New insights in laser-generated ultra-intense gamma-ray and neutron sources for nuclear applications and science

Abstract

Ultra-intense MeV photon and neutron beams are indispensable tools in many research fields such as nuclear, atomic and material science as well as in medical and biophysical applications. For astrophysical applications aimed for laboratory investigations, neutron fluxes in excess of 10${}^{21}$ n/(cm${}^2$ s) are required. Such ultra-high fluxes are unattainable with existing conventional reactor- and accelerator-based facilities. Currently discussed concepts for generating high-flux neutron beams are based on ultra-high-power multi-petawatt lasers operating at >10${}^{23}$ W/cm${}^2$ intensities. Here, we present a novel efficient concept for generating $\gamma$ and neutron beams based on enhanced generation of direct laser accelerated electrons in relativistic laser interactions with a long-scale near critical density plasma at 10${}^{19}$ W/cm${}^2$ intensity. New experimental insights in the laser-driven generation of ultra-intense well-directed multi-MeV beams of photons with >10${}^{12}$ ph/sr and a ultra-high intense neutron source with >6$\times$10${}^{10}$ neutrons per shot are presented. More than 1.4\% laser-to-gamma conversion efficiency above 10 MeV and 0.05\% laser-to-neutron conversion efficiency were recorded, already at moderate relativistic laser intensities and ps pulse duration. This approach promises a strong boost of the diagnostic potential of existing kJ PW laser systems used for ICF research.

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Cited by in corpus (11)

• Direct laser acceleration in underdense plasmas with multi-PW lasers: a path to high-charge, GeV-class electron bunches
• Creation and direct laser acceleration of positrons in a single stage
• Direct laser acceleration: A model for the electron injection from the walls of a cylindrical guiding structure
• Direct laser acceleration in varying plasma density profiles
• Branching of high-current relativistic electron beam in porous materials
• The equation of state of a partly homogenized plasma of low-dense porous matter
• Electron and ion acceleration from femtosecond laser-plasma peeler scheme
• Neutron displacement noise-free interferometer for gravitational-wave detection
• Acceleration and focusing of multispecies ion beam using a converging laser-driven shock
• Laser-triggered THz emission from near critical density targets
• Intrinsic Nonlocality of Spin- and Polarization-Resolved Probabilities in Strong-Field Quantum Electrodynamics