Related papers: Dynamic convergent shock compression initiated by …
Equation of state measurements at Jovian or stellar conditions are currently conducted by dynamic shock compression driven by multi-kilojoule multi-beam nanosecond-duration lasers. These experiments require precise design of the target and…
Experiments with interacting high-velocity flows of laser plasma can help answer the fundamental questions in plasma physics and improve the understanding of the mechanisms behind astrophysical phenomena, such as formation of collisionless…
We propose a new method for laser pulse compression that uses the spatially varying dispersion of a plasma plume with a density gradient. This novel scheme can be used to compress ultrahigh power lasers. A long, negatively…
Heating a solid with laser-accelerated fast electrons is unique way for a laboratory experiment to generate a plane powerful shock wave with a pressure of several hundred or even thousands of Mbar. Behind the front of such a powerful shock…
We present ultrafast pump-probe reflectivity and Doppler spectrometry of a silicon target at relativistic laser intensity. We observe an unexpected rise in reflectivity to a peak approximately $\sim$9 ps after the main pulse interaction…
Proposals to reach the next generation of laser intensities through Raman or Brillouin backscattering have centered on optical frequencies. Higher frequencies are beyond the range of such methods mainly due to the wave damping that…
Cylindrically or spherically focusing shock waves have been of keen interest for the past several decades. In addition to fundamental study of materials under extreme conditions, cavitation, and sonoluminescence, focusing shock waves enable…
Plasma densification through magnetic compression has been suggested for time-resolved control of the wave properties in plasma-based accelerators. Using particle in cell simulations with real mass ratio, the practicality of large magnetic…
We investigate 3D bow shocks in a highly collisional magnetized aluminum plasma, generated during the ablation phase of an exploding wire array on the MAGPIE facility (1.4 MA, 240 ns). Ablation of plasma from the wire array generates…
We present results of energetic laser-ion acceleration from a tailored, near solid density gas target. Colliding hydrodynamic shocks compress a pure hydrogen gas jet into a 70 {\mu}m thick target prior to the arrival of the ultra-intense…
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…
Achieving high repeatability and efficiency in laser-induced strong shock wave excitation remains a significant technical challenge, as evidenced by the extensive efforts undertaken at large-scale national laboratories to optimize the…
This research demonstrates high-repetition-rate laser-accelerated ion beams via dual, intersecting, counterpropagating laser-driven blast waves to precisely shape underdense gas into long-lived near-critical density targets. The collision…
We calculate the structure of a relativistic shock wave in which the internal energy of the shocked fluid is radiated away on a time scale much shorter than the characteristic shock propagation time. The shock is assumed to move through a…
Magnetic energy around compact objects often dominates over plasma rest mass, and its dissipation can power the object luminosity. We describe a dissipation mechanism which works faster than magnetic reconnection. The mechanism involves two…
Laser-ablated high-energy-density (HED) plasmas offer a promising route to study astrophysically relevant processes underlying collisionless shock formation, magnetic field amplification, and particle acceleration in the laboratory. Using…
The dynamics of electron injection in the direct laser acceleration (DLA) regime was investigated by means of three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and theoretical analysis. It is shown that when an ultra-intense laser pulse…
We developed an experimental platform for studying magnetic reconnection in an external magnetic field with simultaneous measurements of plasma imaging, flow velocity, and magnetic-field variation. Here, we investigate the stagnation and…
Ionization is a fundamental process in intense laser-matter interactions, and is known to cause plasma defocusing and intensity clamping. Here, we investigate theoretically the propagation dynamics of an intense laser pulse in a helium gas…
We characterize the plasma flows generated during the ablation stage of an over-massed exploding planar wire array, fielded on the COBRA pulsed-power facility (1 MA peak current, 250 ns rise time). The planar wire array is designed to…