Related papers: Extreme matter compression caused by radiation coo…
We perform 2D and 3D kinetic simulations of reconnection-mediated turbulent flares in a magnetized electron-positron plasma, with weak and strong radiative cooling. Such flares can be generated around neutron stars and accreting black…
We present measurements of hard x-rays in the 50-300 keV range from copper plasmas produced by 100 fs, 806 nm laser pulses at a peak intensity ~ 1016 W cm-2. Surface roughness, even at the tens of nanometer level, is shown to influence the…
We clarify how intense laser irradiation leads to an enhancement of rare processes that may occur within atoms. Non-perturbative calculation using a coherent laser beam gives an exact, time dependent formula of the enhancement factor in the…
A lightsail can be accelerated to ultra-high speed by the radiation pressure of a laser having an intensity of the order of GW/m$^2$, which though presents a critical challenge in the thermal management of lightsails. In this letter, we…
Observational evidence in space and astrophysical plasmas with long collisional mean free path suggests that more massive charged particles may be preferentially heated. One possible mechanism for this is the turbulent cascade of energy…
We present experiments to reproduce the characteristics of core-collapse supernovae with different stellar masses and initial explosion energies in the laboratory. In the experiments, shocks are driven in 1.2 atm and 1.9 atm xenon gas by…
A particle acceleration mechanism by radiation pressure of precursor waves in a relativistic shock is studied. For a relativistic, perpendicular shock with the upstream bulk Lorentz factor of $\gamma_1 \gg 1$, large amplitude…
Hard x-ray emission, associated with hot electron preheat, in direct-drive implosions was observed to be enhanced by a factor of $1.5\pm0.1$ by application of a $10$ T magnetic field. The applied magnetic field reaches a quasi steady-state…
Irradiating materials with ultra-short laser pulses generates unwanted shock waves which distort the interesting physics. Advanced boundary conditions are presented to erase even very strong shock waves. Depending on the wave length, laser…
The creation of well-thermalized, hot and dense plasmas is attractive for warm dense matter studies. We investigate collisionally induced energy absorption of an ultraintense and ultrashort laser pulse in a solid copper target using…
The propagation of ultra intense laser pulses through matter is connected with the generation of strong moving magnetic fields in the propagation channel as well as the formation of a thin ion filament along the axis of the channel. Upon…
Beam loading is the phenomenon which limits the charge and the beam quality in plasma based accelerators. An experimental study conducted with a laser-plasma accelerator is presented. Beam loading manifests itself through the decrease of…
We experimentally investigate the impact of pulse shape on the dynamics of laser-generated plasma in rare gases. Fast-rising triangular pulses with a slower decay lead to early ionization of the air and depose energy more efficiently than…
We analyze, using experiments and 3D MHD numerical simulations, the dynamics and radiative properties of a plasma ablated by a laser (1 ns, 10$^{12}$-10$^{13}$ W/cm$^2$) from a solid target, as it expands into a homogeneous, strong magnetic…
In this article, we concentrate on the basic physics of relativistic plasma wave accelerators. The generation of relativistic plasma waves by intense lasers or electron beams in low-density plasmas is important in the quest for producing…
Solar flares are currently understood as the explosive release of energy stored in the form of stressed magnetic fields. In many cases, the released energy seems to take the form of large numbers of electrons accelerated to high energies or…
Laser-induced breakdown has shown many potential applications in the various field of science and engineering. As the breakdown occurs in gas or aerosol, a rapid hydrodynamic expansion as shock (blast) wave initiated from the deposition…
Most of the light from blazars, active galactic nuclei with jets of magnetized plasma that point nearly along the line of sight, is produced by high-energy particles, up to $\sim 1$ TeV. Although the jets are known to be ultimately powered…
In this paper we consider laser intensities larger than $10^{16} W/cm^2$ where the ablation pressure is negligible in comparison with the radiation pressure. The radiation pressure is caused by the ponderomotive force acting mainly on the…
We propose a new approach to high-intensity relativistic laser-driven electron acceleration in a plasma. Here, we demonstrate that a plasma wave generated by a stimulated forward-scattering of an incident laser pulse can be in the longest…