Related papers: Towards Advanced-fuel Fusion: Electron, Ion Energy…
Fusion with p11B has many advantages, including the almost complete lack of radioactivity and the possibility of direct conversion of charged particle energy to electricity, without expensive steam turbines and generators. But two major…
In simulations of a 12.5PW laser (focused intensity I = 4x10^23W/cm^2) striking a solid aluminium target 10% of the laser energy is converted to gamma-rays. A dense electron-positron plasma is generated with a maximum density of 10^26/m^3;…
We present experimental evidence of ultra-high energy density plasma states with the keV bulk electron temperatures and near-solid electron densities generated during the interaction of high contrast, relativistically intense laser pulses…
In simulations of a 10PW laser striking a solid we demonstrate the possibility of producing a pure electron-positron plasma by the same processes as those thought to operate in high-energy astrophysical environments. A maximum positron…
The extreme electric fields created in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions could generate energetic ions far more compactly than traditional accelerators. Despite this promise, laser-plasma accelerators have remained stagnant at…
We have performed a systematic study of the Bremsstrahlung emission from the electrons in the plasma of a commercial 14.5 GHz Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source. The electronic spectral temperature and the product of ionic and…
A novel scheme for the creation of a convergent, or focussing, fast-electron beam generated from ultra-high-intensity laser-solid interactions is described. Self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations are used to demonstrate the efficacy…
Experimental results, supported by precise modelling, demonstrate optimisation of a plasma-based injector with intermediate laser pulse energy ($<1$ J), corresponding to a normalised vector potential $a_0 = 2.15$, using ionisation injection…
We seek to understand the effect of high electron density in the proximity of a heavy nucleus on the fusion reaction rates in a hot plasma phase. We investigate quantitatively the catalytic effect of gold ($Z=79$) ions embedded in an…
We demonstrate a compact ion beam device capable of accelerating H$^+$ and D$^+$ ions up to 75keV energy, on to a solid target, with sufficient beam current to study fusion reactions. The ion beam system uses a microwave driven plasma…
Using a kilojoule class laser, we demonstrate for the first time that high-contrast picosecond pulses are advantageous for ion acceleration. We show that a laser pulse with optimum duration and a large focal spot accelerates electrons…
The radiation pressure of next generation ultra-high intensity ($>10^{23}$ W/cm$^{2}$) lasers could efficiently accelerate ions to GeV energies. However, nonlinear quantum-electrodynamic effects play an important role in the interaction of…
We report the first direct demonstration of possibility to generate the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation with a freely expanding jet of dense plasma with multiply-charged ions supported by high-power microwaves. The detected emission…
We generate a tabletop pulsed relativistic electron beam at 100 Hz repetition rate from vacuum laser acceleration (VLA) by tightly focusing a radially polarized beam into a low-density gas. We demonstrate that strong longitudinal electric…
Ultra-intense laser-matter interactions are often difficult to predict from first principles because of the complexity of plasma processes and the many degrees of freedom relating to the laser and target parameters. An important approach to…
We present hybrid PIC simulations of fast electron transport and energy deposition in pre-compressed fusion targets, taking full account of collective magnetic effects and the hydrodynamic response of the background plasma. Results on…
Longitudinal ion acceleration from high-intensity (I ~ 10^20 Wcm^-2) laser interactions with helium gas jet targets (n_e ~ 0.04 n_c) have been observed. The ion beam has a maximum energy for He^2+ of approximately 40 MeV and was directional…
Laser-plasma accelerators produce electric fields of the order of 100 GV/m, more than 1000 times larger than radio-frequency accelerators. Thanks to this unique field strength, they appear as a promising path to generate electron beams…
In a dense plasma environment, the energy levels of an ion shift relative to the isolated ion values. This shift is reflected in the optical spectrum of the plasma and can be measured in, for example, emission experiments. In this work, we…
Aims: To calculate the power budget for electron acceleration and the efficiency of the plasma emission mechanism in a post-flare decimetric continuum source. Methods: We have imaged a high brightness temperature ($\sim 10^{9}$K) post-flare…