The article contains an error regarding the electron spectra displayed in Figs.4 and 5 and the data extracted from these spectra.The measurements were made with the SESAME magnetic spectrometer,the working principle o...The article contains an error regarding the electron spectra displayed in Figs.4 and 5 and the data extracted from these spectra.The measurements were made with the SESAME magnetic spectrometer,the working principle of which is recalled in Fig.1.Specifically,a magnetic dipole is used to separate charged particles(electrons in the case of this experiment)depending on their energy,charge and mass.The deflected particles then hit an imaging plate(IP)and deposit energy in its sensitive layer.The kinetic energy of the particles can be evaluated from their impact position on the IP and their number can be inferred from the local energy deposition.展开更多
Recent experiments at the National Ignition Facility and theoretical modeling suggest that side stimulated Raman scattering(SSRS)instability could reduce laser–plasma coupling and generate considerable fluxes of supr...Recent experiments at the National Ignition Facility and theoretical modeling suggest that side stimulated Raman scattering(SSRS)instability could reduce laser–plasma coupling and generate considerable fluxes of suprathermal hot electrons under interaction conditions envisaged for direct-drive schemes for inertial confinement fusion.Nonetheless,SSRS remains to date one of the least understood parametric instabilities.Here,we report the first angularly and spectrally resolved measurements of scattered light at laser intensities relevant for the shock ignition scheme(I×10^(16)W/cm^(2)),showing significant SSRS growth in the direction perpendicular to the laser polarization.Modification of the focal spot shape and orientation,obtained by using two different random phase plates,and of the density gradient of the plasma,by utilizing exploding foil targets of different thicknesses,clearly reveals a different dependence of backward SRS(BSRS)and SSRS on experimental parameters.While convective BSRS scales with plasma density scale length,as expected by linear theory,the growth of SSRS depends on the spot extension in the direction perpendicular to laser polarization.Our analysis therefore demonstrates that under current experimental conditions,with density scale lengths L_(n)≈60–120μm and spot sizes FWHM≈40–100μm,SSRS is limited by laser beam size rather than by the density scale length of the plasma.展开更多
Driving of the nuclear fusion reaction p+^(11)B3α+8.7 MeV under laboratory conditions by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter has become a popular field of research,owing to its numerous potential a...Driving of the nuclear fusion reaction p+^(11)B3α+8.7 MeV under laboratory conditions by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter has become a popular field of research,owing to its numerous potential applications:as an alternative to deuterium-tritium for fusion energy production,astrophysics studies,and alpha-particle generation for medical treatment.One possible scheme for laser-driven p-^(11)B reactions is to direct a beam of laser-accelerated protons onto a boron(B)sample(the so-called“pitcher-catcher”scheme).This technique has been successfully implemented on large high-energy lasers,yielding hundreds of joules per shot at low repetition.We present here a complementary approach,exploiting the high repetition rate of the VEGA III petawatt laser at CLPU(Spain),aiming at accumulating results from many interactions at much lower energy,to provide better control of the parameters and the statistics of the measurements.Despite a moderate energy per pulse,our experiment allowed exploration of the laser-driven fusion process with tens(up to hundreds)of laser shots.The experiment provided a clear signature of the reactions involved and of the fusion products,accumulated over many shots,leading to an improved optimization of the diagnostics for experimental campaigns of this type.In this paper,we discuss the effectiveness of laser-driven p-11B fusion in the pitcher-catcher scheme,at a high repetition rate,addressing the challenges of this experimental scheme and highlighting its critical aspects.Our proposed methodology allows evaluation of the performance of this scheme for laser-driven alpha particle production and can be adapted to high-repetition-rate laser facilities with higher energy and intensity.展开更多
The high-energy petawatt PETAL laser system was commissioned at CEA’s Laser M´egajoule facility during the 2017–2018 period.This paper reports in detail on the first experimental results obtained at PETAL on en...The high-energy petawatt PETAL laser system was commissioned at CEA’s Laser M´egajoule facility during the 2017–2018 period.This paper reports in detail on the first experimental results obtained at PETAL on energetic particle and photon generation from solid foil targets,with special emphasis on proton acceleration.Despite a moderately relativistic(<1019 W/cm^(2))laser intensity,proton energies as high as 51 MeV have been measured significantly above those expected from preliminary numerical simulations using idealized interaction conditions.Multidimensional hydrodynamic and kinetic simulations,taking into account the actual laser parameters,show the importance of the energetic electron production in the extended low-density preplasma created by the laser pedestal.This hot-electron generation occurs through two main pathways:(i)stimulated backscattering of the incoming laser light,triggering stochastic electron heating in the resulting counterpropagating laser beams;(ii)laser filamentation,leading to local intensifications of the laser field and plasma channeling,both of which tend to boost the electron acceleration.Moreover,owing to the large(∼100μm)waist and picosecond duration of the PETAL beam,the hot electrons can sustain a high electrostatic field at the target rear side for an extended period,thus enabling efficient target normal sheath acceleration of the rear-side protons.The particle distributions predicted by our numerical simulations are consistent with the measurements.展开更多
We describe the development of a 3D Monte-Carlo model to study hot-electron transport in ionized or partially ionized targets,considering regimes typical of inertial confinement fusion.Electron collisions are modeled ...We describe the development of a 3D Monte-Carlo model to study hot-electron transport in ionized or partially ionized targets,considering regimes typical of inertial confinement fusion.Electron collisions are modeled using a mixed simulation algorithm that considers both soft and hard scattering phenomena.Soft collisions are modeled according to multiple-scattering theories,i.e.,considering the global effects of the scattering centers on the primary particle.Hard collisions are simulated by considering a two-body interaction between an electron and a plasma particle.Appropriate differential cross sections are adopted to correctly model scattering in ionized or partially ionized targets.In particular,an analytical form of the differential cross section that describes a collision between an electron and the nucleus of a partially ionized atom in a plasma is proposed.The loss of energy is treated according to the continuous slowing down approximation in a plasma stopping power theory.Validation against Geant4 is presented.The code will be implemented as a module in 3D hydrodynamic codes,providing a basis for the development of robust shock ignition schemes and allowing more precise interpretations of current experiments in planar or spherical geometries.展开更多
We describe two numerical investigations performed using a 3D plasma Monte-Carlo code,developed to study hot-electron transport in the context of inertial confinement fusion.The code simulates the propagation of hot e...We describe two numerical investigations performed using a 3D plasma Monte-Carlo code,developed to study hot-electron transport in the context of inertial confinement fusion.The code simulates the propagation of hot electrons in ionized targets,using appropriate scattering differential cross sections with free plasma electrons and ionized or partially ionized atoms.In this paper,we show that a target in the plasma state stops and diffuses electrons more effectively than a cold target(i.e.,a target under standard conditions in which ionization is absent).This is related to the fact that in a plasma,the nuclear potential of plasma nuclei has a greater range than in the cold case,where the screening distance is determined by the electronic structure of atoms.However,in the ablation zone created by laser interaction,electrons undergo less severe scattering,counterbalancing the enhanced diffusion that occurs in the bulk.We also show that hard collisions,i.e.,collisions with large polar scattering angle,play a primary role in electron beam diffusion and should not be neglected.An application of the plasma MonteCarlo model to typical shock ignition implosions suggests that hot electrons will not give rise to any preheating concerns if their Maxwellian temperature is lower than 25–30 keV,although the presence of populations at higher temperatures must be suppressed.This result does not depend strongly on the initial angular divergence of the electron beam set in the simulations.展开更多
The discovery of chirped pulse amplification has led to great improvements in laser technology,enabling energetic laser beams to be compressed to pulse durations of tens of femtoseconds and focused to a few micrometer...The discovery of chirped pulse amplification has led to great improvements in laser technology,enabling energetic laser beams to be compressed to pulse durations of tens of femtoseconds and focused to a few micrometers.Protons with energies of tens of MeV can be accelerated using,for instance,target normal sheath acceleration and focused on secondary targets.Under such conditions,nuclear reactions can occur,with the production of radioisotopes suitable for medical application.The use of high-repetition lasers to produce such isotopes is competitive with conventional methods mostly based on accelerators.In this paper,we study the production of^(67)Cu,^(63)Zn,^(18)F,and^(11)C,which are currently used in positron emission tomography and other applications.At the same time,we study the reactions^(10)B(p,α)^(7)Be and^(70)Zn(p,4n)^(67)Ga to put further constraints on the proton distributions at different angles,as well as the reaction^(11)B(p,α)^(8)Be relevant for energy production.The experiment was performed at the 1 PW laser facility at VegaⅢin Salamanca,Spain.Angular distributions of radioisotopes in the forward(with respect to the laser direction)and backward directions were measured using a high purity germanium detector.Our results are in reasonable agreement with numerical estimates obtained following the approach of Kimura and Bonasera[Nucl.Instrum.Methods Phys.Res.,Sect.A 637,164–170(2011)].展开更多
In an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System at laser intensities relevant to shock ignition conditions(I>10^(16) W/cm^(2)),the heating and transport of hot electrons were studied by using severa...In an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System at laser intensities relevant to shock ignition conditions(I>10^(16) W/cm^(2)),the heating and transport of hot electrons were studied by using several complementary diagnostics,i.e.,K_(α)time-resolved imaging,hard x-ray filtering(a bremsstrahlung cannon),and electron spectroscopy.Ablators with differing composition from low Z(parylene N)to high Z(nickel)were used in multilayer planar targets to produce plasmas with different coronal temperature and collisionality and modify the conditions of hot-electron generation.The variety of available diagnostics allowed full characterization of the population of hot electrons,retrieving their conversion efficiency,time generation and duration,temperature,and angular divergence.The obtained results are shown to be consistent with those from detailed simulations and similar inertial confinement fusion experiments.Based on the measured data,the advantages,reliability,and complementarity of the experimental diagnostics are discussed.展开更多
I.INTRODUCTION Strong interest in the modeling of planetary interiors,dwarf stars,and the physical conditions necessary to achieve inertial confinement fusion(ICF)have driven attention to the properties of matter at h...I.INTRODUCTION Strong interest in the modeling of planetary interiors,dwarf stars,and the physical conditions necessary to achieve inertial confinement fusion(ICF)have driven attention to the properties of matter at high density,temperature,and pressure(beyond the megabar limit).Extreme states of matter have been studied using gas guns,explosives,and Z-pinches,among other methods(see,e.g.,Refs.1–4).However in recent years,lasers have become the most reliable standard tool for creating extreme states of matter.展开更多
This article reports the first measurements of high-energy photons produced with the high-intensity PETawatt Aquitaine Laser(PETAL)laser.The experiments were performed during the commissioning of the laser.The laser h...This article reports the first measurements of high-energy photons produced with the high-intensity PETawatt Aquitaine Laser(PETAL)laser.The experiments were performed during the commissioning of the laser.The laser had an energy of about 400 J,an intensity of 8×10^(18)W cm^(−2),and a pulse duration of 660 fs(FWHM).It was shot at a 2 mm-thick solid tungsten target.The high-energy photons were produced mainly from the bremsstrahlung process for relativistic electrons accelerated inside a plasma generated on the front side of the target.This paper reports measurements of electrons,protons and photons.Hot electrons up to35 MeV with a few-MeV temperature were recorded by a spectrometer,called SESAME(SpectreÉlectronS Angulaire MoyenneÉnergie).K-and L-shells were clearly detected by a photon spectrometer called SPECTIX(Spectromètre PetalàCristal en TransmIssion pour le rayonnnement X).High-energy photons were diagnosed by CRACC-X(Cassette de RAdiographie Centre Chambre-rayonnement X),a bremsstrahlung cannon.Bremsstrahlung cannon analysis is strongly dependent on the hypothesis adopted for the spectral shape.Different shapes can exhibit similar reproductions of the experimental data.To eliminate dependence on the shape hypothesis and to facilitate analysis of the data,simulations of the interaction were performed.To model the mechanisms involved,a simulation chain including hydrodynamic,particle-in-cell,and Monte Carlo simulations was used.The simulations model the preplasma generated at the front of the target by the PETAL laser prepulse,the acceleration of electrons inside the plasma,the generation of MeV-range photons from these electrons,and the response of the detector impacted by the energetic photon beam.All this work enabled reproduction of the experimental data.The high-energy photons produced have a large emission angle and an exponential distribution shape.In addition to the analysis of the photon spectra,positron production was also investigated.Indeed,if high-energy photons are generated inside the solid target,some positron/electron pairs may be produced by the Bethe–Heitler process.Therefore,the positron production achievable within the PETAL laser facility was quantified.To conclude the study,the possibility of creating electron/positron pairs through the linear Breit–Wheeler process with PETAL was investigated.展开更多
Fusion energy research is delivering impressive new results emerging from different infrastructures and industrial devices evolving rapidly from ideas to proof-of-principle demonstration and aiming at the conceptual d...Fusion energy research is delivering impressive new results emerging from different infrastructures and industrial devices evolving rapidly from ideas to proof-of-principle demonstration and aiming at the conceptual design of reactors for the production of electricity.A major milestone has recently been announced in laser fusion by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is giving new thrust to laser-fusion energy research worldwide.Here we discuss how these circumstances strongly suggest the need for a European intermediate-energy facility dedicated to the physics and technology of laser-fusion ignition,the physics of fusion materials and advanced technologies for high-repetitionrate,high-average-power broadband lasers.We believe that the participation of the broader scientific community and the increased engagement of industry,in partnership with research and academic institutions,make most timely the construction of this infrastructure of extreme scientific attractiveness.展开更多
Laser–plasma interaction(LPI)at intensities 1015–1016 W·cm^-2 is dominated by parametric instabilities which can be responsible for a significant amount of non-collisional absorption and generate large fluxes o...Laser–plasma interaction(LPI)at intensities 1015–1016 W·cm^-2 is dominated by parametric instabilities which can be responsible for a significant amount of non-collisional absorption and generate large fluxes of high-energy nonthermal electrons.Such a regime is of paramount importance for inertial confinement fusion(ICF)and in particular for the shock ignition scheme.In this paper we report on an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System(PALS)facility to investigate the extent and time history of stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)and two-plasmon decay(TPD)instabilities,driven by the interaction of an infrared laser pulse at an intensity^1.2×1016 W·cm^-2 with a^100μm scalelength plasma produced from irradiation of a flat plastic target.The laser pulse duration(300 ps)and the high value of plasma temperature(~4 ke V)expected from hydrodynamic simulations make these results interesting for a deeper understanding of LPI in shock ignition conditions.Experimental results show that absolute TPD/SRS,driven at a quarter of the critical density,and convective SRS,driven at lower plasma densities,are well separated in time,with absolute instabilities driven at early times of interaction and convective backward SRS emerging at the laser peak and persisting all over the tail of the pulse.Side-scattering SRS,driven at low plasma densities,is also clearly observed.Experimental results are compared to fully kinetic large-scale,two-dimensional simulations.Particle-in-cell results,beyond reproducing the framework delineated by the experimental measurements,reveal the importance of filamentation instability in ruling the onset of SRS and stimulated Brillouin scattering instabilities and confirm the crucial role of collisionless absorption in the LPI energy balance.展开更多
We report results and modelling of an experiment performed at the Target Area West Vulcan laser facility,aimed at investigating laser±plasma interaction in conditions that are of interest for the shock ignition s...We report results and modelling of an experiment performed at the Target Area West Vulcan laser facility,aimed at investigating laser±plasma interaction in conditions that are of interest for the shock ignition scheme in inertial confinement fusion(ICF),that is,laser intensity higher than 10^(16) W/cm^(2) impinging on a hot(T>1 keV),inhomogeneous and long scalelength pre-formed plasma.Measurements show a significant stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)backscattering(;%-20%of laser energy)driven at low plasma densities and no signatures of two-plasmon decay(TPD)/SRS driven at the quarter critical density region.Results are satisfactorily reproduced by an analytical model accounting for the convective SRS growth in independent laser speckles,in conditions where the reflectivity is dominated by the contribution from the most intense speckles,where SRS becomes saturated.Analytical and kinetic simulations well reproduce the onset of SRS at low plasma densities in a regime strongly affected by non-linear Landau damping and by filamentation of the most intense laser speckles.The absence of TPD/SRS at higher densities is explained by pump depletion and plasma smoothing driven by filamentation.The prevalence of laser coupling in the low-density profile justifies the low temperature measured for hot electrons(7-12 keV),which is well reproduced by numerical simulations.展开更多
In this work we present experimental results on the behavior of diamond at megabar pressure. The experiment was performed using the PHELIX facility at GSI in Germany to launch a planar shock into solid multi-layered d...In this work we present experimental results on the behavior of diamond at megabar pressure. The experiment was performed using the PHELIX facility at GSI in Germany to launch a planar shock into solid multi-layered diamond samples. The target design allows shock velocity in diamond and in two metal layers to be measured as well as the free surface velocity after shock breakout. As diagnostics, we used two velocity interferometry systems for any reflector(VISARs). Our measurements show that for the pressures obtained in diamond(between 3 and 9 Mbar),the propagation of the shock induces a reflecting state of the material. Finally, the experimental results are compared with hydrodynamical simulations in which we used different equations of state, showing compatibility with dedicated SESAME tables for diamond.展开更多
Laser–plasma interaction and hot electrons have been characterized in detail in laser irradiation conditions relevant for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion.The experiment was carried out at the Gekko XII laser...Laser–plasma interaction and hot electrons have been characterized in detail in laser irradiation conditions relevant for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion.The experiment was carried out at the Gekko XII laser facility in multibeam planar target geometry at an intensity of approximately 3×10^(15)W/cm^(2).Experimental data suggest that high-energy electrons,with temperatures of 20–50 keV and conversion efficiencies ofη<1%,were mainly produced by the damping of electron plasma waves driven by two-plasmon decay(TPD).Stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)is observed in a near-threshold growth regime,producing a reflectivity of approximately 0.01%,and is well described by an analytical model accounting for the convective growth in independent speckles.The experiment reveals that both TPD and SRS are collectively driven by multiple beams,resulting in a more vigorous growth than that driven by single-beam laser intensity.展开更多
We present a recent numerical analysis of impedance mismatch technique applied to carbon equation of state measurements.We consider high-power laser pulses with a Gaussian temporal profile of different durations.We sh...We present a recent numerical analysis of impedance mismatch technique applied to carbon equation of state measurements.We consider high-power laser pulses with a Gaussian temporal profile of different durations.We show that for the laser intensity(≈1014W/cm2)and the target design considered in this paper we need to have laser pulses with rise-time less than 150 ps.展开更多
We present an experimental study of the dynamics of shocks generated by the interaction of a double-spot laser in different kinds of targets:simple aluminum foils and foam-aluminum layered targets.The experiment was p...We present an experimental study of the dynamics of shocks generated by the interaction of a double-spot laser in different kinds of targets:simple aluminum foils and foam-aluminum layered targets.The experiment was performed using the Prague PALS iodine laser working at 0.44μm wavelength and irradiance of a few 10^(15)W/cm^(2).Shock breakouts for pure Al and for foam-Al targets have been recorded using time-resolved self-emission diagnostics.Experimental results have been compared with numerical simulations.The shocks originating from two spots move forward and expand radially in the targets,finally colliding in the intermediate region and producing a very strong increase in pressure.This is particularly clear for the case of foam layered targets,where we also observed a delay of shock breakout and a spatial redistribution of the pressure.The influence of the foam layer doped with high-Z(Au)nanoparticles on the shock dynamics was also studied.展开更多
文摘The article contains an error regarding the electron spectra displayed in Figs.4 and 5 and the data extracted from these spectra.The measurements were made with the SESAME magnetic spectrometer,the working principle of which is recalled in Fig.1.Specifically,a magnetic dipole is used to separate charged particles(electrons in the case of this experiment)depending on their energy,charge and mass.The deflected particles then hit an imaging plate(IP)and deposit energy in its sensitive layer.The kinetic energy of the particles can be evaluated from their impact position on the IP and their number can be inferred from the local energy deposition.
基金financial support from the LASERLAB-EUROPE Access to Research Infrastructure Activity (Application No. 23068)carried out within the framework of EUROfusion Enabling Research Projects AWP21-ENR-01-CEA02 and AWP24-ENR-IFE-02-CEA-02+3 种基金received funding from Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021–2025 under Grant No. 633053supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic [Project No. LM2023068 (PALS RI)]by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant Nos. XDA25030200 and XDA25010100)supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) through Action CA21128 PROBONO (PROton BOron Nuclear Fusion: from energy production to medical applicatiOns)
文摘Recent experiments at the National Ignition Facility and theoretical modeling suggest that side stimulated Raman scattering(SSRS)instability could reduce laser–plasma coupling and generate considerable fluxes of suprathermal hot electrons under interaction conditions envisaged for direct-drive schemes for inertial confinement fusion.Nonetheless,SSRS remains to date one of the least understood parametric instabilities.Here,we report the first angularly and spectrally resolved measurements of scattered light at laser intensities relevant for the shock ignition scheme(I×10^(16)W/cm^(2)),showing significant SSRS growth in the direction perpendicular to the laser polarization.Modification of the focal spot shape and orientation,obtained by using two different random phase plates,and of the density gradient of the plasma,by utilizing exploding foil targets of different thicknesses,clearly reveals a different dependence of backward SRS(BSRS)and SSRS on experimental parameters.While convective BSRS scales with plasma density scale length,as expected by linear theory,the growth of SSRS depends on the spot extension in the direction perpendicular to laser polarization.Our analysis therefore demonstrates that under current experimental conditions,with density scale lengths L_(n)≈60–120μm and spot sizes FWHM≈40–100μm,SSRS is limited by laser beam size rather than by the density scale length of the plasma.
基金funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Program(Grant Agreement No.101052200-EUROfusion)funding from LASERLAB-EUROPE(Grant Agreement No.871124,European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program)+5 种基金supported in part by the United States Department of Energy under Grant No.DE-FG02-93ER40773We also acknowledge support from Grant No.PID2021-125389OA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER,UEby“ERDF A Way of Making Europe”by the European Union and Unidad de Investigación Consolidada of Junta de Castilla y León UIC 167supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.12375125the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universitiesthe support of the Czech Science Foundation through Grant No.GACR24-11398S.
文摘Driving of the nuclear fusion reaction p+^(11)B3α+8.7 MeV under laboratory conditions by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter has become a popular field of research,owing to its numerous potential applications:as an alternative to deuterium-tritium for fusion energy production,astrophysics studies,and alpha-particle generation for medical treatment.One possible scheme for laser-driven p-^(11)B reactions is to direct a beam of laser-accelerated protons onto a boron(B)sample(the so-called“pitcher-catcher”scheme).This technique has been successfully implemented on large high-energy lasers,yielding hundreds of joules per shot at low repetition.We present here a complementary approach,exploiting the high repetition rate of the VEGA III petawatt laser at CLPU(Spain),aiming at accumulating results from many interactions at much lower energy,to provide better control of the parameters and the statistics of the measurements.Despite a moderate energy per pulse,our experiment allowed exploration of the laser-driven fusion process with tens(up to hundreds)of laser shots.The experiment provided a clear signature of the reactions involved and of the fusion products,accumulated over many shots,leading to an improved optimization of the diagnostics for experimental campaigns of this type.In this paper,we discuss the effectiveness of laser-driven p-11B fusion in the pitcher-catcher scheme,at a high repetition rate,addressing the challenges of this experimental scheme and highlighting its critical aspects.Our proposed methodology allows evaluation of the performance of this scheme for laser-driven alpha particle production and can be adapted to high-repetition-rate laser facilities with higher energy and intensity.
基金funding from the Conseil Regional d’Aquitaine,the French Ministry of Research,and the European Unionfunded by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche under Grant No.ANR-10-EQPX-42-01+1 种基金funded by the LabEx LAPHIA of the University of Bordeaux under Grant No.ANR-10-IDEX-03-02supported by Association Lasers et Plasmas and by the CEA。
文摘The high-energy petawatt PETAL laser system was commissioned at CEA’s Laser M´egajoule facility during the 2017–2018 period.This paper reports in detail on the first experimental results obtained at PETAL on energetic particle and photon generation from solid foil targets,with special emphasis on proton acceleration.Despite a moderately relativistic(<1019 W/cm^(2))laser intensity,proton energies as high as 51 MeV have been measured significantly above those expected from preliminary numerical simulations using idealized interaction conditions.Multidimensional hydrodynamic and kinetic simulations,taking into account the actual laser parameters,show the importance of the energetic electron production in the extended low-density preplasma created by the laser pedestal.This hot-electron generation occurs through two main pathways:(i)stimulated backscattering of the incoming laser light,triggering stochastic electron heating in the resulting counterpropagating laser beams;(ii)laser filamentation,leading to local intensifications of the laser field and plasma channeling,both of which tend to boost the electron acceleration.Moreover,owing to the large(∼100μm)waist and picosecond duration of the PETAL beam,the hot electrons can sustain a high electrostatic field at the target rear side for an extended period,thus enabling efficient target normal sheath acceleration of the rear-side protons.The particle distributions predicted by our numerical simulations are consistent with the measurements.
基金This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Enabling Research Project No.AWP17-ENR-IFECEA-01“Preparation and Realization of European Shock Ignition Experiments”and has received funding from the Euratom Research and Training Program 2014-2018 under Grant Agreement No.633053The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.The authors thank Professors Vladimir Tikhonchuk and Stefano Atzeni for many useful discussions.We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.
文摘We describe the development of a 3D Monte-Carlo model to study hot-electron transport in ionized or partially ionized targets,considering regimes typical of inertial confinement fusion.Electron collisions are modeled using a mixed simulation algorithm that considers both soft and hard scattering phenomena.Soft collisions are modeled according to multiple-scattering theories,i.e.,considering the global effects of the scattering centers on the primary particle.Hard collisions are simulated by considering a two-body interaction between an electron and a plasma particle.Appropriate differential cross sections are adopted to correctly model scattering in ionized or partially ionized targets.In particular,an analytical form of the differential cross section that describes a collision between an electron and the nucleus of a partially ionized atom in a plasma is proposed.The loss of energy is treated according to the continuous slowing down approximation in a plasma stopping power theory.Validation against Geant4 is presented.The code will be implemented as a module in 3D hydrodynamic codes,providing a basis for the development of robust shock ignition schemes and allowing more precise interpretations of current experiments in planar or spherical geometries.
基金This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Enabling Research Project No.AWP17-ENR-IFECEA-01“Preparation and Realization of European Shock Ignition Experiments”and has received funding from the Euratom Research and Training Program 2014-2018 under Grant Agreement No.633053.The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.
文摘We describe two numerical investigations performed using a 3D plasma Monte-Carlo code,developed to study hot-electron transport in the context of inertial confinement fusion.The code simulates the propagation of hot electrons in ionized targets,using appropriate scattering differential cross sections with free plasma electrons and ionized or partially ionized atoms.In this paper,we show that a target in the plasma state stops and diffuses electrons more effectively than a cold target(i.e.,a target under standard conditions in which ionization is absent).This is related to the fact that in a plasma,the nuclear potential of plasma nuclei has a greater range than in the cold case,where the screening distance is determined by the electronic structure of atoms.However,in the ablation zone created by laser interaction,electrons undergo less severe scattering,counterbalancing the enhanced diffusion that occurs in the bulk.We also show that hard collisions,i.e.,collisions with large polar scattering angle,play a primary role in electron beam diffusion and should not be neglected.An application of the plasma MonteCarlo model to typical shock ignition implosions suggests that hot electrons will not give rise to any preheating concerns if their Maxwellian temperature is lower than 25–30 keV,although the presence of populations at higher temperatures must be suppressed.This result does not depend strongly on the initial angular divergence of the electron beam set in the simulations.
文摘The discovery of chirped pulse amplification has led to great improvements in laser technology,enabling energetic laser beams to be compressed to pulse durations of tens of femtoseconds and focused to a few micrometers.Protons with energies of tens of MeV can be accelerated using,for instance,target normal sheath acceleration and focused on secondary targets.Under such conditions,nuclear reactions can occur,with the production of radioisotopes suitable for medical application.The use of high-repetition lasers to produce such isotopes is competitive with conventional methods mostly based on accelerators.In this paper,we study the production of^(67)Cu,^(63)Zn,^(18)F,and^(11)C,which are currently used in positron emission tomography and other applications.At the same time,we study the reactions^(10)B(p,α)^(7)Be and^(70)Zn(p,4n)^(67)Ga to put further constraints on the proton distributions at different angles,as well as the reaction^(11)B(p,α)^(8)Be relevant for energy production.The experiment was performed at the 1 PW laser facility at VegaⅢin Salamanca,Spain.Angular distributions of radioisotopes in the forward(with respect to the laser direction)and backward directions were measured using a high purity germanium detector.Our results are in reasonable agreement with numerical estimates obtained following the approach of Kimura and Bonasera[Nucl.Instrum.Methods Phys.Res.,Sect.A 637,164–170(2011)].
基金This work was carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium,funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme(Grant No.101052200-EUROfusion)Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission.Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.The involved teams have operated within the framework of the Enabling Research Project:Grant No.ENR-IFE.01.CEA“Advancing shock ignition for direct-drive inertial fusion.”The work was also supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada(Grant No.RGPIN-2019-05013)+5 种基金The authors acknowledge support of the PALS Infrastructure within the MŠMT(MEYS)project Grant No.LM2023068Staff members of the PALS Research Center appreciate financial support(Grant No.LM2023068)from the Czech Ministry of Education,Youth and Sports facilitating operation of the PALS facilityThe work of JIHT RAS team was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation(State Assignment No.075-01129-23-00)The work at NRMU MEPhI was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation(Agreement No.075-15-2021-1361)This project has received funding from the CNR funded Italian research Network ELI-Italy(D.M.No.63108.08.2016)This work was funded by United Kingdom EPSRC Grants No.EP/P026796/1 and No.EP/L01663X/1.The results presented in this paper are based on work carried out between September 2018 and December 2021.
文摘In an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System at laser intensities relevant to shock ignition conditions(I>10^(16) W/cm^(2)),the heating and transport of hot electrons were studied by using several complementary diagnostics,i.e.,K_(α)time-resolved imaging,hard x-ray filtering(a bremsstrahlung cannon),and electron spectroscopy.Ablators with differing composition from low Z(parylene N)to high Z(nickel)were used in multilayer planar targets to produce plasmas with different coronal temperature and collisionality and modify the conditions of hot-electron generation.The variety of available diagnostics allowed full characterization of the population of hot electrons,retrieving their conversion efficiency,time generation and duration,temperature,and angular divergence.The obtained results are shown to be consistent with those from detailed simulations and similar inertial confinement fusion experiments.Based on the measured data,the advantages,reliability,and complementarity of the experimental diagnostics are discussed.
文摘I.INTRODUCTION Strong interest in the modeling of planetary interiors,dwarf stars,and the physical conditions necessary to achieve inertial confinement fusion(ICF)have driven attention to the properties of matter at high density,temperature,and pressure(beyond the megabar limit).Extreme states of matter have been studied using gas guns,explosives,and Z-pinches,among other methods(see,e.g.,Refs.1–4).However in recent years,lasers have become the most reliable standard tool for creating extreme states of matter.
基金support by GENCI France through awarding us access to HPC resources at TGCC/CCRT(Grant Nos.A0110512943 and A0130512943)funded by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche under Grant No.ANR-10-EQPX-42-01funded by the LabEx LAPHIA of the University of Bordeaux under Grant No.ANR-10-IDEX-03-02.
文摘This article reports the first measurements of high-energy photons produced with the high-intensity PETawatt Aquitaine Laser(PETAL)laser.The experiments were performed during the commissioning of the laser.The laser had an energy of about 400 J,an intensity of 8×10^(18)W cm^(−2),and a pulse duration of 660 fs(FWHM).It was shot at a 2 mm-thick solid tungsten target.The high-energy photons were produced mainly from the bremsstrahlung process for relativistic electrons accelerated inside a plasma generated on the front side of the target.This paper reports measurements of electrons,protons and photons.Hot electrons up to35 MeV with a few-MeV temperature were recorded by a spectrometer,called SESAME(SpectreÉlectronS Angulaire MoyenneÉnergie).K-and L-shells were clearly detected by a photon spectrometer called SPECTIX(Spectromètre PetalàCristal en TransmIssion pour le rayonnnement X).High-energy photons were diagnosed by CRACC-X(Cassette de RAdiographie Centre Chambre-rayonnement X),a bremsstrahlung cannon.Bremsstrahlung cannon analysis is strongly dependent on the hypothesis adopted for the spectral shape.Different shapes can exhibit similar reproductions of the experimental data.To eliminate dependence on the shape hypothesis and to facilitate analysis of the data,simulations of the interaction were performed.To model the mechanisms involved,a simulation chain including hydrodynamic,particle-in-cell,and Monte Carlo simulations was used.The simulations model the preplasma generated at the front of the target by the PETAL laser prepulse,the acceleration of electrons inside the plasma,the generation of MeV-range photons from these electrons,and the response of the detector impacted by the energetic photon beam.All this work enabled reproduction of the experimental data.The high-energy photons produced have a large emission angle and an exponential distribution shape.In addition to the analysis of the photon spectra,positron production was also investigated.Indeed,if high-energy photons are generated inside the solid target,some positron/electron pairs may be produced by the Bethe–Heitler process.Therefore,the positron production achievable within the PETAL laser facility was quantified.To conclude the study,the possibility of creating electron/positron pairs through the linear Breit–Wheeler process with PETAL was investigated.
文摘Fusion energy research is delivering impressive new results emerging from different infrastructures and industrial devices evolving rapidly from ideas to proof-of-principle demonstration and aiming at the conceptual design of reactors for the production of electricity.A major milestone has recently been announced in laser fusion by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is giving new thrust to laser-fusion energy research worldwide.Here we discuss how these circumstances strongly suggest the need for a European intermediate-energy facility dedicated to the physics and technology of laser-fusion ignition,the physics of fusion materials and advanced technologies for high-repetitionrate,high-average-power broadband lasers.We believe that the participation of the broader scientific community and the increased engagement of industry,in partnership with research and academic institutions,make most timely the construction of this infrastructure of extreme scientific attractiveness.
基金financial support from the LASERLAB-EUROPE Access to Research Infrastructure activity within the ECs seventh Framework Programfunding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under grant agreement No. 633053+4 种基金partially supported by the project ELITAS (ELI Tools for Advanced Simulation) CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16 013/0001793HIFI (High Field Initiative, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15 003/0000449)ADONIS (Advanced research using high-intensity laser produced photons and particles, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16 019/0000789)ELITAS (ELI Tools for Advanced Simulations,CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16 013/0001793)financial support from the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports within grants LTT17015, LM2015083, and CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16 013/0001552 (EF16 013/0001552)
文摘Laser–plasma interaction(LPI)at intensities 1015–1016 W·cm^-2 is dominated by parametric instabilities which can be responsible for a significant amount of non-collisional absorption and generate large fluxes of high-energy nonthermal electrons.Such a regime is of paramount importance for inertial confinement fusion(ICF)and in particular for the shock ignition scheme.In this paper we report on an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System(PALS)facility to investigate the extent and time history of stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)and two-plasmon decay(TPD)instabilities,driven by the interaction of an infrared laser pulse at an intensity^1.2×1016 W·cm^-2 with a^100μm scalelength plasma produced from irradiation of a flat plastic target.The laser pulse duration(300 ps)and the high value of plasma temperature(~4 ke V)expected from hydrodynamic simulations make these results interesting for a deeper understanding of LPI in shock ignition conditions.Experimental results show that absolute TPD/SRS,driven at a quarter of the critical density,and convective SRS,driven at lower plasma densities,are well separated in time,with absolute instabilities driven at early times of interaction and convective backward SRS emerging at the laser peak and persisting all over the tail of the pulse.Side-scattering SRS,driven at low plasma densities,is also clearly observed.Experimental results are compared to fully kinetic large-scale,two-dimensional simulations.Particle-in-cell results,beyond reproducing the framework delineated by the experimental measurements,reveal the importance of filamentation instability in ruling the onset of SRS and stimulated Brillouin scattering instabilities and confirm the crucial role of collisionless absorption in the LPI energy balance.
基金financial support from the LASERLAB-EUROPE Access to Research Infrastructure activity within the EC’s seventh Framework Program(Application No.18110033)carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Enabling research projects AWP19-20-ENR-IFE19.CEA01 and AWP21-ENR-01-CEA-02+2 种基金funding from the Euratom research and training programme 20192020 and 2021-2025 under grant No.633053financial support from the CNR-funded Italian research Network ELI-Italy(D.M.No.63108.08.2016)the Czech Ministry of Education,Youth and Sports,project LTT17015。
文摘We report results and modelling of an experiment performed at the Target Area West Vulcan laser facility,aimed at investigating laser±plasma interaction in conditions that are of interest for the shock ignition scheme in inertial confinement fusion(ICF),that is,laser intensity higher than 10^(16) W/cm^(2) impinging on a hot(T>1 keV),inhomogeneous and long scalelength pre-formed plasma.Measurements show a significant stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)backscattering(;%-20%of laser energy)driven at low plasma densities and no signatures of two-plasmon decay(TPD)/SRS driven at the quarter critical density region.Results are satisfactorily reproduced by an analytical model accounting for the convective SRS growth in independent laser speckles,in conditions where the reflectivity is dominated by the contribution from the most intense speckles,where SRS becomes saturated.Analytical and kinetic simulations well reproduce the onset of SRS at low plasma densities in a regime strongly affected by non-linear Landau damping and by filamentation of the most intense laser speckles.The absence of TPD/SRS at higher densities is explained by pump depletion and plasma smoothing driven by filamentation.The prevalence of laser coupling in the low-density profile justifies the low temperature measured for hot electrons(7-12 keV),which is well reproduced by numerical simulations.
基金the support of the laser technical team at GSI PHELIXhas been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Enabling Research Project:ENR-IFE19.CEA-01‘Study of Direct Drive and Shock Ignition for IFE:Theory,Simulations,Experiments,Diagnostics Development’and has received funding from Euratom 2019–2020。
文摘In this work we present experimental results on the behavior of diamond at megabar pressure. The experiment was performed using the PHELIX facility at GSI in Germany to launch a planar shock into solid multi-layered diamond samples. The target design allows shock velocity in diamond and in two metal layers to be measured as well as the free surface velocity after shock breakout. As diagnostics, we used two velocity interferometry systems for any reflector(VISARs). Our measurements show that for the pressures obtained in diamond(between 3 and 9 Mbar),the propagation of the shock induces a reflecting state of the material. Finally, the experimental results are compared with hydrodynamical simulations in which we used different equations of state, showing compatibility with dedicated SESAME tables for diamond.
基金This work was carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium,funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme(Grant Agreement No.101052200–EUROfusion)The views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s)only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission.Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.The involved teams have operated within the framework of the Enabling Research Project:ENR-IFE.01.CEA‘Advancing shock ignition for direct-drive inertial fusion’This work was also done with the support and under the auspices of the NIFS Collaboration Research program(2021NIFS18KUGK123).
文摘Laser–plasma interaction and hot electrons have been characterized in detail in laser irradiation conditions relevant for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion.The experiment was carried out at the Gekko XII laser facility in multibeam planar target geometry at an intensity of approximately 3×10^(15)W/cm^(2).Experimental data suggest that high-energy electrons,with temperatures of 20–50 keV and conversion efficiencies ofη<1%,were mainly produced by the damping of electron plasma waves driven by two-plasmon decay(TPD).Stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)is observed in a near-threshold growth regime,producing a reflectivity of approximately 0.01%,and is well described by an analytical model accounting for the convective growth in independent speckles.The experiment reveals that both TPD and SRS are collectively driven by multiple beams,resulting in a more vigorous growth than that driven by single-beam laser intensity.
基金supported by ESF (SILMI, 3964)EU COST programRFBR (12-01-96500, 11-01-00707)
文摘We present a recent numerical analysis of impedance mismatch technique applied to carbon equation of state measurements.We consider high-power laser pulses with a Gaussian temporal profile of different durations.We show that for the laser intensity(≈1014W/cm2)and the target design considered in this paper we need to have laser pulses with rise-time less than 150 ps.
基金funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 and 2019-2020 under grant agreement No.633053supported by the European Union under the Laserlab program,by the Competitiveness Program of NRNU MEPh I,Russia,and by the Czech Ministry of Education,Youth and Sports(CMEYS),projects LTT17015 and LM2018114。
文摘We present an experimental study of the dynamics of shocks generated by the interaction of a double-spot laser in different kinds of targets:simple aluminum foils and foam-aluminum layered targets.The experiment was performed using the Prague PALS iodine laser working at 0.44μm wavelength and irradiance of a few 10^(15)W/cm^(2).Shock breakouts for pure Al and for foam-Al targets have been recorded using time-resolved self-emission diagnostics.Experimental results have been compared with numerical simulations.The shocks originating from two spots move forward and expand radially in the targets,finally colliding in the intermediate region and producing a very strong increase in pressure.This is particularly clear for the case of foam layered targets,where we also observed a delay of shock breakout and a spatial redistribution of the pressure.The influence of the foam layer doped with high-Z(Au)nanoparticles on the shock dynamics was also studied.
