29 research outputs found
Hot Electron and Pair Production from the Texas Petawatt Laser Irradiating Thick Gold Targets
We present data for relativistic hot electron production by the Texas
Petawatt Laser irradiating solid Au targets with thickness between 1 and 4 mm.
The experiment was performed at the short focus target chamber TC1 in July
2011, with laser energies around 50 J. We measured hot electron spectra out to
50 MeV which show a narrow peak around 10 - 20 MeV plus high energy exponential
tail. The hot electron spectral shape differs from those reported for other PW
lasers. We did not observe direct evidence of positron production above
background.Comment: HEDLA 2012 Conference Paper. submitted to HEDP. revised 1/28/2013. 18
pages. 10 figure
Towards High-Repetition-Rate Fast Neutron Sources Using Novel Enabling Technologies
High-flux, high-repetition-rate neutron sources are of interest in studying neutron-induced damage processes in materials relevant to fusion, ultimately guiding designs for future fusion reactors. Existing and upcoming petawatt laser systems show great potential to fulfill this need. Here, we present a platform for producing laser-driven neutron beams based on a high-repetition-rate cryogenic liquid jet target and an adaptable stacked lithium and beryllium converter. Selected ion and neutron diagnostics enable monitoring of the key parameters of both beams. A first single-shot proof-of-principle experiment successfully implemented the presented platform at the Texas Petawatt Laser facility, achieving efficient generation of a forward-directed neutron beam. This work lays the foundation for future high-repetition-rate experiments towards pulsed, high-flux, fast neutron sources for radiation-induced effect studies relevant for fusion science and applications that require neutron beams with short pulse duration
High-charge 10 GeV electron acceleration in a 10 cm nanoparticle-assisted hybrid wakefield accelerator
In an electron wakefield accelerator, an intense laser pulse or charged
particle beam excites plasma waves. Under proper conditions, electrons from the
background plasma are trapped in the plasma wave and accelerated to
ultra-relativistic velocities. We present recent results from a
proof-of-principle wakefield acceleration experiment that reveal a unique
synergy between a laser-driven and particle-driven accelerator: a high-charge
laser-wakefield accelerated electron bunch can drive its own wakefield while
simultaneously drawing energy from the laser pulse via direct laser
acceleration. This process continues to accelerate electrons beyond the usual
decelerating phase of the wakefield, thus reaching much higher energies. We
find that the 10-centimeter-long nanoparticle-assisted wakefield accelerator
can generate 340 pC, 10.4+-0.6 GeV electron bunches with 3.4 GeV RMS convolved
energy spread and 0.9 mrad RMS divergence. It can also produce bunches with
lower energy, a few percent energy spread, and a higher charge. This
synergistic mechanism and the simplicity of the experimental setup represent a
step closer to compact tabletop particle accelerators suitable for applications
requiring high charge at high energies, such as free electron lasers or
radiation sources producing muon beams
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Request for Support for the Conference on Super Intense Laser Atom Physics
The Conference on Super Intense Laser Atom Physics (SILAP) was held in November 2003 in Dallas, Texas. The venue for the meeting was South Fork Ranch in the outskirts of Dallas. The topics of the meeting included high harmonic generation and attosecond pulse generation, strong field interactions with molecules and clusters, particle acceleration, and relativistic laser atom interactions
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The Science and Applications of Ultrafast, Ultraintense Lasers: Opportunities in science and technology using the brightest light known to man; a report on the SAUUL workshop held June 17-19, 2002
The SAS Gamma-Ray Spectrometer
A new type of compact high resolution high sensitivity gamma ray spectrometer
for short pulse intense 250 keV to 50 MeV gamma rays has been developed by
combining the principles of scintillators and attenuation spectrometers. The
first prototype of this scintillator attenuation spectrometer or SAS was tested
successfully in Trident laser experiments at LANL. Later versions have been
used extensively in the Texas Petawatt laser experiments in Austin TX, and more
recently in OMEGAEP laser experiments at LLE, Rochester, NY. The SAS is
particularly useful for high repetition rate laser applications. Here we give a
concise description of the design principles, capabilities and sample
preliminary results of the SAS.Comment: Revised version of paper for submission to the Review of Scientific
Instruments. New version has 13 pages and 12 figure