Oxford Centre for High Energy Density Science (OxCHEDS)

Abstract:

A number of experiments have been undertaken at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory that were designed to investigate the physics of fast electron transport relevant to fast ignition inertial fusion. The laser, operating at a wavelength of 1054 nm, provided pulses of up to 350 J of energy on target in a duration that varied in the range 0.5-5 ps and a focused intensity of up to 1021 W cm-2. A dependence of the divergence of the fast electron beam with intensity on target has been identified for the first time. This dependence is reproduced in two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and has been found to be an intrinsic property of the laser-plasma interaction. A number of ideas to control the divergence of the fast electron beam are described. The fractional energy transfer to the fast electron beam has been obtained from calibrated, time-resolved, target rear-surface radiation temperature measurements. It is in the range 15-30%, increasing with incident laser energy on target. The fast electron temperature has been measured to be lower than the ponderomotive potential energy and is well described by Haines' relativistic absorption model. © 2009 IAEA, Vienna.

Abstract:

A dual-channel, curved-crystal spectrograph was designed to measure time-integrated x-ray spectra in the ∼1.5 to 2 keV range (6.2-8.2 Å wavelength) from small-mass, thin-foil targets irradiated by the VULCAN petawatt laser focused up to 4× 10 20 W/ cm 2. The spectrograph consists of two cylindrically curved potassium-acid-phthalate crystals bent in the meridional plane to increase the spectral range by a factor of ∼10 compared to a flat crystal. The device acquires single-shot x-ray spectra with good signal-to-background ratios in the hard x-ray background environment of petawatt laser-plasma interactions. The peak spectral energies of the aluminum He α and Ly α resonance lines were ∼1.8 and ∼1.0 mJ/eV sr (∼0.4 and 0.25 J/Å sr), respectively, for 220 J, 10 ps laser irradiation. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Abstract:

We present calculations of the free-free opacity of warm, solid-density aluminum at photon energies between the plasma frequency at 15 eV and the L-edge at 73 eV, using both density functional theory combined with molecular dynamics and a semi-analytical model in the RPA framework which includes exciton contributions. As both the ion and electron temperature is increased from room temperature to 10 eV, we see a marked increase in the opacity. The effect is less pronounced if only the electron temperature is allowed to increase, while the lattice remains at room temperature. The physical significance of these increases is discussed in terms of intense light-matter interactions on both femtosecond and picosecond time scales. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

We have performed measurements of the radiation and the hot electron temperature in sub-millimetre size hohlraums driven by a high intensity short-pulse laser. The results indicate that radiation temperatures ∼80 eV can be obtained with ∼20 J of laser energy delivered on target. Radiation-hydrodynamics simulations indicate an absorption into thermal X-rays of ≲1-2%, with peak temperatures similar to those measured experimentally. Crown Copyright © 2009.