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Ultra-intense MeV photon and neutron beams are indispensable tools in many research fields such as nuclear, atomic and material science as well as in medical and biophysical applications. For astrophysical applications aimed for laboratory…
We report a laser-driven neutron source with high yield ($>10^8$/J) and high peak flux ($>10^{25}$/cm$^2$/s) derived from high-temperature deuteron-deuteron fusion reactions. The neutron yield and the fusion temperature ($\sim 200$ keV) in…
Deciphering the conditions under which neutron captures occur in the Universe to synthesize heavy elements is an endeavour pursued since the 1950s, but that has proven elusive up to now due to the experimental difficulty of generating the…
Due to their high cost of acquisition and operation, there are still a limited number of high-yield, high-flux neutron source facilities worldwide. In this context, laser-driven neutron sources offer a promising, cheaper alternative to…
Due to screening effects, nuclear reactions in astrophysical plasmas may behave differently than in the laboratory. The possibility to determine the magnitude of these screening effects in colliding laser-generated plasmas is investigated…
We report the creation of super-high-flux gamma-rays with energy >8 MeV and photo-neutrons via the (g,n) reaction near giant dipole resonance energies (8 - 20 MeV), using the ~130 J Texas Petawatt laser to irradiate high-Z (Au, Pt, Re, W)…
Since two decades, laser-driven neutron emissions are studied as they represent a complementary source to conventional neutron sources, with further more different characteristics (i.e. shorter bunch duration and higher number of neutrons…
Contemporary ultraintense, short-pulse laser systems provide extremely compact setups for the production of high-flux neutron beams, such as those required for nondestructive probing of dense matter, research on neutron-induced damage in…
The advent of high-intensity pulsed laser technology enables the generation of extreme states of matter under conditions that are far from thermal equilibrium. This in turn could enable different approaches to generating energy from nuclear…
The production of neutron-rich isotopes and the occurrence of neutron capture cascades via laser-driven (pulsed) neutron sources are investigated theoretically. The considered scenario involves the interaction of a laser-driven neutron beam…
We report on experiments in which the Texas Petawatt laser irradiated a mixture of deuterium or deuterated methane clusters and helium-3 gas, generating three types of nuclear fusion reactions: D(d, 3He)n, D(d, t)p and 3He(d, p)4He. We…
We discuss the possibility of creating novel research tools by producing and storing highly relativistic beams of highly ionised atoms in the CERN accelerator complex, and by exciting their atomic degrees of freedom with lasers to produce…
We report on an experimental demonstration of efficient neutron generation based on direct laser acceleration in microwire-array targets irradiated by ultrashort (tens of femtoseconds) laser pulses. The optimal array period was identified,…
Nuclear reactions induced by a strong zeptosecond laser pulse are studied theoretically in the quasiadiabatic regime where the photon absorption rate is comparable to the nuclear equilibration rate. We find that multiple photon absorption…
The interaction of an ultraintense Nd:glass laser pulse with a near-critical plasma self-organizes into a highly efficient $\gamma$-ray source. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that relativistic self-focusing,…
The photoproduction of $D^{*\pm} (2010)$ mesons associated with a leading neutron has been observed with the ZEUS detector in $ep$ collisions at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 80 pb$^{-1}$. The neutron carries a large fraction,…
Employing the weak interaction reaction wherein a heavy electron is captured by a proton to produce a neutron and a neutrino, the neutron production rate for neutral hydrogen gases and for fully ionized plasmas is computed. Using the…
At laser intensities above 1023W/cm2 the interaction of a laser with a plasma is qualitatively different to the interactions at lower intensities. In this intensity regime solid targets start to become relativistically underdense, gamma-ray…
Using quantum electrodynamics particle-in-cell simulations, we optimize the gamma flare ($\gamma$-flare) generation scheme from interaction of high power petawatt-class laser pulse with tailored cryogenic hydrogen target having extended…
We present a laser-based neutron source that produces $1.8 \times 10^5$ neutrons/s with a conversion rate of $7.8 \times 10^5$ neutrons/J. Laser pulses of 12 fs and 23 mJ were focused onto a 430-nm-thick heavy water liquid sheet at a 10 Hz…