38 research outputs found
Coherent x-ray radiation induced by high-current breakdown on a ferrite surface
We observe that at the initial stage of a high-current discharge, a
low-divergence short x-ray pulse (,
eV) with the energy of
J is formed over a ferrite surface, which propagates parallel to
the surface in the anode direction. The high directionality of the radiation
points to its coherent nature. We propose that the radiation is due to the
short-lived magnetization of the ferrite surface excited by a high-power
electromagnetic pulse. The radiation is coherent due to the equivalent
excitation conditions for all emitters. The excitation pulse and the radiation
it generates move at the same speed (). Thereby, the emitted waves
propagating parallel to the ferrite surface are phase-matched, providing the
high radiant intensity of the radiation
X-ray harmonic comb from relativistic electron spikes
X-ray devices are far superior to optical ones for providing nanometre
spatial and attosecond temporal resolutions. Such resolution is indispensable
in biology, medicine, physics, material sciences, and their applications. A
bright ultrafast coherent X-ray source is highly desirable, for example, for
the diffractive imaging of individual large molecules, viruses, or cells. Here
we demonstrate experimentally a new compact X-ray source involving high-order
harmonics produced by a relativistic-irradiance femtosecond laser in a gas
target. In our first implementation using a 9 Terawatt laser, coherent soft
X-rays are emitted with a comb-like spectrum reaching the 'water window' range.
The generation mechanism is robust being based on phenomena inherent in
relativistic laser plasmas: self-focusing, nonlinear wave generation
accompanied by electron density singularities, and collective radiation by a
compact electric charge. The formation of singularities (electron density
spikes) is described by the elegant mathematical catastrophe theory, which
explains sudden changes in various complex systems, from physics to social
sciences. The new X-ray source has advantageous scalings, as the maximum
harmonic order is proportional to the cube of the laser amplitude enhanced by
relativistic self-focusing in plasma. This allows straightforward extension of
the coherent X-ray generation to the keV and tens of keV spectral regions. The
implemented X-ray source is remarkably easily accessible: the requirements for
the laser can be met in a university-scale laboratory, the gas jet is a
replenishable debris-free target, and the harmonics emanate directly from the
gas jet without additional devices. Our results open the way to a compact
coherent ultrashort brilliant X-ray source with single shot and high-repetition
rate capabilities, suitable for numerous applications and diagnostics in many
research fields
Mini-Review of Intra-Stark X-ray Spectroscopy of Relativistic Laser–Plasma Interactions
Intra-Stark spectroscopy (ISS) is the spectroscopy within the quasi-static Stark profile of a spectral line. The present paper reviews the X-ray ISS-based studies recently advanced for the diagnostics of the relativistic laser–plasma interactions. By improving experiments performed on the Vulcan Petawatt (PW) laser facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), the simultaneous production of the Langmuir waves and of the ion acoustic turbulence at the surface of the relativistic critical density gave the first probe by ISS of the parametric decay instability (PDI) predicted by PIC simulations. The reliable reproducibility of the experimental signatures of PDI—i.e., the Langmuir-wave-induced dips—allowed measurements of the fields of the Langmuir and ion acoustic waves. The parallel theoretical study based on a rigorous condition of the dynamic resonance depending on the relative values of the ion acoustic and the Langmuir fields could explain the disappearance of the Langmuir dips as the Langmuir wave field increases. The ISS used for the diagnostic of the PDI process in relativistic laser–plasma interactions has reinforced the reliability of the spectral line shape while allowing for all broadening mechanisms. The results can be used for a better understanding of intense laser–plasma interactions and for laboratory modelling of physical processes in astrophysical objects
Analysis of Lyα Dielectronic Satellites to Characterize Temporal Profile of Intense Femtosecond Laser Pulses
In the paper, an X-ray spectroscopy-based approach on laser pulse temporal profile characterization is described. The structure of dielectronic satellites to H-like Lyα lines strongly depends on a plasma electron density, so it can be applied for diagnostics. These spectral lines are mainly emitted during initial stage of laser plasma expansion. It means that plasma parameters obtained via them characterizes matter conditions in a region surrounding a spot of laser-matter interaction. In the case when a laser contrast is high enough, the radiation interacts with cold matter, which had not been preliminary perturbed by a laser prepulse, and the satellites structure shape corresponding to high densities should be observed. It allows us to consider the satellites as a diagnostic tool for the laser temporal profile quality. In the paper dependencies of the dielectronic satellites structure on electron densities obtained from detailed kinetic calculations in the wide range of plasma parameter for different elements are under discussion. Fundamental theoretical aspects of plasma diagnostic based on the feature of satellite structures shape in hot dense plasma, which led to development of the proposed method, are also explained
Analysis of Lyα dielectronic satellites to characterize temporal profile of intense femtosecond laser pulses
In the paper, an X-ray spectroscopy-based approach on laser pulse temporal profile characterization is described. The structure of dielectronic satellites to H-like Lyα lines strongly depends on a plasma electron density, so it can be applied for diagnostics. These spectral lines are mainly emitted during initial stage of laser plasma expansion. It means that plasma parameters obtained via them characterizes matter conditions in a region surrounding a spot of laser-matter interaction. In the case when a laser contrast is high enough, the radiation interacts with cold matter, which had not been preliminary perturbed by a laser prepulse, and the satellites structure shape corresponding to high densities should be observed. It allows us to consider the satellites as a diagnostic tool for the laser temporal profile quality. In the paper dependencies of the dielectronic satellites structure on electron densities obtained from detailed kinetic calculations in the wide range of plasma parameter for different elements are under discussion. Fundamental theoretical aspects of plasma diagnostic based on the feature of satellite structures shape in hot dense plasma, which led to development of the proposed method, are also explained
Analysis of Ly<sub>α</sub> Dielectronic Satellites to Characterize Temporal Profile of Intense Femtosecond Laser Pulses
In the paper, an X-ray spectroscopy-based approach on laser pulse temporal profile characterization is described. The structure of dielectronic satellites to H-like Lyα lines strongly depends on a plasma electron density, so it can be applied for diagnostics. These spectral lines are mainly emitted during initial stage of laser plasma expansion. It means that plasma parameters obtained via them characterizes matter conditions in a region surrounding a spot of laser-matter interaction. In the case when a laser contrast is high enough, the radiation interacts with cold matter, which had not been preliminary perturbed by a laser prepulse, and the satellites structure shape corresponding to high densities should be observed. It allows us to consider the satellites as a diagnostic tool for the laser temporal profile quality. In the paper dependencies of the dielectronic satellites structure on electron densities obtained from detailed kinetic calculations in the wide range of plasma parameter for different elements are under discussion. Fundamental theoretical aspects of plasma diagnostic based on the feature of satellite structures shape in hot dense plasma, which led to development of the proposed method, are also explained
Soft X-ray diffraction patterns measured by a LiF detector with sub-micrometre resolution and an ultimate dynamic range
The unique diagnostic possibilities of X-ray diffraction, small X-ray scattering and phase-contrast imaging techniques applied with high-intensity coherent X-ray synchrotron and X-ray free-electron laser radiation can only be fully realized if a sufficient dynamic range and/or spatial resolution of the detector is available. In this work, it is demonstrated that the use of lithium fluoride (LiF) as a photoluminescence (PL) imaging detector allows measuring of an X-ray diffraction image with a dynamic range of ∼107 within the sub-micrometre spatial resolution. At the PETRA III facility, the diffraction pattern created behind a circular aperture with a diameter of 5 µm irradiated by a beam with a photon energy of 500 eV was recorded on a LiF crystal. In the diffraction pattern, the accumulated dose was varied from 1.7 × 10 J cm in the central maximum to 2 × 10 J cm in the 16th maximum of diffraction fringes. The period of the last fringe was measured with 0.8 µm width. The PL response of the LiF crystal being used as a detector on the irradiation dose of 500 eV photons was evaluated. For the particular model of laser-scanning confocal microscope Carl Zeiss LSM700, used for the readout of the PL signal, the calibration dependencies on the intensity of photopumping (excitation) radiation (λ = 488 nm) and the gain have been obtained