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
Laser-solid interactions are highly suited as a potential source of high energy X-rays for nondestructive imaging.A bright,energetic X-ray pulse can be driven from a small source,making it ideal for high resolution X-...Laser-solid interactions are highly suited as a potential source of high energy X-rays for nondestructive imaging.A bright,energetic X-ray pulse can be driven from a small source,making it ideal for high resolution X-ray radiography.By limiting the lateral dimensions of the target we are able to confine the region over which X-rays are produced,enabling imaging with enhanced resolution and contrast.Using constrained targets we demonstrate experimentally a(20±3)μm X-ray source,improving the image quality compared to unconstrained foil targets.Modelling demonstrates that a larger sheath field envelope around the perimeter of the constrained targets increases the proportion of electron current that recirculates through the target,driving a brighter source of X-rays.展开更多
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supported by EPSRC grants EP/K022415/1and EP/R006202/1the STFC IPS grant ST/P000177/1
文摘Laser-solid interactions are highly suited as a potential source of high energy X-rays for nondestructive imaging.A bright,energetic X-ray pulse can be driven from a small source,making it ideal for high resolution X-ray radiography.By limiting the lateral dimensions of the target we are able to confine the region over which X-rays are produced,enabling imaging with enhanced resolution and contrast.Using constrained targets we demonstrate experimentally a(20±3)μm X-ray source,improving the image quality compared to unconstrained foil targets.Modelling demonstrates that a larger sheath field envelope around the perimeter of the constrained targets increases the proportion of electron current that recirculates through the target,driving a brighter source of X-rays.