1
|
Qi J, Zhang H, Wang X. Isomeric Excitation of ^{229}Th in Laser-Heated Clusters. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:112501. [PMID: 37001082 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.112501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
We consider theoretically isomeric excitation of ^{229}Th in a laser-heated cluster. A ^{229}Th cluster is first radiated by an intense femtosecond laser pulse, causing ionization of the constituting atoms. The cluster will then survive for a time on the order of 1 ps, during which the electrons collide with the nuclei repeatedly and excite them to the isomeric state. Two mechanisms are responsible for the isomeric excitation: nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC) and nuclear excitation by inelastic electron scattering (NEIES). By changing the laser intensity, one can tune between NEEC and NEIES continuously. This laser-heated-cluster scheme not only provides a highly efficient means for isomeric excitation, but also provides an approach for the confirmation of the NEEC process, which has been predicted for over forty years without conclusive experimental verifications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jintao Qi
- Graduate School, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Hanxu Zhang
- Graduate School, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xu Wang
- Graduate School, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Beijing 100193, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Madan I, Dias EJC, Gargiulo S, Barantani F, Yannai M, Berruto G, LaGrange T, Piazza L, Lummen TTA, Dahan R, Kaminer I, Vanacore GM, García de Abajo FJ, Carbone F. Charge Dynamics Electron Microscopy: Nanoscale Imaging of Femtosecond Plasma Dynamics. ACS NANO 2023; 17:3657-3665. [PMID: 36780289 PMCID: PMC9979644 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c10482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Understanding and actively controlling the spatiotemporal dynamics of nonequilibrium electron clouds is fundamental for the design of light and electron sources, high-power electronic devices, and plasma-based applications. However, electron clouds evolve in a complex collective fashion on the nanometer and femtosecond scales, producing electromagnetic screening that renders them inaccessible to existing optical probes. Here, we solve the long-standing challenge of characterizing the evolution of electron clouds generated upon irradiation of metallic structures using an ultrafast transmission electron microscope to record the charged plasma dynamics. Our approach to charge dynamics electron microscopy (CDEM) is based on the simultaneous detection of electron-beam acceleration and broadening with nanometer/femtosecond resolution. By combining experimental results with comprehensive microscopic theory, we provide a deep understanding of this highly out-of-equilibrium regime, including previously inaccessible intricate microscopic mechanisms of electron emission, screening by the metal, and collective cloud dynamics. Beyond the present specific demonstration, the here-introduced CDEM technique grants us access to a wide range of nonequilibrium electrodynamic phenomena involving the ultrafast evolution of bound and free charges on the nanoscale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Madan
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Eduardo J. C. Dias
- ICFO-Institut
de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels, Barcelona08860, Spain
| | - Simone Gargiulo
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Barantani
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Department
of Quantum Matter Physics, University of
Geneva, Geneva1211, Switzerland
| | - Michael Yannai
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa32000, Israel
| | - Gabriele Berruto
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Thomas LaGrange
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Luca Piazza
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | | | - Raphael Dahan
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa32000, Israel
| | - Ido Kaminer
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa32000, Israel
| | - Giovanni Maria Vanacore
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Department
of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano20126, Italy
| | - F. Javier García de Abajo
- ICFO-Institut
de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels, Barcelona08860, Spain
- ICREA, Institució
Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona08010, Spain
| | - Fabrizio Carbone
- Institute
of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Gargiulo S, Madan I, Carbone F. Nuclear Excitation by Electron Capture in Excited Ions. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:212502. [PMID: 35687469 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.212502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
A nuclear excitation following the capture of an electron in an empty orbital has been recently observed for the first time. So far, the evaluation of the cross section of the process has been carried out widely using the assumption that the ion is in its electronic ground state prior to the capture. We show that by lifting this restriction new capture channels emerge resulting in a boost of more than three orders of magnitude to the electron capture resonance strength.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simone Gargiulo
- Institute of Physics (IPhys), Laboratory for Ultrafast Microscopy and Electron Scattering (LUMES), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015 CH, Switzerland
| | - Ivan Madan
- Institute of Physics (IPhys), Laboratory for Ultrafast Microscopy and Electron Scattering (LUMES), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015 CH, Switzerland
| | - Fabrizio Carbone
- Institute of Physics (IPhys), Laboratory for Ultrafast Microscopy and Electron Scattering (LUMES), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015 CH, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wu Y, Gargiulo S, Carbone F, Keitel CH, Pálffy A. Dynamical Control of Nuclear Isomer Depletion via Electron Vortex Beams. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:162501. [PMID: 35522485 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.162501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Some nuclear isomers are known to store a large amount of energy over long periods of time, with a very high energy-to-mass ratio. Here, we describe a protocol to achieve the external control of the isomeric nuclear decay by using electron vortex beams whose wave function has been especially designed and reshaped on demand. Recombination of these electrons into the isomer's atomic shell can lead to the controlled release of the stored nuclear energy. On the example of ^{93m}Mo, we show theoretically that the use of tailored electron vortex beams increases the depletion by 4 orders of magnitude compared to the spontaneous nuclear decay of the isomer. Furthermore, specific orbitals can sustain an enhancement of the recombination cross section for vortex electron beams by as much as 6 orders of magnitude, providing a handle for manipulating the capture mechanism. These findings open new prospects for controlling the interplay between atomic and nuclear degrees of freedom, with potential energy-related and high-energy radiation source applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuanbin Wu
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Simone Gargiulo
- Institute of Physics, Laboratory for Ultrafast Microscopy and Electron Scattering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 6, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Fabrizio Carbone
- Institute of Physics, Laboratory for Ultrafast Microscopy and Electron Scattering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 6, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Christoph H Keitel
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Adriana Pálffy
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Feng J, Wang W, Fu C, Chen L, Tan J, Li Y, Wang J, Li Y, Zhang G, Ma Y, Zhang J. Femtosecond Pumping of Nuclear Isomeric States by the Coulomb Collision of Ions with Quivering Electrons. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:052501. [PMID: 35179938 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.052501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 11/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Efficient production of nuclear isomers is critical for pioneering applications, like nuclear clocks, nuclear batteries, clean nuclear energy, and nuclear γ-ray lasers. However, due to small production cross sections and quick decays, it is extremely difficult to acquire a significant amount of isomers with short lifetimes via traditional accelerators or reactors because of low beam intensity. Here, for the first time, we experimentally present femtosecond pumping of nuclear isomeric states by the Coulomb excitation of ions with the quivering electrons induced by laser fields. Nuclei populated on the third excited state of ^{83}Kr are generated with a peak efficiency of 2.34×10^{15} particles/s from a tabletop hundred-TW laser system. It can be explained by the Coulomb excitation of ions with the quivering electrons during the interaction between laser pulses and clusters at nearly solid densities. This efficient and universal production method can be widely used for pumping isotopes with excited state lifetimes down to picoseconds, and could be a benefit for fields like nuclear transition mechanisms and nuclear γ-ray lasers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Feng
- Key Laboratory of Laser Plasma (MoE), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Wenzhao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Laser Plasma (MoE), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Changbo Fu
- Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Ion-beam Application (MoE), Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Liming Chen
- Key Laboratory of Laser Plasma (MoE), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Junhao Tan
- Key Laboratory of Laser Plasma (MoE), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yaojun Li
- Key Laboratory of Laser Plasma (MoE), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jinguang Wang
- Laboratory of Optical Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yifei Li
- Laboratory of Optical Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Guoqiang Zhang
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201210, China
| | - Yugang Ma
- Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Ion-beam Application (MoE), Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Laser Plasma (MoE), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Wu Y, Keitel CH, Pálffy A. ^{93m}Mo Isomer Depletion via Beam-Based Nuclear Excitation by Electron Capture. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 122:212501. [PMID: 31283332 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.122.212501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
A recent nuclear physics experiment [C. J. Chiara et al., Nature (London) 554, 216 (2018)NATUAS0028-083610.1038/nature25483] reports the first direct observation of nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC) in the depletion of the ^{93m}Mo isomer. The experiment used a beam-based setup in which Mo highly charged ions with nuclei in the isomeric state ^{93m}Mo at 2.4 MeV excitation energy were slowed down in a solid-state target. In this process, nuclear excitation to a higher triggering level led to isomer depletion. The reported excitation probability P_{exc}=0.01 was solely attributed to the so-far unobserved process of NEEC in lack of a different known channel of comparable efficiency. In this work, we investigate theoretically the beam-based setup and calculate excitation rates via NEEC using state-of-the-art atomic structure and ion stopping-power models. For all scenarios, our results disagree with the experimental data by approximately 9 orders of magnitude. This stands in conflict with the conclusion that NEEC was the excitation mechanism behind the observed depletion rate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuanbin Wu
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christoph H Keitel
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Adriana Pálffy
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|