
| | - H Nakamura
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - P A Norreys
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - C A J Palmer
- The Cockcroft Institute, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury WA4 4AD, United Kingdom
- Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, United Kingdom
| | - P P Rajeev
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - J Schreiber
- Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Am Coulombwall 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - D R Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - M Wing
- High Energy Physics Group, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - S P D Mangles
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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12
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Cole JM, Symes DR, Lopes NC, Wood JC, Poder K, Alatabi S, Botchway SW, Foster PS, Gratton S, Johnson S, Kamperidis C, Kononenko O, De Lazzari M, Palmer CAJ, Rusby D, Sanderson J, Sandholzer M, Sarri G, Szoke-Kovacs Z, Teboul L, Thompson JM, Warwick JR, Westerberg H, Hill MA, Norris DP, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z. High-resolution μCT of a mouse embryo using a compact laser-driven X-ray betatron source. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:6335-6340. [PMID: 29871946 PMCID: PMC6016801 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1802314115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the field of X-ray microcomputed tomography (μCT) there is a growing need to reduce acquisition times at high spatial resolution (approximate micrometers) to facilitate in vivo and high-throughput operations. The state of the art represented by synchrotron light sources is not practical for certain applications, and therefore the development of high-brightness laboratory-scale sources is crucial. We present here imaging of a fixed embryonic mouse sample using a compact laser-plasma-based X-ray light source and compare the results to images obtained using a commercial X-ray μCT scanner. The radiation is generated by the betatron motion of electrons inside a dilute and transient plasma, which circumvents the flux limitations imposed by the solid or liquid anodes used in conventional electron-impact X-ray tubes. This X-ray source is pulsed (duration <30 fs), bright (>1010 photons per pulse), small (diameter <1 μm), and has a critical energy >15 keV. Stable X-ray performance enabled tomographic imaging of equivalent quality to that of the μCT scanner, an important confirmation of the suitability of the laser-driven source for applications. The X-ray flux achievable with this approach scales with the laser repetition rate without compromising the source size, which will allow the recording of high-resolution μCT scans in minutes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M Cole
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel R Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom;
| | - Nelson C Lopes
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
- Group of Lasers and Plasmas (GoLP)/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Lisboa 1049-001, Portugal
| | - Jonathan C Wood
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Kristjan Poder
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Saleh Alatabi
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Stanley W Botchway
- Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Peta S Foster
- Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah Gratton
- Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Sara Johnson
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell Institute, Harwell OX11 0RD, United Kingdom
| | - Christos Kamperidis
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
- Extreme Light Infrastructure Attosecond Light Pulse Source (ELI-ALPS), ELI-HU Non-profit Ltd., H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Olena Kononenko
- Linear Accelerator Technologies, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael De Lazzari
- Cancer Research UK/Medical Research Council (CRUK/MRC) Oxford Institute for Radiation Research, Gray Laboratories, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte A J Palmer
- Linear Accelerator Technologies, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dean Rusby
- Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Jeremy Sanderson
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Harwell Institute, Harwell OX11 0RD, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Sandholzer
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Harwell Institute, Harwell OX11 0RD, United Kingdom
| | - Gianluca Sarri
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lydia Teboul
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell Institute, Harwell OX11 0RD, United Kingdom
| | - James M Thompson
- Cancer Research UK/Medical Research Council (CRUK/MRC) Oxford Institute for Radiation Research, Gray Laboratories, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan R Warwick
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik Westerberg
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Harwell Institute, Harwell OX11 0RD, United Kingdom
| | - Mark A Hill
- Cancer Research UK/Medical Research Council (CRUK/MRC) Oxford Institute for Radiation Research, Gray Laboratories, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom
| | - Dominic P Norris
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Harwell Institute, Harwell OX11 0RD, United Kingdom
| | - Stuart P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Zulfikar Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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Warwick J, Dzelzainis T, Dieckmann ME, Schumaker W, Doria D, Romagnani L, Poder K, Cole JM, Alejo A, Yeung M, Krushelnick K, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z, Reville B, Samarin GM, Symes DD, Thomas AGR, Borghesi M, Sarri G. Experimental Observation of a Current-Driven Instability in a Neutral Electron-Positron Beam. Phys Rev Lett 2017; 119:185002. [PMID: 29219555 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.119.185002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We report on the first experimental observation of a current-driven instability developing in a quasineutral matter-antimatter beam. Strong magnetic fields (≥1 T) are measured, via means of a proton radiography technique, after the propagation of a neutral electron-positron beam through a background electron-ion plasma. The experimentally determined equipartition parameter of ε_{B}≈10^{-3} is typical of values inferred from models of astrophysical gamma-ray bursts, in which the relativistic flows are also expected to be pair dominated. The data, supported by particle-in-cell simulations and simple analytical estimates, indicate that these magnetic fields persist in the background plasma for thousands of inverse plasma frequencies. The existence of such long-lived magnetic fields can be related to analog astrophysical systems, such as those prevalent in lepton-dominated jets.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Warwick
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - T Dzelzainis
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M E Dieckmann
- Department of Science and Technology (ITN), Linköping University, Campus Norrköping, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - W Schumaker
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
| | - D Doria
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - L Romagnani
- LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - K Poder
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW72AZ, United Kingdom
| | - J M Cole
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW72AZ, United Kingdom
| | - A Alejo
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Yeung
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - K Krushelnick
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 481099-2099, USA
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW72AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW72AZ, United Kingdom
| | - B Reville
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - G M Samarin
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - D D Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - A G R Thomas
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 481099-2099, USA
- Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - G Sarri
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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14
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Walker PA, Alesini PD, Alexandrova AS, Anania MP, Andreev NE, Andriyash I, Aschikhin A, Assmann RW, Audet T, Bacci A, Barna IF, Beaton A, Beck A, Beluze A, Bernhard A, Bielawski S, Bisesto FG, Boedewadt J, Brandi F, Bringer O, Brinkmann R, Bründermann E, Büscher M, Bussmann M, Bussolino GC, Chance A, Chanteloup JC, Chen M, Chiadroni E, Cianchi A, Clarke J, Cole J, Couprie ME, Croia M, Cros B, Dale J, Dattoli G, Delerue N, Delferriere O, Delinikolas P, Dias J, Dorda U, Ertel K, Ferran Pousa A, Ferrario M, Filippi F, Fils J, Fiorito R, Fonseca RA, Galimberti M, Gallo A, Garzella D, Gastinel P, Giove D, Giribono A, Gizzi LA, Grüner FJ, Habib AF, Haefner LC, Heinemann T, Hidding B, Holzer BJ, Hooker SM, Hosokai T, Irman A, Jaroszynski DA, Jaster-Merz S, Joshi C, Kaluza MC, Kando M, Karger OS, Karsch S, Khazanov E, Khikhlukha D, Knetsch A, Kocon D, Koester P, Kononenko O, Korn G, Kostyukov I, Labate L, Lechner C, Leemans WP, Lehrach A, Li FY, Li X, Libov V, Lifschitz A, Litvinenko V, Lu W, Maier AR, Malka V, Manahan GG, Mangles SPD, Marchetti B, Marocchino A, Martinez de la Ossa A, Martins JL, Massimo F, Mathieu F, Maynard G, Mehrling TJ, Molodozhentsev AY, Mosnier A, Mostacci A, Mueller AS, Najmudin Z, Nghiem PAP, Nguyen F, Niknejadi P, Osterhoff J, Papadopoulos D, Patrizi B, Pattathil R, Petrillo V, Pocsai MA, Poder K, Pompili R, Pribyl L, Pugacheva D, Romeo S, Rossi AR, Roussel E, Sahai AA, Scherkl P, Schramm U, Schroeder CB, Schwindling J, Scifo J, Serafini L, Sheng ZM, Silva LO, Silva T, Simon C, Sinha U, Specka A, Streeter MJV, Svystun EN, Symes D, Szwaj C, Tauscher G, Thomas AGR, Thompson N, Toci G, Tomassini P, Vaccarezza C, Vannini M, Vieira JM, Villa F, Wahlström CG, Walczak R, Weikum MK, Welsch CP, Wiemann C, Wolfenden J, Xia G, Yabashi M, Yu L, Zhu J, Zigler A. Horizon 2020 EuPRAXIA design study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/874/1/012029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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15
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Robinson TS, Consoli F, Giltrap S, Eardley SJ, Hicks GS, Ditter EJ, Ettlinger O, Stuart NH, Notley M, De Angelis R, Najmudin Z, Smith RA. Low-noise time-resolved optical sensing of electromagnetic pulses from petawatt laser-matter interactions. Sci Rep 2017; 7:983. [PMID: 28428549 PMCID: PMC5430545 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-01063-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
We report on the development and deployment of an optical diagnostic for single-shot measurement of the electric-field components of electromagnetic pulses from high-intensity laser-matter interactions in a high-noise environment. The electro-optic Pockels effect in KDP crystals was used to measure transient electric fields using a geometry easily modifiable for magnetic field detection via Faraday rotation. Using dielectric sensors and an optical fibre-based readout ensures minimal field perturbations compared to conductive probes and greatly limits unwanted electrical pickup between probe and recording system. The device was tested at the Vulcan Petawatt facility with 1020 W cm-2 peak intensities, the first time such a diagnostic has been used in this regime. The probe crystals were located ~1.25 m from target and did not require direct view of the source plasma. The measured signals compare favourably with previously reported studies from Vulcan, in terms of the maximum measured intra-crystal field of 10.9 kV/m, signal duration and detected frequency content which was found to match the interaction chamber's horizontal-plane fundamental harmonics of 76 and 101 MHz. Methods for improving the diagnostic for future use are also discussed in detail. Orthogonal optical probes offer a low-noise alternative for direct simultaneous measurement of each vector field component.
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Affiliation(s)
- T S Robinson
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
| | - F Consoli
- ENEA - C.R. Frascati, Dipartimento FSN, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044, Frascati, Italy
| | - S Giltrap
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - S J Eardley
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - G S Hicks
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - E J Ditter
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - O Ettlinger
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - N H Stuart
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - M Notley
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - R De Angelis
- ENEA - C.R. Frascati, Dipartimento FSN, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044, Frascati, Italy
| | - Z Najmudin
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - R A Smith
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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16
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Doria D, Kar S, Ahmed H, Alejo A, Fernandez J, Cerchez M, Gray RJ, Hanton F, MacLellan DA, McKenna P, Najmudin Z, Neely D, Romagnani L, Ruiz JA, Sarri G, Scullion C, Streeter M, Swantusch M, Willi O, Zepf M, Borghesi M. Calibration of BAS-TR image plate response to high energy (3-300 MeV) carbon ions. Rev Sci Instrum 2015; 86:123302. [PMID: 26724017 DOI: 10.1063/1.4935582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The paper presents the calibration of Fuji BAS-TR image plate (IP) response to high energy carbon ions of different charge states by employing an intense laser-driven ion source, which allowed access to carbon energies up to 270 MeV. The calibration method consists of employing a Thomson parabola spectrometer to separate and spectrally resolve different ion species, and a slotted CR-39 solid state detector overlayed onto an image plate for an absolute calibration of the IP signal. An empirical response function was obtained which can be reasonably extrapolated to higher ion energies. The experimental data also show that the IP response is independent of ion charge states.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Doria
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - S Kar
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - H Ahmed
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A Alejo
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - J Fernandez
- Instituto de Fusión Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid 28006, Spain
| | - M Cerchez
- Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - R J Gray
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - F Hanton
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - D A MacLellan
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - P McKenna
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - D Neely
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - L Romagnani
- LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, Route de Saclay, Palaiseau Cedex 91128, France
| | - J A Ruiz
- Colegio Los Naranjos, Fuenlabrada, Madrid 28941, Spain
| | - G Sarri
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - C Scullion
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Streeter
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
| | - M Swantusch
- Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - O Willi
- Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - M Zepf
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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17
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Tresca O, Dover NP, Cook N, Maharjan C, Polyanskiy MN, Najmudin Z, Shkolnikov P, Pogorelsky I. Spectral Modification of Shock Accelerated Ions Using a Hydrodynamically Shaped Gas Target. Phys Rev Lett 2015; 115:094802. [PMID: 26371658 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.115.094802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2014] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We report on reproducible shock acceleration from irradiation of a λ=10 μm CO_{2} laser on optically shaped H_{2} and He gas targets. A low energy laser prepulse (I≲10^{14} W cm^{-2}) is used to drive a blast wave inside the gas target, creating a steepened, variable density gradient. This is followed, after 25 ns, by a high intensity laser pulse (I>10^{16} W cm^{-2}) that produces an electrostatic collisionless shock. Upstream ions are accelerated for a narrow range of prepulse energies. For long density gradients (≳40 μm), broadband beams of He^{+} and H^{+} are routinely produced, while for shorter gradients (≲20 μm), quasimonoenergetic acceleration of protons is observed. These measurements indicate that the properties of the accelerating shock and the resultant ion energy distribution, in particular the production of narrow energy spread beams, is highly dependent on the plasma density profile. These findings are corroborated by 2D particle-in-cell simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Tresca
- Accelerator Test Facility, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
| | - N P Dover
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - N Cook
- Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
| | - C Maharjan
- Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
| | - M N Polyanskiy
- Accelerator Test Facility, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
| | - P Shkolnikov
- Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
| | - I Pogorelsky
- Accelerator Test Facility, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
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18
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Cole JM, Wood JC, Lopes NC, Poder K, Abel RL, Alatabi S, Bryant JSJ, Jin A, Kneip S, Mecseki K, Symes DR, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z. Laser-wakefield accelerators as hard x-ray sources for 3D medical imaging of human bone. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13244. [PMID: 26283308 PMCID: PMC5289072 DOI: 10.1038/srep13244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A bright μm-sized source of hard synchrotron x-rays (critical energy Ecrit > 30 keV) based on the betatron oscillations of laser wakefield accelerated electrons has been developed. The potential of this source for medical imaging was demonstrated by performing micro-computed tomography of a human femoral trabecular bone sample, allowing full 3D reconstruction to a resolution below 50 μm. The use of a 1 cm long wakefield accelerator means that the length of the beamline (excluding the laser) is dominated by the x-ray imaging distances rather than the electron acceleration distances. The source possesses high peak brightness, which allows each image to be recorded with a single exposure and reduces the time required for a full tomographic scan. These properties make this an interesting laboratory source for many tomographic imaging applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Cole
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - J C Wood
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - N C Lopes
- 1] The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK [2] GoLP, Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001, Portugal
| | - K Poder
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - R L Abel
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, MSk Laboratory, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London W6 8RF, UK
| | - S Alatabi
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - J S J Bryant
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - A Jin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City and Guilds Building, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - S Kneip
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - K Mecseki
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - D R Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0QX, UK
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK
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19
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Sävert A, Mangles SPD, Schnell M, Siminos E, Cole JM, Leier M, Reuter M, Schwab MB, Möller M, Poder K, Jäckel O, Paulus GG, Spielmann C, Skupin S, Najmudin Z, Kaluza MC. Direct Observation of the Injection Dynamics of a Laser Wakefield Accelerator Using Few-Femtosecond Shadowgraphy. Phys Rev Lett 2015; 115:055002. [PMID: 26274425 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.115.055002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We present few-femtosecond shadowgraphic snapshots taken during the nonlinear evolution of the plasma wave in a laser wakefield accelerator with transverse synchronized few-cycle probe pulses. These snapshots can be directly associated with the electron density distribution within the plasma wave and give quantitative information about its size and shape. Our results show that self-injection of electrons into the first plasma-wave period is induced by a lengthening of the first plasma period. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations support our observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sävert
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - M Schnell
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - E Siminos
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - J M Cole
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - M Leier
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - M Reuter
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institut Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - M B Schwab
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - M Möller
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - K Poder
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - O Jäckel
- Helmholtz-Institut Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - G G Paulus
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institut Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - C Spielmann
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institut Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - S Skupin
- Univ. Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, Centre Lasers Intense et Applications, UMR 5107, 33405 Talence, France
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - M C Kaluza
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Abbe-Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institut Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
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20
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Mirfayzi SR, Kar S, Ahmed H, Krygier AG, Green A, Alejo A, Clarke R, Freeman RR, Fuchs J, Jung D, Kleinschmidt A, Morrison JT, Najmudin Z, Nakamura H, Norreys P, Oliver M, Roth M, Vassura L, Zepf M, Borghesi M. Calibration of time of flight detectors using laser-driven neutron source. Rev Sci Instrum 2015; 86:073308. [PMID: 26233373 DOI: 10.1063/1.4923088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Calibration of three scintillators (EJ232Q, BC422Q, and EJ410) in a time-of-flight arrangement using a laser drive-neutron source is presented. The three plastic scintillator detectors were calibrated with gamma insensitive bubble detector spectrometers, which were absolutely calibrated over a wide range of neutron energies ranging from sub-MeV to 20 MeV. A typical set of data obtained simultaneously by the detectors is shown, measuring the neutron spectrum emitted from a petawatt laser irradiated thin foil.
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Affiliation(s)
- S R Mirfayzi
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - S Kar
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - H Ahmed
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A G Krygier
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - A Green
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A Alejo
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - R Clarke
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - R R Freeman
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - J Fuchs
- LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, Route de Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France
| | - D Jung
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A Kleinschmidt
- Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstrasse 9, D-64289 Darmstadt,Germany
| | - J T Morrison
- Propulsion Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Lab, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433, USA
| | - Z Najmudin
- Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - H Nakamura
- Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - P Norreys
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - M Oliver
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - M Roth
- Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstrasse 9, D-64289 Darmstadt,Germany
| | - L Vassura
- LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, Route de Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France
| | - M Zepf
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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21
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Deas RM, Wilson LA, Rusby D, Alejo A, Allott R, Black PP, Black SE, Borghesi M, Brenner CM, Bryant J, Clarke RJ, Collier JC, Edwards B, Foster P, Greenhalgh J, Hernandez-Gomez C, Kar S, Lockley D, Moss RM, Najmudin Z, Pattathil R, Symes D, Whittle MD, Wood JC, McKenna P, Neely D. A laser driven pulsed X-ray backscatter technique for enhanced penetrative imaging. J Xray Sci Technol 2015; 23:791-797. [PMID: 26756414 DOI: 10.3233/xst-150520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
X-ray backscatter imaging can be used for a wide range of imaging applications, in particular for industrial inspection and portal security. Currently, the application of this imaging technique to the detection of landmines is limited due to the surrounding sand or soil strongly attenuating the 10s to 100s of keV X-rays required for backscatter imaging. Here, we introduce a new approach involving a 140 MeV short-pulse (< 100 fs) electron beam generated by laser wakefield acceleration to probe the sample, which produces Bremsstrahlung X-rays within the sample enabling greater depths to be imaged. A variety of detector and scintillator configurations are examined, with the best time response seen from an absorptive coated BaF2 scintillator with a bandpass filter to remove the slow scintillation emission components. An X-ray backscatter image of an array of different density and atomic number items is demonstrated. The use of a compact laser wakefield accelerator to generate the electron source, combined with the rapid development of more compact, efficient and higher repetition rate high power laser systems will make this system feasible for applications in the field. Content includes material subject to Dstl (c) Crown copyright (2014). Licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@ nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.
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Affiliation(s)
- R M Deas
- Security Sciences Department, DSTL, Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK
| | - L A Wilson
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - D Rusby
- SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
| | - A Alejo
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queens University of Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - R Allott
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - P P Black
- Security Sciences Department, DSTL, Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK
| | - S E Black
- Security Sciences Department, DSTL, Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK
| | - M Borghesi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queens University of Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - C M Brenner
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - J Bryant
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - R J Clarke
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - J C Collier
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - B Edwards
- Innovations, STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - P Foster
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - J Greenhalgh
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - C Hernandez-Gomez
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - S Kar
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queens University of Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - D Lockley
- Security Sciences Department, DSTL, Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK
| | - R M Moss
- Security Sciences Department, DSTL, Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Z Najmudin
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - R Pattathil
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - D Symes
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - M D Whittle
- Security Sciences Department, DSTL, Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK
| | - J C Wood
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - P McKenna
- SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
| | - D Neely
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
- SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
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22
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Sarri G, Corvan DJ, Schumaker W, Cole JM, Di Piazza A, Ahmed H, Harvey C, Keitel CH, Krushelnick K, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z, Symes D, Thomas AGR, Yeung M, Zhao Z, Zepf M. Ultrahigh Brilliance Multi-MeV γ-Ray Beams from Nonlinear Relativistic Thomson Scattering. Phys Rev Lett 2014; 113:224801. [PMID: 25494074 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.113.224801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We report on the generation of a narrow divergence (θ_{γ}<2.5 mrad), multi-MeV (E_{max}≈18 MeV) and ultrahigh peak brilliance (>1.8×10^{20} photons s^{-1} mm^{-2} mrad^{-2} 0.1% BW) γ-ray beam from the scattering of an ultrarelativistic laser-wakefield accelerated electron beam in the field of a relativistically intense laser (dimensionless amplitude a_{0}≈2). The spectrum of the generated γ-ray beam is measured, with MeV resolution, seamlessly from 6 to 18 MeV, giving clear evidence of the onset of nonlinear relativistic Thomson scattering. To the best of our knowledge, this photon source has the highest peak brilliance in the multi-MeV regime ever reported in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Sarri
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - D J Corvan
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - W Schumaker
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA
| | - J M Cole
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - A Di Piazza
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - H Ahmed
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - C Harvey
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - C H Keitel
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - K Krushelnick
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA
| | - S P D Mangles
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - D Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - A G R Thomas
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA
| | - M Yeung
- Helmholtz Institute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Z Zhao
- Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA
| | - M Zepf
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom and Helmholtz Institute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany
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23
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Alejo A, Kar S, Ahmed H, Krygier AG, Doria D, Clarke R, Fernandez J, Freeman RR, Fuchs J, Green A, Green JS, Jung D, Kleinschmidt A, Lewis CLS, Morrison JT, Najmudin Z, Nakamura H, Nersisyan G, Norreys P, Notley M, Oliver M, Roth M, Ruiz JA, Vassura L, Zepf M, Borghesi M. Characterisation of deuterium spectra from laser driven multi-species sources by employing differentially filtered image plate detectors in Thomson spectrometers. Rev Sci Instrum 2014; 85:093303. [PMID: 25273715 DOI: 10.1063/1.4893780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
A novel method for characterising the full spectrum of deuteron ions emitted by laser driven multi-species ion sources is discussed. The procedure is based on using differential filtering over the detector of a Thompson parabola ion spectrometer, which enables discrimination of deuterium ions from heavier ion species with the same charge-to-mass ratio (such as C(6+), O(8+), etc.). Commonly used Fuji Image plates were used as detectors in the spectrometer, whose absolute response to deuterium ions over a wide range of energies was calibrated by using slotted CR-39 nuclear track detectors. A typical deuterium ion spectrum diagnosed in a recent experimental campaign is presented, which was produced from a thin deuterated plastic foil target irradiated by a high power laser.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Alejo
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - S Kar
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - H Ahmed
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A G Krygier
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - D Doria
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - R Clarke
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - J Fernandez
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - R R Freeman
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - J Fuchs
- LULI, École Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - A Green
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - J S Green
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - D Jung
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - A Kleinschmidt
- Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstrasse 9, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - C L S Lewis
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - J T Morrison
- Propulsion Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Lab, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433, USA
| | - Z Najmudin
- Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - H Nakamura
- Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - G Nersisyan
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - P Norreys
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - M Notley
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - M Oliver
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
| | - M Roth
- Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstrasse 9, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - J A Ruiz
- Instituto de Fusión Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - L Vassura
- LULI, École Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - M Zepf
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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24
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Najmudin Z, Kneip S, Bloom MS, Mangles SPD, Chekhlov O, Dangor AE, Döpp A, Ertel K, Hawkes SJ, Holloway J, Hooker CJ, Jiang J, Lopes NC, Nakamura H, Norreys PA, Rajeev PP, Russo C, Streeter MJV, Symes DR, Wing M. Compact laser accelerators for X-ray phase-contrast imaging. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2014; 372:20130032. [PMID: 24470414 PMCID: PMC3900035 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2013.0032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Advances in X-ray imaging techniques have been driven by advances in novel X-ray sources. The latest fourth-generation X-ray sources can boast large photon fluxes at unprecedented brightness. However, the large size of these facilities means that these sources are not available for everyday applications. With advances in laser plasma acceleration, electron beams can now be generated at energies comparable to those used in light sources, but in university-sized laboratories. By making use of the strong transverse focusing of plasma accelerators, bright sources of betatron radiation have been produced. Here, we demonstrate phase-contrast imaging of a biological sample for the first time by radiation generated by GeV electron beams produced by a laser accelerator. The work was performed using a greater than 300 TW laser, which allowed the energy of the synchrotron source to be extended to the 10-100 keV range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z. Najmudin
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - S. Kneip
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - M. S. Bloom
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - S. P. D. Mangles
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - O. Chekhlov
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, UK
| | - A. E. Dangor
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - A. Döpp
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - K. Ertel
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, UK
| | - S. J. Hawkes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, UK
| | - J. Holloway
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London, UK
| | - C. J. Hooker
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, UK
| | - J. Jiang
- Grupo de Lasers e Plasmas, Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - N. C. Lopes
- Grupo de Lasers e Plasmas, Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - H. Nakamura
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - P. A. Norreys
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, UK
| | - P. P. Rajeev
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, UK
| | - C. Russo
- Grupo de Lasers e Plasmas, Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - M. J. V. Streeter
- John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - D. R. Symes
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, UK
| | - M. Wing
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London, UK
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25
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Gwynne D, Kar S, Doria D, Ahmed H, Cerchez M, Fernandez J, Gray RJ, Green JS, Hanton F, MacLellan DA, McKenna P, Najmudin Z, Neely D, Ruiz JA, Schiavi A, Streeter M, Swantusch M, Willi O, Zepf M, Borghesi M. Modified Thomson spectrometer design for high energy, multi-species ion sources. Rev Sci Instrum 2014; 85:033304. [PMID: 24689572 DOI: 10.1063/1.4866021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
A modification to the standard Thomson parabola spectrometer is discussed, which is designed to measure high energy (tens of MeV/nucleon), broad bandwidth spectra of multi-species ions accelerated by intense laser plasma interactions. It is proposed to implement a pair of extended, trapezoidal shaped electric plates, which will not only resolve ion traces at high energies, but will also retain the lower energy part of the spectrum. While a longer (along the axis of the undeflected ion beam direction) electric plate design provides effective charge state separation at the high energy end of the spectrum, the proposed new trapezoidal shape will enable the low energy ions to reach the detector, which would have been clipped or blocked by simply extending the rectangular plates to enhance the electrostatic deflection.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Gwynne
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - S Kar
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - D Doria
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - H Ahmed
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Cerchez
- Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - J Fernandez
- Instituto de Fusión Nuclear UPM, Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, E28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - R J Gray
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - J S Green
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - F Hanton
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - D A MacLellan
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - P McKenna
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - Z Najmudin
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - D Neely
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - J A Ruiz
- Instituto de Fusión Nuclear UPM, Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, E28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - A Schiavi
- Dipartimento SBAI, Università di Roma "La Sapienza," 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - M Streeter
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - M Swantusch
- Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - O Willi
- Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - M Zepf
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - M Borghesi
- Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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26
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Hughes C, Dover N, Najmudin Z, Pozimski J, Green J, Posocco P. 91: Harnessing laser-plasma accelerated ion beams for applications using Gabor lenses. Radiother Oncol 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8140(15)34112-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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27
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Palmer CAJ, Schreiber J, Nagel SR, Dover NP, Bellei C, Beg FN, Bott S, Clarke RJ, Dangor AE, Hassan SM, Hilz P, Jung D, Kneip S, Mangles SPD, Lancaster KL, Rehman A, Robinson APL, Spindloe C, Szerypo J, Tatarakis M, Yeung M, Zepf M, Najmudin Z. Rayleigh-Taylor instability of an ultrathin foil accelerated by the radiation pressure of an intense laser. Phys Rev Lett 2012; 108:225002. [PMID: 23003606 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.108.225002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
We report experimental evidence for a Rayleigh-Taylor-like instability driven by radiation pressure of an ultraintense (10(21) W/cm(2)) laser pulse. The instability is witnessed by the highly modulated profile of the accelerated proton beam produced when the laser irradiates a 5 nm diamondlike carbon (90% C, 10% H) target. Clear anticorrelation between bubblelike modulations of the proton beam and transmitted laser profile further demonstrate the role of the radiation pressure in modulating the foil. Measurements of the modulation wavelength, and of the acceleration from Doppler-broadening of back-reflected light, agree quantitatively with particle-in-cell simulations performed for our experimental parameters and which confirm the existence of this instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A J Palmer
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
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28
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Borghesi M, Kar S, Prasad R, Kakolee FK, Quinn K, Ahmed H, Sarri G, Ramakrishna B, Qiao B, Geissler M, Ter-Avetisyan S, Zepf M, Schettino G, Stevens B, Tolley M, Ward A, Green J, Foster PS, Spindloe C, Gallegos P, Robinson AL, Neely D, Carroll DC, Tresca O, Yuan X, Quinn M, McKenna P, Dover N, Palmer C, Schreiber J, Najmudin Z, Sari I, Kraft M, Merchant M, Jeynes JC, Kirkby K, Fiorini F, Kirby D, Green S. Ion source development and radiobiology applications within the LIBRA project. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1117/12.888262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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29
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Green S, Borghesi M, Neely D, McKenna P, Najmudin Z, Palmer C, Sari I, Tolley M, Ward A, Carroll D, Kar S, Doria D, Green J, Brenner C, Kirby D, Fiorini F, Kirkby K, Merchant M, Jeynes C, Palmans H, Shipley D, Nutbrown R, Thomas R, Kraft M, Kakolee K, Prasad R. 1425 poster LASER-PLASMA ACCELERATION OF PARTICLES FOR PROTON AND ION-BEAM RADIOTHERAPY: AN UPDATE FROM THE LIBRA CONSORTIUM. Radiother Oncol 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8140(11)71547-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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30
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Huntington CM, Thomas AGR, McGuffey C, Matsuoka T, Chvykov V, Kalintchenko G, Kneip S, Najmudin Z, Palmer C, Yanovsky V, Maksimchuk A, Drake RP, Katsouleas T, Krushelnick K. Current filamentation instability in laser wakefield accelerators. Phys Rev Lett 2011; 106:105001. [PMID: 21469796 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.106.105001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Experiments using an electron beam produced by laser-wakefield acceleration have shown that varying the overall beam-plasma interaction length results in current filamentation at lengths that exceed the laser depletion length in the plasma. Three-dimensional simulations show this to be a combination of hosing, beam erosion, and filamentation of the decelerated beam. This work suggests the ability to perform scaled experiments of astrophysical instabilities. Additionally, understanding the processes involved with electron beam propagation is essential to the development of wakefield accelerator applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Huntington
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103, USA.
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31
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Palmer CAJ, Dover NP, Pogorelsky I, Babzien M, Dudnikova GI, Ispiriyan M, Polyanskiy MN, Schreiber J, Shkolnikov P, Yakimenko V, Najmudin Z. Monoenergetic proton beams accelerated by a radiation pressure driven shock. Phys Rev Lett 2011; 106:014801. [PMID: 21231748 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.106.014801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
We report on the acceleration of impurity-free quasimononenergetic proton beams from an initially gaseous hydrogen target driven by an intense infrared (λ=10 μm) laser. The front surface of the target was observed by optical probing to be driven forward by the radiation pressure of the laser. A proton beam of ∼MeV energy was simultaneously recorded with narrow energy spread (σ∼4%), low normalized emittance (∼8 nm), and negligible background. The scaling of proton energy with the ratio of intensity over density (I/n) confirms that the acceleration is due to the radiation pressure driven shock.
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32
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Schreiber J, Bellei C, Mangles SPD, Kamperidis C, Kneip S, Nagel SR, Palmer CAJ, Rajeev PP, Streeter MJV, Najmudin Z. Complete temporal characterization of asymmetric pulse compression in a laser wakefield. Phys Rev Lett 2010; 105:235003. [PMID: 21231474 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.105.235003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
We present complete experimental characterization of the temporal shape of an intense ultrashort 200-TW laser pulse driving a laser wakefield. The phase of the pulse was uniquely measured by using (second-order) frequency-resolved optical gating. The pulses are asymmetrically compressed and exhibit a positive chirp consistent with the expected asymmetric self-phase-modulation due to photon acceleration or deceleration in a relativistic plasma wave. The measured pulse duration decreases linearly with increasing length and density of the plasma, in quantitative agreement with the intensity-dependent group velocity variation in the plasma wave.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Schreiber
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
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33
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Sarri G, Singh DK, Davies JR, Fiuza F, Lancaster KL, Clark EL, Hassan S, Jiang J, Kageiwa N, Lopes N, Rehman A, Russo C, Scott RHH, Tanimoto T, Najmudin Z, Tanaka KA, Tatarakis M, Borghesi M, Norreys PA. Observation of postsoliton expansion following laser propagation through an underdense plasma. Phys Rev Lett 2010; 105:175007. [PMID: 21231057 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.105.175007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The expansion of electromagnetic postsolitons emerging from the interaction of a 30 ps, 3×10¹⁸ W cm⁻² laser pulse with an underdense deuterium plasma has been observed up to 100 ps after the pulse propagation, when large numbers of postsolitons were seen to remain in the plasma. The temporal evolution of the postsolitons has been accurately characterized with a high spatial and temporal resolution. The observed expansion is compared to analytical models and three-dimensional particle-in-cell results, revealing a polarization dependence of the postsoliton dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Sarri
- Queens University Belfast, United Kingdom
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34
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Kaluza MC, Schlenvoigt HP, Mangles SPD, Thomas AGR, Dangor AE, Schwoerer H, Mori WB, Najmudin Z, Krushelnick KM. Measurement of magnetic-field structures in a laser-wakefield accelerator. Phys Rev Lett 2010; 105:115002. [PMID: 20867577 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.105.115002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2010] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Experimental measurements of magnetic fields generated in the cavity of a self-injecting laser-wakefield accelerator are presented. Faraday rotation is used to determine the existence of multimegagauss fields, constrained to a transverse dimension comparable to the plasma wavelength ∼λp and several λp longitudinally. The fields are generated rapidly and move with the driving laser. In our experiment, the appearance of the magnetic fields is correlated with the production of relativistic electrons, indicating that they are inherently tied to the growth and wave breaking of the nonlinear plasma wave. This evolution is confirmed by numerical simulations, showing that these measurements provide insight into the wakefield evolution with high spatial and temporal resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Kaluza
- Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany
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35
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Kaluza MC, Mangles SPD, Thomas AGR, Najmudin Z, Dangor AE, Murphy CD, Collier JL, Divall EJ, Foster PS, Hooker CJ, Langley AJ, Smith J, Krushelnick K. Observation of a long-wavelength hosing modulation of a high-intensity laser pulse in underdense plasma. Phys Rev Lett 2010; 105:095003. [PMID: 20868169 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.105.095003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2009] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
We report the first experimental observation of a long-wavelength hosing modulation of a high-intensity laser pulse. Side-view images of the scattered optical radiation at the fundamental wavelength of the laser reveal a transverse oscillation of the laser pulse during its propagation through underdense plasma. The wavelength of the oscillation λ(hosing) depends on the background plasma density n(e) and scales as λ(hosing)∼n(e)(-3/2). Comparisons with an analytical model and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reveal that this laser hosing can be induced by a spatiotemporal asymmetry of the intensity distribution in the laser focus which can be caused by a misalignment of the parabolic focusing mirror or of the diffraction gratings in the pulse compressor.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Kaluza
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
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36
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Willingale L, Thomas AGR, Nilson PM, Kaluza MC, Bandyopadhyay S, Dangor AE, Evans RG, Fernandes P, Haines MG, Kamperidis C, Kingham RJ, Minardi S, Notley M, Ridgers CP, Rozmus W, Sherlock M, Tatarakis M, Wei MS, Najmudin Z, Krushelnick K. Fast advection of magnetic fields by hot electrons. Phys Rev Lett 2010; 105:095001. [PMID: 20868167 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.105.095001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2009] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Experiments where a laser-generated proton beam is used to probe the megagauss strength self-generated magnetic fields from a nanosecond laser interaction with an aluminum target are presented. At intensities of 10(15) W cm(-2) and under conditions of significant fast electron production and strong heat fluxes, the electron mean-free-path is long compared with the temperature gradient scale length and hence nonlocal transport is important for the dynamics of the magnetic field in the plasma. The hot electron flux transports self-generated magnetic fields away from the focal region through the Nernst effect [A. Nishiguchi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 262 (1984)] at significantly higher velocities than the fluid velocity. Two-dimensional implicit Vlasov-Fokker-Planck modeling shows that the Nernst effect allows advection and self-generation transports magnetic fields at significantly faster than the ion fluid velocity, v(N)/c(s)≈10.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Willingale
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
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37
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Nilson PM, Mangles SPD, Willingale L, Kaluza MC, Thomas AGR, Tatarakis M, Najmudin Z, Clarke RJ, Lancaster KL, Karsch S, Schreiber J, Evans RG, Dangor AE, Krushelnick K. Generation of ultrahigh-velocity ionizing shocks with petawatt-class laser pulses. Phys Rev Lett 2009; 103:255001. [PMID: 20366258 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.103.255001] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2009] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Ultrahigh-velocity shock waves (approximately 10,000 km/s or 0.03c) are generated by focusing a 350-TW laser pulse into low-density helium gas. The collisionless ultrahigh-Mach-number electrostatic shock propagates from the plasma into the surrounding gas, ionizing gas as it becomes collisional. The shock undergoes a corrugation instability due to propagation of the ionizing shock within the gas (the Dyakov-Kontorovich instability). This system may be relevant to the study of very high-Mach-number ionizing shocks in astrophysical situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- P M Nilson
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ United Kingdom
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38
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Kneip S, Nagel SR, Martins SF, Mangles SPD, Bellei C, Chekhlov O, Clarke RJ, Delerue N, Divall EJ, Doucas G, Ertel K, Fiuza F, Fonseca R, Foster P, Hawkes SJ, Hooker CJ, Krushelnick K, Mori WB, Palmer CAJ, Phuoc KT, Rajeev PP, Schreiber J, Streeter MJV, Urner D, Vieira J, Silva LO, Najmudin Z. Near-GeV acceleration of electrons by a nonlinear plasma wave driven by a self-guided laser pulse. Phys Rev Lett 2009; 103:035002. [PMID: 19659287 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.103.035002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The acceleration of electrons to approximately 0.8 GeV has been observed in a self-injecting laser wakefield accelerator driven at a plasma density of 5.5x10(18) cm(-3) by a 10 J, 55 fs, 800 nm laser pulse in the blowout regime. The laser pulse is found to be self-guided for 1 cm (>10zR), by measurement of a single filament containing >30% of the initial laser energy at this distance. Three-dimensional particle in cell simulations show that the intensity within the guided filament is amplified beyond its initial focused value to a normalized vector potential of a0>6, thus driving a highly nonlinear plasma wave.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kneip
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
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39
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Willingale L, Nagel SR, Thomas AGR, Bellei C, Clarke RJ, Dangor AE, Heathcote R, Kaluza MC, Kamperidis C, Kneip S, Krushelnick K, Lopes N, Mangles SPD, Nazarov W, Nilson PM, Najmudin Z. Characterization of high-intensity laser propagation in the relativistic transparent regime through measurements of energetic proton beams. Phys Rev Lett 2009; 102:125002. [PMID: 19392290 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.102.125002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2008] [Revised: 01/11/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Experiments were performed to investigate the propagation of a high intensity (I approximately 10(21) W cm(-2)) laser in foam targets with densities ranging from 0.9n(c) to 30n(c). Proton acceleration was used to diagnose the interaction. An improvement in proton beam energy and efficiency is observed for the lowest density foam (n(e)=0.9n(c)), compared to higher density foams. Simulations show that the laser beam penetrates deeper into the target due to its relativistic propagation and results in greater collimation of the ensuing hot electrons. This results in the rear surface accelerating electric field being larger, increasing the efficiency of the acceleration. Enhanced collimation of the ions is seen to be due to the self-generated azimuthal magnetic and electric fields at the rear of the target.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Willingale
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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40
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Thomas AGR, Murphy CD, Mangles SPD, Dangor AE, Foster P, Gallacher JG, Jaroszynski DA, Kamperidis C, Lancaster KL, Norreys PA, Viskup R, Krushelnick K, Najmudin Z. Monoenergetic electronic beam production using dual collinear laser pulses. Phys Rev Lett 2008; 100:255002. [PMID: 18643668 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.100.255002] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2007] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The production of monoenergetic electron beams by two copropagating ultrashort laser pulses is investigated both by experiment and using particle-in-cell simulations. By proper timing between guiding and driver pulses, a high-amplitude plasma wave is generated and sustained for longer than is possible with either of the laser pulses individually, due to plasma waveguiding of the driver by the guiding pulse. The growth of the plasma wave is inferred by the measurement of monoenergetic electron beams with low divergence that are not measured by using either of the pulses individually. This scheme can be easily implemented and may allow more control of the interaction than is available to the single pulse scheme.
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Affiliation(s)
- A G R Thomas
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
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41
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Kar S, Markey K, Simpson PT, Bellei C, Green JS, Nagel SR, Kneip S, Carroll DC, Dromey B, Willingale L, Clark EL, McKenna P, Najmudin Z, Krushelnick K, Norreys P, Clarke RJ, Neely D, Borghesi M, Zepf M. Dynamic control of laser-produced proton beams. Phys Rev Lett 2008; 100:105004. [PMID: 18352198 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.100.105004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2007] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The emission characteristics of intense laser driven protons are controlled using ultrastrong (of the order of 10(9) V/m) electrostatic fields varying on a few ps time scale. The field structures are achieved by exploiting the high potential of the target (reaching multi-MV during the laser interaction). Suitably shaped targets result in a reduction in the proton beam divergence, and hence an increase in proton flux while preserving the high beam quality. The peak focusing power and its temporal variation are shown to depend on the target characteristics, allowing for the collimation of the inherently highly divergent beam and the design of achromatic electrostatic lenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kar
- The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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42
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Rowlands-Rees TP, Kamperidis C, Kneip S, Gonsalves AJ, Mangles SPD, Gallacher JG, Brunetti E, Ibbotson T, Murphy CD, Foster PS, Streeter MJV, Budde F, Norreys PA, Jaroszynski DA, Krushelnick K, Najmudin Z, Hooker SM. Laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a partially ionized plasma channel. Phys Rev Lett 2008; 100:105005. [PMID: 18352199 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.100.105005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2007] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The generation of quasimonoenergetic electron beams, with energies up to 200 MeV, by a laser-plasma accelerator driven in a hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide is investigated. Injection and acceleration of electrons is found to depend sensitively on the delay between the onset of the discharge current and the arrival of the laser pulse. A comparison of spectroscopic and interferometric measurements suggests that injection is assisted by laser ionization of atoms or ions within the channel.
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Affiliation(s)
- T P Rowlands-Rees
- University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
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43
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Kneip S, Nagel SR, Bellei C, Bourgeois N, Dangor AE, Gopal A, Heathcote R, Mangles SPD, Marquès JR, Maksimchuk A, Nilson PM, Phuoc KT, Reed S, Tzoufras M, Tsung FS, Willingale L, Mori WB, Rousse A, Krushelnick K, Najmudin Z. Observation of synchrotron radiation from electrons accelerated in a petawatt-laser-generated plasma cavity. Phys Rev Lett 2008; 100:105006. [PMID: 18352200 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.100.105006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2007] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The dynamics of plasma electrons in the focus of a petawatt laser beam are studied via measurements of their x-ray synchrotron radiation. With increasing laser intensity, a forward directed beam of x rays extending to 50 keV is observed. The measured x rays are well described in the synchrotron asymptotic limit of electrons oscillating in a plasma channel. The critical energy of the measured synchrotron spectrum is found to scale as the Maxwellian temperature of the simultaneously measured electron spectra. At low laser intensity transverse oscillations are negligible as the electrons are predominantly accelerated axially by the laser generated wakefield. At high laser intensity, electrons are directly accelerated by the laser and enter a highly radiative regime with up to 5% of their energy converted into x rays.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kneip
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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44
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Green JS, Ovchinnikov VM, Evans RG, Akli KU, Azechi H, Beg FN, Bellei C, Freeman RR, Habara H, Heathcote R, Key MH, King JA, Lancaster KL, Lopes NC, Ma T, MacKinnon AJ, Markey K, McPhee A, Najmudin Z, Nilson P, Onofrei R, Stephens R, Takeda K, Tanaka KA, Theobald W, Tanimoto T, Waugh J, Van Woerkom L, Woolsey NC, Zepf M, Davies JR, Norreys PA. Effect of laser intensity on fast-electron-beam divergence in solid-density plasmas. Phys Rev Lett 2008; 100:015003. [PMID: 18232779 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.100.015003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Metal foil targets were irradiated with 1 mum wavelength (lambda) laser pulses of 5 ps duration and focused intensities (I) of up to 4x10;{19} W cm;{-2}, giving values of both Ilambda;{2} and pulse duration comparable to those required for fast ignition inertial fusion. The divergence of the electrons accelerated into the target was determined from spatially resolved measurements of x-ray K_{alpha} emission and from transverse probing of the plasma formed on the back of the foils. Comparison of the divergence with other published data shows that it increases with Ilambda;{2} and is independent of pulse duration. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reproduce these results, indicating that it is a fundamental property of the laser-plasma interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- J S Green
- Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
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45
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Dromey B, Kar S, Bellei C, Carroll DC, Clarke RJ, Green JS, Kneip S, Markey K, Nagel SR, Simpson PT, Willingale L, McKenna P, Neely D, Najmudin Z, Krushelnick K, Norreys PA, Zepf M. Bright multi-keV harmonic generation from relativistically oscillating plasma surfaces. Phys Rev Lett 2007; 99:085001. [PMID: 17930952 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.99.085001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The first evidence of x-ray harmonic radiation extending to 3.3 A, 3.8 keV (order n>3200) from petawatt class laser-solid interactions is presented, exhibiting relativistic limit efficiency scaling (eta approximately n{-2.5}-n{-3}) at multi-keV energies. This scaling holds up to a maximum order, n{RO} approximately 8{1/2}gamma;{3}, where gamma is the relativistic Lorentz factor, above which the first evidence of an intensity dependent efficiency rollover is observed. The coherent nature of the generated harmonics is demonstrated by the highly directional beamed emission, which for photon energy hnu>1 keV is found to be into a cone angle approximately 4 degrees , significantly less than that of the incident laser cone (20 degrees ).
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Affiliation(s)
- B Dromey
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queens University, Belfast, UK
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46
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Thomas AGR, Najmudin Z, Mangles SPD, Murphy CD, Dangor AE, Kamperidis C, Lancaster KL, Mori WB, Norreys PA, Rozmus W, Krushelnick K. Effect of laser-focusing conditions on propagation and monoenergetic electron production in laser-wakefield accelerators. Phys Rev Lett 2007; 98:095004. [PMID: 17359164 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.98.095004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2006] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The effect of laser-focusing conditions on the evolution of relativistic plasma waves in laser-wakefield accelerators is studied both experimentally and with particle-in-cell simulations. For short focal-length (w_{0}<lambda_{p}) interactions, beam breakup prevents stable propagation of the pulse. High field gradients lead to nonlocalized phase injection of electrons, and thus broad energy spread beams. However, for long focal-length geometries (w_{0}>lambda_{p}), a single optical filament can capture the majority of the laser energy and self-guide over distances comparable to the dephasing length, even for these short pulses (ctau approximately lambda_{p}). This allows the wakefield to evolve to the correct shape for the production of the monoenergetic electron bunches, as measured in the experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- A G R Thomas
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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47
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Thomas AGR, Mangles SPD, Najmudin Z, Kaluza MC, Murphy CD, Krushelnick K. Measurements of wave-breaking radiation from a laser-wakefield accelerator. Phys Rev Lett 2007; 98:054802. [PMID: 17358867 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.98.054802] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2006] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Spectral analysis of radiation emitted transverse to laser propagation in laser-wakefield acceleration experiments shows broadband emission when electrons are accelerated to relativistic energies. The region over which emission occurs is short compared with the overall interaction length. The energy of the emission and location along the interaction length both vary with plasma density. A model for the radiation from self-trapped electrons indicates that the emission is a signature of the violent initial acceleration, and hence can be used as a diagnostic of the self-injection mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- A G R Thomas
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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Nilson PM, Willingale L, Kaluza MC, Kamperidis C, Minardi S, Wei MS, Fernandes P, Notley M, Bandyopadhyay S, Sherlock M, Kingham RJ, Tatarakis M, Najmudin Z, Rozmus W, Evans RG, Haines MG, Dangor AE, Krushelnick K. Magnetic reconnection and plasma dynamics in two-beam laser-solid interactions. Phys Rev Lett 2006; 97:255001. [PMID: 17280361 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.97.255001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2006] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
We present measurements of a magnetic reconnection in a plasma created by two laser beams (1 ns pulse duration, 1 x 10(15) W cm(-2)) focused in close proximity on a planar solid target. Simultaneous optical probing and proton grid deflectometry reveal two high velocity, collimated outflowing jets and 0.7-1.3 MG magnetic fields at the focal spot edges. Thomson scattering measurements from the reconnection layer are consistent with high electron temperatures in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- P M Nilson
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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Willingale L, Mangles SPD, Nilson PM, Clarke RJ, Dangor AE, Kaluza MC, Karsch S, Lancaster KL, Mori WB, Najmudin Z, Schreiber J, Thomas AGR, Wei MS, Krushelnick K. Collimated multi-MeV ion beams from high-intensity laser interactions with underdense plasma. Phys Rev Lett 2006; 96:245002. [PMID: 16907250 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.96.245002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2005] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
A beam of multi-MeV helium ions has been observed from the interaction of a short-pulse high-intensity laser pulse with underdense helium plasma. The ion beam was found to have a maximum energy for He2+ of (40(+3)(-8)) MeV and was directional along the laser propagation path, with the highest energy ions being collimated to a cone of less than 10 degrees. 2D particle-in-cell simulations show that the ions are accelerated by a sheath electric field that is produced at the back of the gas target. This electric field is generated by transfer of laser energy to a hot electron beam, which exits the target generating large space-charge fields normal to its boundary.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Willingale
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
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Mangles SPD, Thomas AGR, Kaluza MC, Lundh O, Lindau F, Persson A, Tsung FS, Najmudin Z, Mori WB, Wahlström CG, Krushelnick K. Laser-wakefield acceleration of monoenergetic electron beams in the first plasma-wave period. Phys Rev Lett 2006; 96:215001. [PMID: 16803242 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.96.215001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2006] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Beam profile measurements of laser-wakefield accelerated electron bunches reveal that in the monoenergetic regime the electrons are injected and accelerated at the back of the first period of the plasma wave. With pulse durations ctau >or= lambda(p), we observe an elliptical beam profile with the axis of the ellipse parallel to the axis of the laser polarization. This increase in divergence in the laser polarization direction indicates that the electrons are accelerated within the laser pulse. Reducing the plasma density (decreasing ctau/lambda(p)) leads to a beam profile with less ellipticity, implying that the self-injection occurs at the rear of the first period of the plasma wave. This also demonstrates that the electron bunches are less than a plasma wavelength long, i.e., have a duration <25 fs. This interpretation is supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- S P D Mangles
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom
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