J. X. Wang

Laser-generated pair production and Hawking-Unruh radiation

Laser-produced electron-positron pair production has been under discussion in the literature since 1969. Large numbers of positrons have been generated by lasers for a few years in studies which are also related to the studies of the physics of the fast ignitor laser fusion concept. For electron-positron pair production in vacuum due to vacuum polarization as predicted by Heisenberg (1934) with electrostatic fields, high-frequency laser fields with intensities around 10 28 W/cm 2 are necessary and may be available within a number of years. A similar electron acceleration by gravitation near black holes denoted as Hawking-Unruh radiation was discussed in 1985 by McDonald. The conditions are considered in view of the earlier work on pair production, change of statistics for electrons in relativistic black body radiation, and an Einstein recoil mechanism with a consequence of a physical foundation of the fine structure constant.

Study of plasma pressure evolution driven by strong picosecond laser pulse

Through one dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell simulation of strong laser interaction with the solid-density plasma, the evolution of the plasma impact pressure behind a thin foil has been investigated in details. An energy-compression mechanism has been proposed to help optimizing the laser and plasma parameters. It has been found that by using a picosecond laser with intensity 1015 W cm–2, an impact pressure as high as several hundreds of GPa order of magnitude can be obtained. The numerical analysis demonstrates that the peak pressure is mainly resulted from the ion contribution. These results are of potential application to the laser loading upon solids in order to study the material properties under extra-high dynamic pressure.

Neutral particles pushed or pulled by laser pulses.

Acceleration of neutral particles is of great importance in many areas, such as controlled chemical reactions, atomic nanofabrication, and atom optics. Recent experimental studies have shown that pulsed lasers can be used to push neutral Rydberg atoms forward [Nature 461, 1261 (2009)10.1038/nature08481; Nat. Photonics 6, 386 (2012)10.1038/nphoton.2012.87]. Our simulation shows that pulsed lasers can also be used to pull Rydberg atoms back toward a light source. In particular, we proposed a method of using two laser pulses on a neutral atom, then selective operations on the neutral atom (pushing or pulling) can be performed by adjusting the delay time between the two laser pulses.

Analysis in the instantaneous frequency forms of a chirped laser pulse

We analyze two forms of the instantaneous frequency of a linearly chirped laser pulse. Using a 3D test particle simulation, numerical results are presented for electrons accelerated by a chirped laser pulse with these two linearly chirped forms of the instantaneous frequency. We summarize that the linearly chirped frequency, ω(t)=ω0[1-α(t-z/c)] is reasonable, ω0 is laser frequency at z=0 and t=0, and α is the frequency chirp parameter.

Plasma block acceleration based upon the interaction between double targets and an ultra-intense linearly polarized laser pulse

A new scheme of plasma block acceleration based upon the interaction between double targets and an ultra-intense linearly polarized laser pulse with intensity I ∼ 1022 W/cm2 is investigated via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The targets are composed of a pre-target of low-density aluminium plasma and an overdense main-target of hydrogen plasma. Through intensive parameter optimization, we have observed highly efficient plasma block accelerations with a monochromatic proton beam peaked at GeVs. The underlying mechanism is attributed to the enhancement of the charge separation field due to the properly selected pre-target.

Road map to clean energy using laser beam ignition of boron-hydrogen fusion

With the aim to overcome the problems of climatic changes and rising ocean levels, one option is to produce large-scale sustainable energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen and other very light nuclei similar to the energy source of the sun. Sixty years of worldwide research for the ignition of the heavy hydrogen isotopes deuterium (D) and tritium (T) have come close to a breakthrough for ignition. The problem with the DT fusion is that generated neutrons are producing radioactive waste. One exception as the ideal clean fusion process – without neutron production – is the fusion of hydrogen (H) with the boron isotope 11 B11 (B11). In this paper, we have mapped out our research based on recent experiments and simulations for a new energy source. We suggest how HB11 fusion for a reactor can be used instead of the DT option. We have mapped out our HB11 fusion in the following way: (i) The acceleration of a plasma block with a laser beam with the power and time duration of the order of 10 petawatts and one picosecond accordingly. (ii) A plasma confinement by a magnetic field of the order of a few kiloteslas created by a second laser beam with a pulse duration of a few nanoseconds (ns). (iii) The highly increased fusion of HB11 relative to present DT fusion is possible due to the alphas avalanche created in this process. (iv) The conversion of the output charged alpha particles directly to electricity. (v) To prove the above ideas, our simulations show for example that 14 milligram HB11 can produce 300 kWh energy if all achieved results are combined for the design of an absolutely clean power reactor producing low-cost energy.

Dynamic high pressure generation through plasma implosion driven by an intense laser pulse

When an intense laser pulse is loaded upon solids, very high impact pressure can be generated on the surface. In this letter, we simulate this process through one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation and find that the pressure as high as 0.13 TPa can be generated after the laser pulse with intensity 1015 W/cm2 and 5 picosecond duration is injected upon a nanometer solid-density plasma. The peak pressure is shown to be resulted from an energetic high-density plasma bunch, produced through plasma implosion under extremely high light pressure.

Peculiarities of laser phase behavior associated with the accelerated electron in a chirped laser pulse

In this paper, we qualitatively analyzed peculiarities of laser phase behavior associated with the accelerated electron in a chirped laser pulse. We unveiled the relationship between the changes in the orientation of the electron trajectory and the cusps in magnitude of the phase velocity of the optical field along the electron trajectory in a chirped laser pulse. We also explained how the chirp effect induced the singular point of the phase velocity. Finally, we discussed the phase velocity and phase witnessed by the electron in the particles moving instantaneous frame.

Particle in cell simulation on plasma grating contrast enhancement induced by infrared laser pulse

The dynamics of plasma grating contrast enhancement (PGCE) irradiated by an infrared laser pulse is investigated with one dimensional particle-in-cell simulation where field ionization and impact ionization are simultaneously considered for the first time. The numeric results show that the impact ionization dominates the PGCE process. Upon the interaction with the laser pulse, abundant free electrons are efficiently accelerated and subsequently triggered massive impact ionizations in the density ridges of the plasma grating for the higher local plasma energy density, which efficiently enhances the grating contrast. Besides the dynamic analysis of PGCE, we explore the parameter space of the incident infrared laser pulse to optimize the PGCE effect, which can provide useful guidance to experiments related to laser-plasma-grating interactions and may find applications in prolonging the duration of the plasma grating.The dynamics of plasma grating contrast enhancement (PGCE) irradiated by an infrared laser pulse is investigated with one dimensional particle-in-cell simulation where field ionization and impact ionization are simultaneously considered for the first time. The numeric results show that the impact ionization dominates the PGCE process. Upon the interaction with the laser pulse, abundant free electrons are efficiently accelerated and subsequently triggered massive impact ionizations in the density ridges of the plasma grating for the higher local plasma energy density, which efficiently enhances the grating contrast. Besides the dynamic analysis of PGCE, we explore the parameter space of the incident infrared laser pulse to optimize the PGCE effect, which can provide useful guidance to experiments related to laser-plasma-grating interactions and may find applications in prolonging the duration of the plasma grating.