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Atomic and Laser Physics
Credit: Jack Hobhouse

Prof Peter Norreys FInstP;

Professorial Research Fellow

Research theme

  • Accelerator physics
  • Lasers and high energy density science
  • Fundamental particles and interactions
  • Plasma physics

Sub department

  • Atomic and Laser Physics

Research groups

  • Oxford Centre for High Energy Density Science (OxCHEDS)
peter.norreys@physics.ox.ac.uk
Telephone: 01865 (2)72220
Clarendon Laboratory, room 141.1
Peter Norreys' research group
  • About
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Publications

High-intensity-laser-driven Z pinches

Physical Review Letters 92:9 (2004)

Authors:

FN Beg, EL Clark, MS Wei, AE Dangor, RG Evans, A Gopal, KL Lancaster, KWD Ledingham, P McKenna, PA Norreys, M Tatarakis, M Zepf, K Krushelnick

Abstract:

The use of ultrahigh intensity laser pulses (I>5×1019 W cm-2) to irradiate thin wire targets was analyzed. The current was produced by the escape of fast electrons from the target, which resulted in the well-localised optical emission from the additional wire . The MHD instabilities in the pinching plasmas along with field emission of electrons from nearby objects were also observed. The X-ray power levels can be enchanced from laser driven Z pinches using wire array and X-pinch configurations, the coherent optical transition radiation from adjacent objects was also observed.
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Nuclear reactions in copper induced by protons from a petawatt laser-foil interaction

Applied Physics Letters 84:5 (2004) 675-677

Authors:

JM Yang, P McKenna, KWD Ledingham, T McCanny, S Shimizu, L Robson, RJ Clarke, D Neely, PA Norreys, MS Wei, K Krushelnick, P Nilson, SPD Mangles, RP Singhal

Abstract:

A range of laser-driven proton-induced reactions in copper from a petawatt laser-solid interaction were investigated. The experiment was carried out on petawatt arm of VULCAN Nd:Glass laser at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, U.K. where Cu foils were exposed to the proton beams from the laser-irradiated target which induced nuclear reactions. This technique used a very thin layer of copper which was inserted into the proton beam which had a smaller impact on the proton beam and was optimized according to the energies and intensities of the protons. The results show that the energy spectrum of the accelerated protons was in the range of 10-40 MeV.
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Effect of target heating on ion-induced reactions in high-intensity laser–plasma interactions

Applied Physics Letters AIP Publishing 83:14 (2003) 2763-2765

Authors:

P McKenna, KWD Ledingham, T McCanny, RP Singhal, I Spencer, EL Clark, FN Beg, K Krushelnick, MS Wei, J Galy, J Magill, RJ Clarke, KL Lancaster, PA Norreys, K Spohr, R Chapman
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Laser-driven photo-transmutation of 129I - A long-lived nuclear waste product

Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 36:18 (2003)

Authors:

KWD Ledingham, J Magill, P McKenna, J Yang, J Galy, R Schenkel, J Rebizant, T McCanny, S Shimizu, L Robson, RP Singhal, MS Wei, SPD Mangles, P Nilson, K Krushelnick, RJ Clarke, PA Norreys

Abstract:

Intense laser-plasma interactions produce high brightness beams of gamma rays, neutrons and ions and have the potential to deliver accelerating gradients more than 1000 times higher than conventional accelerator technology, and on a tabletop scale. This paper demonstrates one of the exciting applications of this technology, namely for transmutation studies of long-lived radioactive waste. We report the laser-driven photo-transmutation of long-lived 129I with a half-life of 15.7 million years to 128I with a half-life of 25 min. In addition, an integrated cross-section of 97±40 mbarns for the reaction 129I(γ,n)128I is determined from the measured ratio of the (γ,n) induced 128I and 126I activities. The potential for affordable, easy to shield, tabletop laser technology for nuclear transmutation studies is highlighted.
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Demonstration of Fusion-Evaporation and Direct-Interaction Nuclear Reactions using High-Intensity Laser-Plasma-Accelerated Ion Beams

Physical Review Letters 91:7 (2003)

Authors:

P McKenna, KWD Ledingham, T McCanny, RP Singhal, I Spencer, MIK Santala, FN Beg, K Krushelnick, M Tatarakis, MS Wei, EL Clark, RJ Clarke, KL Lancaster, PA Norreys, K Spohr, R Chapman, M Zepf

Abstract:

Heavy-ion induced nuclear reactions in materials exposed to energetic ions produced from high-intensity ([Formula presented]) laser-solid interactions have been experimentally investigated for the first time. Many of the radionuclides produced result from the creation of “compound nuclei” with the subsequent evaporation of proton, neutron, and alpha particles. Results are compared with previous measurements with monochromatic ion beams from a conventional accelerator. Measured nuclide yields are used to diagnose the acceleration of ions from laser-ablated plasma to energies greater than 100 MeV. © 2003 The American Physical Society.
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