Oxford Centre for High Energy Density Science (OxCHEDS)

Abstract:

The construction of short-pulse tunable soft x-ray free electron laser sources based on the self-amplified spontaneous emission process will provide a major advance in capability for dense plasma-related and warm dense matter (WDM) research. The sources will provide 1013 photons in a 200-fs duration pulse that is tunable from approximately 6 to 100 nm. Here we discuss only two of the many applications made possible for WDM that has been severely hampered by the fact that laser-based methods have been unavailable because visible light will not propagate at electron densities of ne ≥ 1022cm-3. The next-generation light sources will remove these restrictions. © 2003 Optical Society of America.

Abstract:

We describe in detail the operation of the gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide for high-intensity laser pulses and discuss measurements and magnetohydrodynamic simulations that show that the plasma channel produced is parabolic and essentially fully ionized. We present the results of experiments in which laser pulses with a peak input intensity of 1.2 × 1017 W cm-2 were guided through hydrogen-filled capillary discharges with lengths of 30 and 50 mm. The pulse energy coupling and transmission losses were determined to be <4% and (7 ± 1) m-1, respectively. We discuss the application of waveguides of this type to driving short-wavelength lasers and laser wakefield accelerators. © 2003 Optical Society of America.

Abstract:

An extension of the time-dependent Takagi-Taupin theory to 'optical phonon'-type distortions is presented. By splitting the susceptibility into the contributions from each atom in a unit cell, modifications to the structure factor as well as lattice parameter are taken into account. The result is a compact, surprisingly simple, equation with a strong formal similarity to the classical Takagi-Taupin equation, with the latter included as a special case. Time dependence is explicitly retained and thus the analysis is applicable to situations where the crystal is modified on time scales comparable with that for the X-rays to traverse an extinction depth. A comparison is made between the influence of coherent acoustic and optical phonons on the diffraction of X-rays. Numerical and perturbative analytical solutions of the generalized Takagi-Taupin equation are presented in the presence of such phonons.