A. B. Savel’ev

Excitation and decay of low-lying nuclear states in a dense plasma produced by a subpicosecond laser pulse

The excitation of low-lying nuclear levels in a hot, dense plasma, produced by a subpicosecond pulse with intensity exceeding 1016 W/cm2, is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The basic channels of electronic (inelastic scattering and inverse internal electron convergence) and photon (photoexcitation) excitations of such states as well as the influence of the broadening of a nuclear level on the excitation efficiency and the presence of hot electronic component are examined. The experimental data from measurements of the decay kinetics of the low-lying nuclear level 6.238 keV of the stable isotope 181Ta, which were obtained on two experimental laser systems, are presented.

Femtosecond laser-plasma interaction with prepulse-generated liquid metal microjets

Ultrashort laser pulse interaction with a microstructured surface of a melted metal is a promising source of hard x-ray radiation. Microstructuring is achieved by a weak prepulse that produces narrow high-density microjets. As an x-ray source, the interaction of the main laser pulse with such jets is shown to be nearly two orders of magnitude more efficient than the interaction with ordinary metal targets. This paper presents the results of optical and x-ray studies of laser-plasma interaction physics under such conditions supported by numerical simulations of microjet formation and fast-electron generation.

Neutron generation in dense femtosecond laser plasma of a structured solid target

We report neutron production by the 2H(d, n)3He reaction induced upon the illumination of a solid nanostructured target by femtosecond laser pulses of intensity 20 PW/cm2 (1 PW = 1015 W). The target was structured through the preliminary illumination by a laser pulse of the same intensity.

Excitation of tantalum-181 nuclei in a high-temperature femtosecond laser plasma

The excitation of nuclei in a laser plasma is observed. Gamma rays from the radiative decay of the isomeric level 9/2− (6.238 keV) 181Ta in a high-temperature femtosecond Ta laser plasma are detected.

Overheated plasma at the surface of a target with a periodic structure induced by femtosecond laser radiation

A periodic structure is induced at the surface of a metal target exposed to a series of p-polarized 200-femtosecond laser pulses with intensity close to the melting threshold of the target material. The period of the structure is determined by the interference between the incident pump wave and the surface electromagnetic wave. Exposure of the obtained structure to the same laser pulse, but with an intensity of ∼1016 W/cm2, provides resonant excitation of the surface electromagnetic waves at the plasma-vacuum interface. This leads to an increase in the X-ray output and the temperature of plasma hot electrons.

Excitation of nuclei in a hot, dense plasma: Feasibility of experiments with 201Hg

It is shown that in a plasma produced on the surface of a sample consisting of a natural mixture of mercury isotopes, ∼104−105201Hg nuclei can be excited into the low-lying isomeric level 1/2− (1.561 keV) by an ultrashort laser pulse with energy ≈1 J, duration ≈200 fs, and intensity ≈1016 W/cm2 and the lifetime of the level can be determined. Possible mechanisms leading to the excitation of 201Hg nuclei by photons and electrons in a dense, hot plasma are examined and the cross sections of the processes are estimated. Schemes for detecting the effect are proposed.

Enhanced relativistic laser–plasma coupling utilizing laser-induced micromodified target

The interaction of slighly relativistic femtosecond laser radiation with microstructured Si targets was studied. The microstructuring was performed by nanosecond pulse laser ablation with additional chemical etching of the target material. An analysis was made of the optical damage under the action of femtosecond radiation near the ablation threshold. It was experimentally demonstrated that the hot electron temperature increases appreciably in the laser-driven plasma (from ~370 to almost 500 keV) as well as radiation yield in the MeV range at the interaction of a high power femtosecond laser pulse with a microstructured surface in comparison with a flat surface. Numerical simulations using 3D3V PIC code Mandor revealed that the charged particle energy growth is caused by the stochastic motion of electrons in the complex field formed by the laser field and the quasistatic field at the sharp tips of micromodifications.

Angular distribution of the terahertz radiation intensity from the plasma channel of a femtosecond filament

A phenomenological model of the terahertz radiation of the plasma channel of a femtosecond filament has been elaborated that satisfactorily describes the experimental results of the detection of low-frequency radiation in air. The angular distributions of the terahertz radiation intensity in the absence and presence of an external electrostatic field have been obtained. The dependence of the divergence angle of the terahertz radiation on the filament parameters has been determined.

Acceleration of Heavy Multicharged Ions in the Interaction of a Subrelativistic Femtosecond Laser Pulse with a Melted Metal Surface

Results are presented from experimental studies of ion acceleration under the action of femtosecond laser pulses with an intensity of 1017 W/cm2, incident onto the free surfaces of melted gallium and indium. The effect of the polarization direction of a linearly polarized laser pulse and the amplitude of a short prepulse, which precedes the main pulse by several nanoseconds, on the parameters of accelerated ions is investigated. It is found that, even for such a moderate laser intensity, the characteristic velocity of fast ions ejected along the reflected beam is a factor of 1.5 higher than that of ions ejected along the normal to the target surface. It is shown that, as the prepulse energy increases, the hard X-ray yield and the mean energy of hot electrons increase substantially, whereas the velocity of both fast and slow ions decreases appreciably regard-less of laser polarization.

Formation of fast multicharged heavy ions under the action of a superintense femtosecond laser pulse on the cleaned surface of a target

It is found that the mean charge of tungsten ions in a solid tungsten target cleaned from the surface layer of hydrocarbon and oxide compounds and exposed to femtosecond laser radiation with an intensity exceeding 1016 W/cm2 attains 22+, while the maximum charge is 29+. The maximum energy of such ions approaches 1 MeV. The corresponding values obtained on a dirty target with the same laser pulse parameters constitute 3+, 5+, and 150 keV. The results of numerical simulation show that such a large maximum charge of ions can be attained owing to the emergence of an electrostatic ambipolar field at the sharp boundary between the plasma and vacuum. The main mechanism of ionization of ions with maximum charges is apparently impact ionization in the presence of an external quasi-static field. In addition, direct above-threshold ionization by this field can also play a significant role. It is also shown that heavy ions in a clean target are accelerated by hot electrons. This leads to the formation of high-energy ions. The effect of recombination on the charge of the ions being detected is analyzed in detail.