Tailoring laser-generated plasmas for efficient nuclear excitation by electron capture

Abstract

The optimal parameters for nuclear excitation by electron capture in plasma environments generated by the interaction of ultra-strong optical lasers with solid matter are investigated theoretically. As a case study we consider a 4.85 keV nuclear transition starting from the long-lived ${}^{93\mathrm{m}}$Mo isomer that can lead to the release of the stored 2.4 MeV excitation energy. We find that due to the complex plasma dynamics, the nuclear excitation rate and the actual number of excited nuclei do not reach their maximum at the same laser parameters. The nuclear excitation achievable with a high-power optical laser is up to twelve and up to six orders of magnitude larger than the values predicted for direct resonant and secondary plasma-mediated excitation at the x-ray free electron laser, respectively. Our results show that the experimental observation of the nuclear excitation of ${}^{93\mathrm{m}}$Mo and the subsequent release of stored energy should be possible at laser facilities available today.

6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; minor modifications made; accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

References in corpus (8)

• Isomer triggering via nuclear excitation by electron capture
• Theory of nuclear excitation by electron capture for heavy ions
• Ionization potential depression and dynamical structure factor in dense plasmas
• Nuclear effects in atomic transitions
• Quantum interference between nuclear excitation by electron capture and radiative recombination
• Direct and secondary nuclear excitation with x-ray free-electron lasers
• Characteristics of the 21/2^+ isomer in 93Mo: toward the possibility of enhanced nuclear isomer decay
• Determination of plasma screening effects for thermonuclear reactions in laser-generated plasmas

Cited by in corpus (10)

• ${}^{93m}$Mo isomer depletion via beam-based nuclear excitation by electron capture
• Dynamical control of nuclear isomer depletion via electron vortex beams
• Nuclear Excitation by Electron Capture in Excited Ions
• Nuclear excitation by electron capture in optical-laser-generated plasmas
• Transient nuclear inversion by X-Ray Free Electron Laser in a tapered x-ray waveguid
• X-ray assisted nuclear excitation by electron capture in optical laser-generated plasmas
• Neutron production from thermonuclear reactions in laser-generated plasmas
• Quantum effects on plasma screening for thermonuclear reactions in laser-generated plasmas
• A new scheme for isomer pumping and depletion with high-power lasers
• Isomer depletion via nuclear excitation by inelastic electron scattering