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Gamma-ray emission from wakefield-accelerated electrons wiggling in a laser field. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2531. [PMID: 30792410 PMCID: PMC6385269 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38777-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Ultra-fast synchrotron radiation emission can arise from the transverse betatron motion of an electron in a laser plasma wakefield, and the radiation spectral peak is limited to tens of keV. Here, we present a new method for achieving high-energy radiation via accelerated electrons wiggling in an additional laser field whose intensity is one order of magnitude higher than that for the self-generated transverse field of the bubble, resulting in an equivalent wiggler strength parameter K increase of approximately twenty times. By calculating synchrotron radiation, we acquired a peak brightness for the case of the laser wiggler field of 1.2 × 1023 ph/s/mrad2/mm2/0.1%BW at 1 MeV. Such a high brilliance and ultra-fast gamma-ray source could be applied to time-resolved probing of dense materials and the production of medical radioisotopes.
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2
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Ultrafast Imaging of Laser Driven Shock Waves using Betatron X-rays from a Laser Wakefield Accelerator. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11010. [PMID: 30030516 PMCID: PMC6054639 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29347-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Betatron radiation from laser wakefield accelerators is an ultrashort pulsed source of hard, synchrotron-like x-ray radiation. It emanates from a centimetre scale plasma accelerator producing GeV level electron beams. In recent years betatron radiation has been developed as a unique source capable of producing high resolution x-ray images in compact geometries. However, until now, the short pulse nature of this radiation has not been exploited. This report details the first experiment to utilize betatron radiation to image a rapidly evolving phenomenon by using it to radiograph a laser driven shock wave in a silicon target. The spatial resolution of the image is comparable to what has been achieved in similar experiments at conventional synchrotron light sources. The intrinsic temporal resolution of betatron radiation is below 100 fs, indicating that significantly faster processes could be probed in future without compromising spatial resolution. Quantitative measurements of the shock velocity and material density were made from the radiographs recorded during shock compression and were consistent with the established shock response of silicon, as determined with traditional velocimetry approaches. This suggests that future compact betatron imaging beamlines could be useful in the imaging and diagnosis of high-energy-density physics experiments.
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3
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Deng ZG, Zhang ZM, Zhang B, He SK, Teng J, Hong W, Dong KG, Wu YC, Zhu B, Gu YQ. Large-charge quasimonoenergetic electron beams produced by off-axis colliding laser pulses in underdense plasma. Phys Rev E 2017; 95:023206. [PMID: 28297850 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.95.023206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Electrons can be efficiently injected into a plasma wave by colliding two counterpropagating laser pulses in a laser wakefield acceleration. However, the generation of a high-quality electron beam with a large charge is difficult in the traditional on-axis colliding scheme due to the growth of the electron beam duration coming from the increase of the beam charge. To solve this problem, we propose an off-axis colliding scheme, in which the collision point is away from the axis of the driver pulse. We show that the electrons injected from the off-axis region are highly concentered on the tail of the bubble even for a large trapped charge, thus feeling almost the same accelerating field. As a result, quasimonoenergetic electron beams with a large charge can be produced. The validity of this scheme is confirmed by both the particle-in-cell simulations and the Hamiltonian model. Furthermore, it is shown that a Laguerre-Gauss (LG) laser can be adopted as the injection pulse to realize the off-axis colliding injection in three dimensions symmetrically, which may be useful in simplifying the technical layout of the real experiment setup.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z G Deng
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - Z M Zhang
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - B Zhang
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - S K He
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - J Teng
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - W Hong
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - K G Dong
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - Y C Wu
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China.,IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - B Zhu
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China
| | - Y Q Gu
- Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900, People's Republic of China.,IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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4
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Generation of femtosecond γ-ray bursts stimulated by laser-driven hosing evolution. Sci Rep 2016; 6:30491. [PMID: 27457890 PMCID: PMC4960617 DOI: 10.1038/srep30491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The promising ability of a plasma wiggler based on laser wakefield acceleration to produce betatron X-rays with photon energies of a few keV to hundreds of keV and a peak brilliance of 1022–1023 photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW has been demonstrated, providing an alternative to large-scale synchrotron light sources. Most methods for generating betatron radiation are based on two typical approaches, one relying on an inherent transverse focusing electrostatic field, which induces transverse oscillation, and the other relying on the electron beam catching up with the rear part of the laser pulse, which results in strong electron resonance. Here, we present a new regime of betatron γ-ray radiation generated by stimulating a large-amplitude transverse oscillation of a continuously injected electron bunch through the hosing of the bubble induced by the carrier envelope phase (CEP) effect of the self-steepened laser pulse. Our method increases the critical photon energy to the MeV level, according to the results of particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The highly collimated, energetic and femtosecond γ-ray bursts that are produced in this way may provide an interesting potential means of exploring nuclear physics in table top photo nuclear reactions.
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5
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Huang K, Li YF, Li DZ, Chen LM, Tao MZ, Ma Y, Zhao JR, Li MH, Chen M, Mirzaie M, Hafz N, Sokollik T, Sheng ZM, Zhang J. Resonantly Enhanced Betatron Hard X-rays from Ionization Injected Electrons in a Laser Plasma Accelerator. Sci Rep 2016; 6:27633. [PMID: 27273170 PMCID: PMC4917722 DOI: 10.1038/srep27633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Ultrafast betatron x-ray emission from electron oscillations in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) has been widely investigated as a promising source. Betatron x-rays are usually produced via self-injected electron beams, which are not controllable and are not optimized for x-ray yields. Here, we present a new method for bright hard x-ray emission via ionization injection from the K-shell electrons of nitrogen into the accelerating bucket. A total photon yield of 8 × 10(8)/shot and 10(8 )photons with energy greater than 110 keV is obtained. The yield is 10 times higher than that achieved with self-injection mode in helium under similar laser parameters. The simulation suggests that ionization-injected electrons are quickly accelerated to the driving laser region and are subsequently driven into betatron resonance. The present scheme enables the single-stage betatron radiation from LWFA to be extended to bright γ-ray radiation, which is beyond the capability of 3(rd) generation synchrotrons.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Huang
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Y F Li
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100190, China
| | - D Z Li
- Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS, Beijing 100049, China
| | - L M Chen
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100190, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - M Z Tao
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Y Ma
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100190, China
| | - J R Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100190, China
| | - M H Li
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100190, China
| | - M Chen
- Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.,Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - M Mirzaie
- Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - N Hafz
- Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.,Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - T Sokollik
- Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.,Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Z M Sheng
- Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.,Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.,SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
| | - J Zhang
- Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.,Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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6
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Chen ZY, Pukhov A. Polarization-tunable terahertz radiation in the high-field regime. OPTICS LETTERS 2016; 41:2660-2663. [PMID: 27244439 DOI: 10.1364/ol.41.002660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Polarization control of terahertz (THz) pulses in the high-field regime is a challenging subject. Here we propose and numerically demonstrate an all-optical scheme to generate a polarization-tunable high-field THz source based on relativistic laser plasma interactions. By adjusting the polarization state of the driving laser, collective oscillation of the plasmas can be steered. Phase difference between the laser field components is inherited in the plasma dynamics, as well as in the resulting THz generation process. Single-cycle extremely intense THz pulses with field strength ∼ GV/cm can be generated. The THz polarization state can be tuned from linear through elliptical to circular by changing the polarization state of the driving laser.
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7
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Jeon JH, Nakajima K, Kim HT, Rhee YJ, Pathak VB, Cho MH, Shin JH, Yoo BJ, Hojbota C, Jo SH, Shin KW, Sung JH, Lee SK, Cho BI, Choi IW, Nam CH. A broadband gamma-ray spectrometry using novel unfolding algorithms for characterization of laser wakefield-generated betatron radiation. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2015; 86:123116. [PMID: 26724015 DOI: 10.1063/1.4939014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We present a high-flux, broadband gamma-ray spectrometry capable of characterizing the betatron radiation spectrum over the photon energy range from 10 keV to 20 MeV with respect to the peak photon energy, spectral bandwidth, and unique discrimination from background radiations, using a differential filtering spectrometer and the unfolding procedure based on the Monte Carlo code GEANT4. These properties are experimentally verified by measuring betatron radiation from a cm-scale laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) driven by a 1-PW laser, using a differential filtering spectrometer consisting of a 15-filter and image plate stack. The gamma-ray spectra were derived by unfolding the photostimulated luminescence (PSL) values recorded on the image plates, using the spectrometer response matrix modeled with the Monte Carlo code GEANT4. The accuracy of unfolded betatron radiation spectra was assessed by unfolding the test PSL data simulated with GEANT4, showing an ambiguity of less than 20% and clear discrimination from the background radiation with less than 10%. The spectral analysis of betatron radiation from laser wakefield-accelerated electron beams with energies up to 3 GeV revealed radiation spectra characterized by synchrotron radiation with the critical photon energy up to 7 MeV. The gamma-ray spectrometer and unfolding method presented here facilitate an in-depth understanding of betatron radiation from LWFA process and a novel radiation source of high-quality photon beams in the MeV regime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jong Ho Jeon
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Kazuhisa Nakajima
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Hyung Taek Kim
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Yong Joo Rhee
- Nuclear Data Center, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon 305-353, South Korea
| | - Vishwa Bandhu Pathak
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Myung Hoon Cho
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Jung Hun Shin
- Advanced Photonics Research Institute, GIST, Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Byung Ju Yoo
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Calin Hojbota
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Sung Ha Jo
- Advanced Photonics Research Institute, GIST, Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Kang Woo Shin
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Jae Hee Sung
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Seung Ku Lee
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Byeoung Ick Cho
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Il Woo Choi
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
| | - Chang Hee Nam
- Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
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8
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Mirzaie M, Hafz NAM, Li S, Liu F, He F, Cheng Y, Zhang J. Enhanced electron yield from laser-driven wakefield acceleration in high-Z gas jets. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2015; 86:103502. [PMID: 26520950 DOI: 10.1063/1.4931780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
An investigation of the electron beam yield (charge) form helium, nitrogen, and neon gas jet plasmas in a typical laser-plasma wakefield acceleration experiment is carried out. The charge measurement is made by imaging the electron beam intensity profile on a fluorescent screen into a charge coupled device which was cross-calibrated with an integrated current transformer. The dependence of electron beam charge on the laser and plasma conditions for the aforementioned gases are studied. We found that laser-driven wakefield acceleration in low Z-gas jet targets usually generates high-quality and well-collimated electron beams with modest yields at the level of 10-100 pC. On the other hand, filamentary electron beams which are observed from high-Z gases at higher densities reached much higher yields. Evidences for cluster formation were clearly observed in the nitrogen gas jet target, where we received the highest electron beam charge of ∼1.7 nC. Those intense electron beams will be beneficial for the applications on the generation of bright X-rays, gamma rays radiations, and energetic positrons via the bremsstrahlung or inverse-scattering processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Mirzaie
- Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Nasr A M Hafz
- Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Song Li
- Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Feng Liu
- Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Fei He
- State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
| | - Ya Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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9
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Demonstration of self-truncated ionization injection for GeV electron beams. Sci Rep 2015; 5:14659. [PMID: 26423136 PMCID: PMC4589762 DOI: 10.1038/srep14659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2015] [Accepted: 09/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Ionization-induced injection mechanism was introduced in 2010 to reduce the laser intensity threshold for controllable electron trapping in laser wakefield accelerators (LWFA). However, usually it generates electron beams with continuous energy spectra. Subsequently, a dual-stage target separating the injection and acceleration processes was regarded as essential to achieve narrow energy-spread electron beams by ionization injection. Recently, we numerically proposed a self-truncation scenario of the ionization injection process based upon overshooting of the laser-focusing in plasma which can reduce the electron injection length down to a few hundred micrometers, leading to accelerated beams with extremely low energy-spread in a single-stage. Here, using 100 TW-class laser pulses we report experimental observations of this injection scenario in centimeter-long plasma leading to the generation of narrow energy-spread GeV electron beams, demonstrating its robustness and scalability. Compared with the self-injection and dual-stage schemes, the self-truncated ionization injection generates higher-quality electron beams at lower intensities and densities, and is therefore promising for practical applications.
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