A. Otten

Beam collimation and transport of quasineutral laser-accelerated protons by a solenoid field

This article reports about controlling laser-accelerated proton beams with respect to beam divergence and energy. The particles are captured by a pulsed high field solenoid with a magnetic field strength of 8.6 T directly behind a flat target foil that is irradiated by a high intensity laser pulse. Proton beams with energies around 2.3 MeV and particle numbers of 1012 could be collimated and transported over a distance of more than 300 mm. In contrast to the protons the comoving electrons are strongly deflected by the solenoid field. They propagate at a submillimeter gyroradius around the solenoid’s axis which could be experimentally verified. The originated high flux electron beam produces a high space charge resulting in a stronger focusing of the proton beam than expected by tracking results. Leadoff particle-in-cell simulations show qualitatively that this effect is caused by space charge attraction due to the comoving electrons. The collimation and transport of laser-accelerated protons is the first ...

Proton acceleration experiments and warm dense matter research using high power lasers

The acceleration of intense proton and ion beams by ultra-intense lasers has matured to a point where applications in basic research and technology are being developed. Crucial for harvesting the unmatched beam parameters driven by the relativistic electron sheath is the precise control of the beam. In this paper we report on recent experiments using the PHELIX laser at GSI, the VULCAN laser at RAL and the TRIDENT laser at LANL to control and use laser accelerated proton beams for applications in high energy density research. We demonstrate efficient collimation of the proton beam using high field pulsed solenoid magnets, a prerequisite to capture and transport the beam for applications. Furthermore, we report on two campaigns to use intense, short proton bunches to isochorically heat solid targets up to the warm dense matter state. The temporal profile of the proton beam allows for rapid heating of the target, much faster than the hydrodynamic response time thereby creating a strongly coupled plasma at solid density. The target parameters are then probed by x-ray Thomson scattering to reveal the density and temperature of the heated volume. This combination of two powerful techniques developed during the past few years allows for the generation and investigation of macroscopic samples of matter in states present in giant planets or the interior of the earth.

NAIS: Nuclear activation-based imaging spectroscopy

In recent years, the development of high power laser systems led to focussed intensities of more than 10(22) W/cm(2) at high pulse energies. Furthermore, both, the advanced high power lasers and the development of sophisticated laser particle acceleration mechanisms facilitate the generation of high energetic particle beams at high fluxes. The challenge of imaging detector systems is to acquire the properties of the high flux beam spatially and spectrally resolved. The limitations of most detector systems are saturation effects. These conventional detectors are based on scintillators, semiconductors, or radiation sensitive films. We present a nuclear activation-based imaging spectroscopy method, which is called NAIS, for the characterization of laser accelerated proton beams. The offline detector system is a combination of stacked metal foils and imaging plates (IP). After the irradiation of the stacked foils they become activated by nuclear reactions, emitting gamma decay radiation. In the next step, an autoradiography of the activated foils using IPs and an analysis routine lead to a spectrally and spatially resolved beam profile. In addition, we present an absolute calibration method for IPs.

The complex ion structure of warm dense carbon measured by spectrally resolved x-ray scatteringa)

We present measurements of the complex ion structure of warm dense carbon close to the melting line at pressures around 100 GPa. High-pressure samples were created by laser-driven shock compression of graphite and probed by intense laser-generated x-ray sources with photon energies of 4.75 keV and 4.95 keV. High-efficiency crystal spectrometers allow for spectrally resolving the scattered radiation. Comparing the ratio of elastically and inelastically scattered radiation, we find evidence for a complex bonded liquid that is predicted by ab-initio quantum simulations showing the influence of chemical bonds under these conditions. Using graphite samples of different initial densities we demonstrate the capability of spectrally resolved x-ray scattering to monitor the carbon solid-liquid transition at relatively constant pressure of 150 GPa. Showing first single-pulse scattering spectra from cold graphite of unprecedented quality recorded at the Linac Coherent Light Source, we demonstrate the outstanding pos...

Beam collimation and transport of laser-accelerated protons by a solenoid field

A pulsed high field solenoid was used in a laser-proton acceleration experiment to collimate and transport the proton beam that was generated at the irradiation of a flat foil by a high intensity laser pulse. 1012 particles at an energy of 2.3 MeV could be caught and transported over a distance of more than 240 mm. Strong space charge effects occur, induced by the high field of the solenoid that forces all co-moving electrons down the the solenoids axis, building up a strong negative space charge that interacts with the proton beam. This leads to an aggregation of the proton beam around the solenoids axis and therefore to a stronger focusing effect. The collimation and transport of laser-accelerated protons is the first step to provide these unique beams for further applications like post-acceleration by conventional accelerator structures.

Transport of laser accelerated proton beams and isochoric heating of matter

The acceleration of intense proton and ion beams by ultra-intense lasers has matured to a point where applications in basic research and technology are being developed. Crucial for harvesting the unmatched beam parameters driven by the relativistic electron sheath is the precise control of the beam. We report on recent experiments using the PHELIX laser at GSI, the VULCAN laser at RAL and the TRIDENT laser at LANL to control and use laser accelerated proton beams for applications in high energy density research. We demonstrate efficient collimation of the proton beam using high field pulsed solenoid magnets, a prerequisite to capture and transport the beam for applications. Furthermore we report on two campaigns to use intense, short proton bunches to isochorically heat solid targets up to the warm dense matter state. The temporal profile of the proton beam allows for rapid heating of the target, much faster than the hydrodynamic response time thereby creating a strongly coupled plasma at solid density. The target parameters are then probed by X-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) to reveal the density and temperature of the heated volume. This combination of two powerful techniques developed during the past few years allows for the generation and investigation of macroscopic samples of matter in states present in giant planets or the interior of the earth.

Image plate characterization and absolute calibration to low kilo-electron-volt electrons

We report on the characterization of an image plate and its absolute calibration to electrons in the low keV energy range (1-30 keV). In our case, an Agfa MD4.0 without protection layer was used in combination with a Fuji FLA7000 scanner. The calibration data are compared to other published data and a consistent picture of the sensitivity of image plates to electrons is obtained, which suggests a validity of the obtained calibration up to 100 keV.