KEYWORDS: Plasma, Electrons, Pulsed laser operation, Particles, Fusion energy, Electron beams, Wave propagation, Uranium, Target detection, Simulation of CCA and DLA aggregates
Efficient forward electron acceleration by the direct laser acceleration (DLA) in the plasma channel was experimentally demonstrated using a 16 µm thick tape target. An electron beam with ∼0.05 rad divergence, 50-100 pC charge (for E<1.7 MeV), and temperature ∼ several MeV was observed on 1 TW laser system utilizing an additional controlled nanosecond prepulse. Using this beam, several near-threshold photonuclear reactions were studied and neutron flux of ∼ 105 − 106 s-1 J-1 was achieved. We also used neutron flux measurements to estimate electron beam charge, calculating conversion coefficients from GEANT4 simulations. Terahertz radiation emission from this type of interaction was also studied, exhibiting a two-maxima structure with the change of delay between main pulse and nanosecond prepulse.
In this paper we present experimental research on the possibility of electron bunch generation at intensity around 1018 W/cm2. It is shown that by optimizing preplasma profile one can obtain collimated (~0.05 rad) electron beam with relatively high charge (30 pC) and temperature around 1.5 MeV. This beam can be used to study low-energy nuclear physics and to create secondary particle sources (neutrons, positrons, etc.) on lasers. We also demonstrate the possibility to reversely study the beam parameters, such as charge, based on yield measurements in photonuclear experiments and GEANT4 simulations.
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