The extreme light infrastructure—nuclear physics (ELI-NP) facility: new horizons in physics with 10 PW ultra-intense lasers and 20 MeV brilliant gamma beams

Galès, S.; Tanaka, K. A.; Balabanski, D. L.; Negoiţă, F.; Stutman, D.; Tešileanu, O.; Ur, C. A.; Ursescu, D.; Andrei, Ionuț Relu; Ataman, Stefan; Cernaianu, Mihail; D’Alessi, Loris; Dancus, I.; Diaconescu, Bogdan; Djourelov, N.; Filipescu, D.; Ghenuche, Petru; Ghiţă, D.; Matei, C.; Seto, Keita; Zeng, Ming; Zamfir, N. V.

doi:10.1088/1361-6633/aacfe8

Cited by 213 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 130 publications

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“…However, using the above parameter a 0 =10 in (33) we find a theoretical prediction of the maximal scattering angle larger than the numerically obtained scattering angles, which we attribute to an effective overestimation of a 0 , as discussed above. To correct for this effect, we used the effective laser amplitude a a 0.75 0 eff 0 » , as derived in equations (6), (7). Using this analytically derived correction in (33) we found a q »´rad in reasonable agreement with the numerical simulation (see figure 4(a)).…”

Section: Numerical Benchmarkssupporting

confidence: 58%

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Ultra-intense laser pulse characterization using ponderomotive electron scattering

2019

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We present a new analytical solution for the equation of motion of relativistic electrons in the focus of a high-intensity laser pulse. We approximate the electron's transverse dynamics in the averaged field of a long laser pulse focused to a Gaussian transverse profile. The resultant ponderomotive scattering is found to feature an upper boundary of the electrons' scattering angles, depending on the laser parameters and the electrons' initial state of motion. In particular, we demonstrate the angles into which the electrons are scattered by the laser scale as a simple relation of their initial energy to the laser's amplitude. We find two regimes to be distinguished in which either the laser's focusing or peak power are the main drivers of ponderomotive scattering. Based on this result, we demonstrate how the intensity of a laser pulse can be determined from a ring-shaped pattern in the spatial distribution of a high-energy electron beam scattered from the laser. We confirm our analysis by means of detailed relativistic test particle simulations of the electrons' averaged ponderomotive dynamics in the full electromagnetic fields of the focused laser pulse.for providing this key laser parameter is the combination of three different and distinct measurements: (a) pulse energy of the fully amplified, collimated beam; (b) pulse duration of a fraction of the collimated beam, typically not at full amplification; and (c) focus imaging of typically a not fully amplified and with attenuating elements transported beam. There is a number of shortcomings of this approach: (a) it does not necessarily yield the energy concentrated within the focus; (b) it may differ across the beam profile due to radial dispersion and further nonlinear effects [41,42]. (c) It is a time-and spectrum-integrated measurement. Due to the previous effects as well as radial group delay and chromatic aberrations [43,44], the pulse duration in the focus can be much longer than measured with (b) and exhibit time structures varying with the focal position. Hence, the typical procedure yields rather an upper limit of peak intensity.Atomic effects have been proposed and employed to yield a measure of peak intensity [45][46][47], but were restricted to non-relativistic intensities. At higher intensity, atomic ionization is followed by significant electron acceleration which can also provide information on peak intensity and focus size [48,49]. Experimental realizations of this concept were successfully implemented at mildly relativistic intensities [50,51]. Relativistic, intensity-dependent plasma effects like ion acceleration [52][53][54][55], on the other hand, are not feasible since they are quite sensitive to the temporal contrast of the laser pulse [9, 56], as the plasma formation prior to the pulse peak strongly affects the energy conversion during the peak. Hence, measurements of laser-scattered electron distributions could be a reasonable alternative, especially when relying on beam profile measurements which are much simpler than spectral measuremen...

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Section: Numerical Benchmarkssupporting

confidence: 58%

“…Recent technological advances in ultra-intense laser systems facilitate studies of particle dynamics in electromagnetic fields of unprecedented strength [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. In particular, the dynamics of electrons in such ultrastrong fields has been an area of intense research over the past decades [10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra-intense laser pulse characterization using ponderomotive electron scattering

2019

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“…The points corresponding to these results are shown in figure 9(b) by the red dots. The green squares represent semi-theoretical results, that have been obtained by two sequential steps: (i) numerical calculation of the Rayleigh length for the different focal diameters and (ii) transition from the value of D F /z R to the angular width of proton spectra by formula (13). Figure 9(b) also illustrates with the blue line the result of data approximation, this curve is converted into the dashed line for ( ) J D tan 2 exceeding 0.14.…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Focal Spot Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past two decades, significant progress in short-pulse high-power laser technology has resulted in the development of petawatt-class lasers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], ten petawatt-class lasers [13][14][15][16][17][18]. Even higher power laser systems have been proposed [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing extreme laser intensities by ponderomotive acceleration of protons from rarified gas

et al. 2020

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A new method to diagnose extreme laser intensities through measurement of angular and spectral distributions of protons directly accelerated by the laser focused into a rarefied gas is proposed. We simulated a laser pulse focused by an off-axis parabolic mirror by Stratton-Chu integrals, that enables description of laser pulse with different spatial-temporal profiles focusing in a focal spot down to the diffraction limit, that makes our theoretical predictions be a basis for experimental realization. The relationship between characteristics of the proton distributions and parameters of the laser pulse have been analyzed. The analytical and numerical results obtained justify the new method of laser diagnostics. The proposed scheme should be valuable for the commissioning of new extreme intensity laser facilities.

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“…However, unless the pulse duration is as little as a few cycles in length (when radiation 'quenching' is possible [44]), radiation reaction strongly reduces the number of electrons that get close to the maximum possible χ e . This can be mitigated by moving to collisions at oblique incidence, because the spot to which a laser pulse is focussed (∼2 μm) is typically smaller than the length of its temporal profile (20 fs [31], 30 fs [29,30,33] or 150 fs [32]). Even though the maximum possible χ e at θ>0 is smaller than that at θ=0, many more electrons get close to the maximum because the interaction length is shorter and radiative losses are reduced.…”

Section: Enhanced Signatures Of Quantum Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reaching supercritical field strengths with intense lasers

et al. 2019

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It is conjectured that all perturbative approaches to quantum electrodynamics (QED) break down in the collision of a high-energy electron beam with an intense laser, when the laser fields are boosted to 'supercritical' strengths far greater than the critical field of QED. As field strengths increase toward this regime, cascades of photon emission and electron-positron pair creation are expected, as well as the onset of substantial radiative corrections. Here we identify the important role played by the collision angle in mitigating energy losses to photon emission that would otherwise prevent the electrons reaching the supercritical regime. We show that a collision between an electron beam with energy in the tens of GeV and a laser pulse of intensity -10 W cm 24 2 at oblique, or even normal, incidence is a viable platform for studying the breakdown of perturbative strong-field QED. Our results have implications for the design of near-term experiments as they predict that certain quantum effects are enhanced at oblique incidence.

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The extreme light infrastructure—nuclear physics (ELI-NP) facility: new horizons in physics with 10 PW ultra-intense lasers and 20 MeV brilliant gamma beams

Cited by 213 publications

References 130 publications

Ultra-intense laser pulse characterization using ponderomotive electron scattering

Ultra-intense laser pulse characterization using ponderomotive electron scattering

Characterizing extreme laser intensities by ponderomotive acceleration of protons from rarified gas

Reaching supercritical field strengths with intense lasers

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