We studied the behavior of porous carbon compressed by laser-generated shock waves. In particular, we developed a new design for targets, optimized for the investigation of carbon reflectivity at hundred-GPa pressures and eV/k temperatures. Specially designed “two-layer-two materials” targets, comprising porous carbon on transparent substrates, allowed the probing of carbon reflectivity and a quite accurate determination of the position in the P, T plane. This was achieved by the simultaneous measurement of shock breakout times, sample temperature (by optical pyrometry) and uid velocity. The experiments proved the new scheme is reliable and appropriate for reflectivity measurements of thermodynamical states lying out of the standard graphite or diamond hugoniot. An increase of reflectivity in carbon has been observed at 260 GPa and 14,000 K while no increase in reflectivity is found at 200 GPa and 20,000 K. We also discuss the role of numerical simulations in the optimization of target parameters and in clarifying shock dynamics.

In this paper, we are presenting the microwave emission results of a vircator that emits its radiation lying well-within the microwave range of electromagnetic spectrum viz 4–8 GHz and the energy needed per shot is as low as 25 Joules only. In this reported experiment, the pulse forming line is charged to a voltage of 160 kV and the measured diode voltage is 50 kV in the experiment. The primary energy is nearly 50 Joules only and hence the energy efficiency of the high voltage pulse transformer and pulse forming line combination for the given experiment is nearly 50%. The experiment is the first of its kind in establishing (experimentally) the low voltage operation of a conventional vircator, which has a planar cylindrical cathode and stainless steel mesh anode, for the microwave emission purpose. Moreover, because of the low voltage and low energy operation we could operate the whole system in repetitive mode and we could achieve as high as 4 Hz operation with this device. Interestingly, the current density of the velvet cathode used in the present experiment is nearly 300 A/cm2 in the present reported set of experiments. One interesting observation emerging out from the present experiment is that in the low voltage operation of the vircator the beam acceleration potential is relatively low and hence the axial velocities of reflexing electrons (trapped between cathode and virtual cathode) is also limited and far less than 1.8 × 108 m/s and hence with small anode cathode gaps like that of 3 mm, which is the case of present experiments, it becomes feasible to achieve radiation frequency of 4–8 GHz from the vircator.

This paper investigates prospects of utilizing a high-power laser-driven target-normal-sheath-acceleration proton beam for the experimental demonstration of the magnetic self-focusing phenomenon in charged particle beams. In the proposed concept, focusing is achieved by propagating a space-charge dominated ion beam through a stack of thin conducting and grounded foils separated by vacuum gaps. As the beam travels through the system, image charges build up at the foils and generate electric field that counteracts the beam's electrostatic self-field — a dominant force responsible for expansion of a high current beam. Once the electrostatic self-field is “neutralized” by the image charges, the beam currents magnetic self-field will do the focusing. The focal spot size and focal length depends on the choice of a number of foils and distance between foils. Considering the typical electrical current level of a target-normal-sheath-acceleration proton beam, we conclude that it is feasible to focus or collimate a beam within tens of millimeters distance, e.g., using 200–1000 Al foils, 0.5 µm thick each, with foil spacing ranging from 25 µm to 100 µm. These requirements are within technical capabilities of modern target fabrication, thus allowing the first possible demonstration of the pinch effect with heavy ion beams.

The formulation of the momentum of electromagnetic radiation or photons in media is a historical question. After Peierls discussed all these options, a crucial new value for the dominating dispersion factor σ was derived for non-ionized media with the consequence that an opto-acoustic coupling exists. After the experimental confirmation of the Kapitza-Dirac effect the generalization of the effect for quantum modulation of electron beams by crossing laser beams is ascertained. The evaluation of repeated experiments of this quantum modulation is very precisely confirming by measurements that the Peierls factor σ = 1/5 is correct.

We present our results on spatio-temporal evolution of laser plasma produced shockwaves (SWs) and hot core plasma (HCP) created by focused second harmonic (532 nm, 7 ns) of Nd-YAG laser in quiescent atmospheric air at f/#10 focusing geometry. Time resolved shadowgraphs imaged with the help of an ICCD camera with 1.5 ns temporal resolution revealed the presence of two co-existing sources simultaneously generating SWs. Each of the two sources independently led to a spherical SW following Sedov-Taylor theory along the laser propagation direction with a maximum velocity of 7.4 km/s and pressure of 57 MPa. While the interaction of SWs from the two sources led to a planar SW in the direction normal to the laser propagation direction. The SW detaches from the HCP and starts expanding into the ambient air at around 3 µs indicating the onset of asymmetric expansion of the HCP along the z-axis. The asymmetric expansion is observed till 10 µs beyond which the SW leaves the field of view followed by a deformation of the irradiated region in the XY-plane due to the penetration of surrounding colder air in to the HCP. The deformation in the XY-plane lasts till 600 µs. The dynamics of rapidly expanding HCP is observed to be analogous to that of cavitation bubble dynamics in fluids.

This paper compares sub-micro/nano structure formation on polished silicon surface irradiated by nanosecond laser pulses in ambient air and distilled water. Surface cluster density and optical reflectivity of silicon surface (at a typical wavelength of λ = 632 nm) were studied in terms of number of laser pulses and laser fluence. The surface density and optical reflectivity give information on clusters filling factor and clusters height respectively. The results show that the values of surface cluster density and clusters height strongly depend on laser pulse numbers and interacting ambient. Comparing to air, distilled water as an interacting ambient can affect more significantly the clusters height.

A new two-step approach for frequency conversion of laser radiation towards hard X-rays is developed and examined experimentally. Fast electrons are produced in a form of thin jets at the first stage, as an intense femtosecond laser pulses impinges on a micrometer water target. In the second stage the accelerated electrons hit a secondary metal target and generate characteristic K-shell radiation with a duration down to sub-femtosecond. It is shown that counter propagating laser radiation experiences very strong up-shift with up to 6 × 103 times of fundamental frequency by reflection from the electron jets.

Intense Compton-scattering γ-ray radiation driven by laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) and generation of ultrashort positron beams are investigated by Monte Carlo simulation. Using an LWFA driven GeV electron bunch and a 45 femtosecond, 90 mJ/pulse, and 10 Hz Ti:Sapphire laser for driving the Compton scattering, fs γ-ray pulses were generated. The latter have a flux of ≥108/s, peak brightness of ≥1020 photons/(s mm2 mrad2 0.1% bandwidth), and photon energy of 5.9 to 23.2 MeV. The γ-ray pulses then impinge on a thin high-Z target. More than 107 positrons/s in the form of sub-100 fs pulses at several MeV can be produced. Such ultrashort positron pulses can be useful as the pump-probe type positron annihilation spectroscopy as well as in other applications.

Energetic electrons, with energy from many tens to several hundred keV can be generated in laser produced plasmas by such laser plasma instabilities as the 2ωp instability, which occurs at the quarter critical density. It is important to know not only how these are produced, but also how they are transported and deposit their energy in the interior and whether they preheat the fuel. We introduce the velocity dependent Krook approach to this problem, and compare it to other approaches that have appeared in the literature as regards accuracy and economy of incorporating in a fluid simulation. This velocity dependent Krook technique is reasonably accurate and reasonably simple and economical to incorporate into a fluid simulation.

The measured spatial-intensity distribution of the beam of protons accelerated from the rear side of a solid target irradiated by an intense (>1019 Wcm−2) laser pulse provides a diagnostic of the two-dimensional fast electron density profile at the target rear surface and thus the fast electron beam transport pattern within the target. An analytical model is developed, accounting for rear-surface fast electron sheath dynamics, ionization and projection of the resulting beam of protons. The sensitivity of the spatial-intensity distribution of the proton beam to the fast electron density distribution is investigated. An annular fast electron beam transport pattern with filamentary structure is inferred for the case of a thick diamond target irradiated at a peak laser intensity of 6 × 1019 Wcm−2.

High speed framing camera (HSFC) could be used to capture the image of the electron beams generated by the intense electron-beam accelerator (IEBA), and it is useful to visualize the evolution of discharging and plasma generation phenomenon. So an overview of the application of HSFC on the IEBA is presented. First, we introduce the synchronization problem of HSFC and IEBA, and a synchronization trigger system which could provide a trigger signal with rise time of 17 ns and amplitude of about 5 V is presented. Second, an imaging system based on IEBA, HSFC, and the synchronization trigger system is developed, and it can be used to image the developmental process of plasma in the output vacuum chamber of IEBA and to measure the electrical parameter of IEBA and electrical trigger signal in real time. Furthermore, the imaging system is used to investigate the developmental process of the electron beam of the A-K gap in vacuum under 180 nanosecond quasi-square pulses. It is obtained that the short A-K gap is closed prematurely under long pulse operation with plasma expansion velocity of about 6.25 cm/µs and the light emission in the A-K gap region has the characteristics of “re-ignition” with light duration time about 3800 ns. At last, the discharging process of surface flashover channel of poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) insulator with gap spacing of 170 mm in vacuum under nanosecond quasi-square pulses is studied by the imaging system, and the change of luminosity is analyzed during the surface flashover process.

In this paper, the opacity of plasma in local thermodynamic equilibrium condition was investigated numerically. The plasma was assumed to be produced by interaction of high power pulse laser with carbon and aluminum. Spectrally resolved opacities under different plasma temperature and density conditions were calculated and radiative absorption due to three absorption mechanisms; inverse bremsstrahlung, photo-ionization, and line absorption in plasmas was studied numerically. The purpose of this study is to calculate the values of absorption for inverse bremsstrahlung and photo-ionization processes for aluminum and carbon plasmas and to compare them for those of cold matter. In this investigation, the influences of density and temperature on plasma absorption were evaluated. The calculation results show that the opacity strength strongly depends on the plasma temperature and density.

Laser produced planar mini flyer generation has widely gained importance owing to its wide ranging applications in the field of condensed matter, astrophysics, material research, shock phenomenon, etc. Flattop smooth laser beam profile as driver is the primary requirement for planar flyer generation besides special multilayered target geometry. We present here laser produced thin metallic planar mini-flyer generation using a fiber optic plate (FOP) of 8 mm thickness and about 6 µm fiber dimension. This technique is unique in the sense that it doesn't require large length as compared to optical fiber. A Gaussian shape laser beam from a laser oscillator was allowed to fall on the FOP generating a speckle pattern. This pattern was relayed and amplified using lenses and laser amplifiers to achieve energy of about 400 mJ. The beam was focused on a substrate (fused silica) based multilayered target on which flyer disks of different materials such as Al. Cu, Br, and Ta were attached. Velocities as high as 400 m/s was measured for Al flyer of 1.5 mm diameter and thickness 50 µm. Flyer disks were completely recovered after the laser shot. We also present a theoretical analysis along with experimental results of the laser beam smoothing technique using a He-Ne laser and FOP. Each channel of the FOP acts as a small single mode optical fiber. The basic idea was to divide the incoming coherent beam into many beam-lets introducing random distribution in length or/and diameter of optical fibers of FOP. The individual FOP channel acts as a diverging source because of single mode fiber with natural divergence λ/d. However, due to the small randomness in length or diameter, the individual diffraction sources are not in phase. This results in the generation of speckles in both near (Fresnel) and far field (Fraunhoffer) destroys the spatial coherence of the beam.

In this work, proton stopping due to free and bound electrons in a plasma target is analyzed. The stopping of free electrons is calculated using the dielectric formalism, well described in previous literature. In the case of bound electrons, Hartree-Fock methods and oscillator strength functions are used. Differences between both stopping, due to free and bound electrons, are shown in noble gases. Then, enhanced plasma stopping can be easily estimated from target ionization. Finally, we compare our calculations with an experiment in xenon plasmas finding a close agreement.

The role of self generated magnetic fields in the transport of a heat wave following a nanosecond laser irradiation of a solid target is investigated. Magnetic fields are expected to localize the electron carrying the heat flux but at the same time are affected in their evolution by the heat flux itself. We performed simultaneous measurements of heat wave propagation velocity within the target and magnetic fields developing on the target surface. These were compared to results obtained by numerical magneto-hydrodynamic modeling, including self-generated B fields. The comparison shows that longitudinal heat flow is overestimated in the simulations. Similarly, but most notably, the radial expansion of the magnetic fields is underestimated by the modeling. The two are likely linked, the more pronounced radial drift of B-fields induces a rotation of heat flux in the radial direction, and corresponding longitudinal heat flux inhibition. This suggests the need for improving present modeling of self-generated magnetic fields evolution in high power laser-matter interaction.

Conversion of CH4 molecule into higher hydrocarbons using two different wavelengths of 248 nm KrF laser and 355 nm of third harmonic of Nd:YAG laser is studied experimentally and theoretically. The stable products are analyzed and the effect of pressure on conversion of methane is measured. The detected reaction products are C2H2, C2H4, and C2H6. The conversion efficiency of 33.5% for 355 nm in comparison to 2.2% conversion for 248 nm for C2H2 is achieved. The potential of laser parameters as an important variable in controlling of final products is investigated.

Due to the recent developments in high power lasers in the multi-petawatt domain it seems now feasible to accelerate a micro-foil to relativistic velocities. In this paper, we calculate analytically the high velocities achieved by the ponderomotive force of the irradiating laser. The accelerated foil collides with a second foil resulting in the creation of the relativistic shock waves. The density, pressure, temperature, and shock wave velocities are calculated within the context of relativistic fluid dynamics. The calculated thermodynamic parameters that are achieved in these collisions are enormous.

The irradiation of thin films by intensive subpicosecond laser pulses with nanosecond prepulse is accompanied by a number of various physical processes. The laser beam transmissions through the film as well as the re-emission flux on both sides of the film plasma have been evaluated by simulation for Al and CH2 materials. It has been demonstrated that the thickness of the film can be chosen to cut off the long nanosecond prepulse whereas the main pulse is transmitted through the plasma. Thus, thin films can be useful for the laser contrast improvement in experiments with different targets.

Nevertheless, the laser energy transformation into the soft X-ray radiation on the back side of the shielding film plasma can reach up to 7% of the incident intensity for the Al film and result in strong preheating of the target. At the same time the re-emission flux produced by a CH2 film is an order lower than that in the case of Al film. The shielding of an Ag bulk target by Al and CH2 films is simulated and discussed.

This paper gives out two kinds of novel well-behaved stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) mediums, FC-3283 and FC-770. Numerical calculation and experimental measurements show these two mediums both having lower absorption, higher optical loads and short phonon lifetime, which making them good candidate mediums for high-energy high-power SBS. Using them as the mediums in the compacted two-cell SBS phase-conjugation mirror, it is easily to generate ultrashort phased-conjugated Stokes pulses just with hundreds picoseconds. When the incident light energy is beyond 200 mJ, the pulse width of 8 ns can be compressed to 200 ps or less in both mediums. Especially, the FC-770 is very suitable to be chosen for generating the SBS picosecond pulses with the narrowest compression pulse width of 109 ps and the highest energy reflectivity of 80%.

Collisionless shocks are key processes in astrophysics where the energy dissipation at the shock front is provided by collective plasma effects rather than particle collisions. While numerous simulations and laser-plasma experiments have shown they can result from the encounter of two plasma shells, a first principle theory of the shock formation is still lacking. In this respect, a series of 2D Particle-In-Cells simulations have been performed of two identical cold colliding pair plasmas. The simplicity of this system allows for an accurate analytical tracking of the physics. To start with, the Weibel-filamentation instability is triggered in the overlapping region, which generates a turbulent region after a saturation time τs. The incoming flow then piles-up in this region, building-up the shock density region according to some nonlinear processes, which will be the subject of future works. By evaluating the seed field giving rise to the instability, we derive an analytical expression for τs in good agreement with simulations. In view of the importance of the filamentation instability, we show a static magnetic field can cancel it if and only if it is perfectly aligned with the flow.