Inverse Compton scattering from solid targets irradiated by ultra-short laser pulses in the $10^{22}-10^{23}W/c{\mathrm{m}}^2$ regime

Abstract

Emission of high energy gamma rays via the non-linear inverse Compton scattering process (ICS) in interactions of ultra-intense laser pulses with thin solid foils is studied using particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that the angular distribution of the ICS photons has a forward-oriented two-directional structure centred at an angle $\vartheta =\pm 30^{\circ }$, a value predicted by a theoretical model based on a standing wave approximation to the electromagnetic field in front of the target, which only increases at the highest intensities due to faster hole boring, which renders the approximation invalid. The conversion efficiency is shown to exhibit a super-linear increase with the driving pulse intensity. In comparison to emission via electron-nucleus bremsstrahlung, it is shown that the higher absorption, further enhanced by faster hole boring, in the targets with lower atomic number strongly favours the ICS process.

22 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion by IOP publishing

References in corpus (14)

• Extremely high-intensity laser interactions with fundamental quantum systems
• Prolific pair production with high-power lasers
• All-optical Compton gamma-ray source
• Dense Electron-Positron Plasmas and Ultra-Intense Bursts of Gamma-Rays from Laser-Irradiated Solids
• Experimental evidence of radiation reaction in the collision of a high-intensity laser pulse with a laser-wakefield accelerated electron beam
• Experimental signatures of the quantum nature of radiation reaction in the field of an ultra-intense laser
• Ultra-high brilliance multi-MeV $\gamma$-ray beam from non-linear Thomson scattering
• Experimental observation of nonlinear Thomson scattering
• High Power Gamma-Ray Flash Generation in Ultra Intense Laser-Plasma Interaction
• Seeded QED cascades in counter propagating laser pulses
• Electromagnetic cascade in high energy electron, positron, and photon interactions with intense laser pulses
• Electron dynamics, gamma and electron-positron production by colliding laser pulses
• Synchrotron radiation, pair production and longitudinal electron motion during 10-100PW laser solid interactions
• Brilliant GeV Gamma-ray flash from Inverse Compton Scattering in QED Regime

Cited by in corpus (10)

• All-optical nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production with $\gamma$-flash photons
• Synchrotron radiation from ultrahigh-intensity laser-plasma interactions and competition with Bremsstrahlung in thin foil targets
• Brilliant attosecond γ-ray emission and high-yield positron production from intense laser-irradiated Nano-Micro array
• Numerical investigation of spallation neutrons generated from petawatt-scale laser-driven proton beams
• Gamma-Flash Generation in Multi-Petawatt Laser-Matter Interactions
• Attosecond gamma-ray flashes and electron-positron pairs in dyadic laser interaction with micro-wire
• Visualization of high-intensity laser-matter interactions in virtual reality and web browser
• Collimated $\gamma$-flash emission along the target surface irradiated by a laser at non-grazing incidence
• Highly efficient conversion of laser energy to hard X-rays in high intensity laser-solid simulations
• Enhanced quantum radiation with flying-focus laser pulses