Oxford Centre for High Energy Density Science (OxCHEDS)

Abstract:

In the experiments reported here, the filamentation of ultrashort laser pulses, due to non-optimal choice of focusing geometry and/or electron number density, has a severely deleterious effect on monoenergetic electron beam production in laser wakefield accelerators. Interactions with relatively small focal spots, w0 < λp/2, and with pulse length cτ ≈ λp, incur fragmentation into a large number of low power filaments. These filaments are modulated with a density dependent size of, on average, close to λp. The break-up of the driving pulse results in shorter interaction lengths, compared with larger focal spots, and broad energy-spread electron beams, which are not useful for applications. Filamentation of the pulse occurs because the strongly dynamic focusing (small f-number) of the laser prevents pulse length compression before reaching its minimum spot-size, which results in non-spherical focusing gradients. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Abstract:

Nonlinear wave-driven processes in plasmas are normally described by either a monochromatic pump wave that couples to other monochromatic waves or as a random phase wave coupling to other random phase waves. An alternative approach involves a random or broadband pump coupling to monochromatic and/or coherent structures in the plasma. This approach can be implemented through the wave kinetic model. In this model, the incoming pump wave is described by either a bunch (for coherent waves) or a sea (for random phase waves) of quasiparticles. This approach has been applied to both photon acceleration in laser wakefields and drift wave turbulence in magnetized plasma edge configurations. Numerical simulations have been compared to experiments, varying from photon acceleration to drift mode-zonal flow turbulence, and good qualitative correspondences have been found in all cases. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Abstract:

Measurements of the microscopic response of warm dense matter have been demonstrated by multi-keV inelastic x-ray scattering using laser-based sources. These techniques have been used to study the high frequency electron correlations (plasmons) in low to mid- Z plasmas. The advent of fourth generation light sources will provide high fluxes of narrowband and coherent x rays that will allow to look at the low frequency correlations (the ion-acoustic waves). In this paper we present an analysis of such low frequency modes by calculating the frequency dependent ion-ion structure factor. Our model includes all the relevant multibody contributions arising from strong coupling and nonideal plasma effects. In particular, the ion-ion structure factor is obtained within the memory function formalism by satisfying a finite number of sum rules. This work could be used as a basis to a direct experimental test of dense plasma model as soon as keV free electron laser sources will become available. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Abstract:

A variety of targets with different dimensions and materials was irradiated using the VULCAN PW laser [C. N. Danson, Nucl. Fusion 44, S239 (2004)]. Using transverse optical shadowgraphy in conjunction with a one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics code it was possible to determine a longitudinal temperature gradient. It was demonstrated for thick targets with a low Z substrate and a thin higher Z tracer layer at the rear that the boundary between the two materials was Rayleigh-Taylor unstable. By including a simple bubble growth model into the calculations it was possible to correct for the associated behavior with regard to temperature. The resulting temperature gradient was in good agreement with the previously published data using two different methods of determining the temperature. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.