Forward-looking insights in laser-generated ultra-intense γ-ray and neutron sources for nuclear application and science

  • 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 applications in laboratory nuclear astrophysics, neutron fluxes in excess of 1021 n/(cm2 s) are required. Such ultra-high fluxes are unattainable with existing conventional reactor- and accelerator-based facilities. Currently discussed concepts for generating high-flux neutron beams are based on ultra-high power multi-petawatt lasers operating around 1023 W/cm2 intensities. Here, we present an efficient concept for generating γ and neutron beams based on enhanced production of direct laser-accelerated electrons in relativistic laser interactions with a long-scale near critical density plasma at 1019 W/cm2 intensity. Experimental insights in the laser-driven generation of ultra-intense, well-directed multi-MeV beams of photons more than 1012 ph/sr and an ultra-high intense neutron source with greater than 6 × 1010 neutrons per shot are presented. More than 1.4% laser-to-gamma conversion efficiency above 10 MeV and 0.05% laser-to-neutron conversion efficiency were recorded, already at moderate relativistic laser intensities and ps pulse duration. This approach promises a strong boost of the diagnostic potential of existing kJ PW laser systems used for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) research.

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Author:Marc M. GüntherORCiDGND, Olga N. RosmejORCiD, Parysatis Mahmoodi TavanaORCiDGND, Mikhail GyrdymovORCiDGND, Aleksei SkobliakovORCiD, Alexey V. KantsyrevORCiDGND, Şêro Jakob ZähterORCiDGND, Nataliya G. Borisenko, Alexander PukhovORCiDGND, Nikolay E. AndreevORCiD
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-734208
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27694-7
ISSN:2041-1723
ArXiv Id:http://arxiv.org/abs/2012.10752
Parent Title (English):Nature Communications
Publisher:Springer Nature
Place of publication:[London]
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2022/01/10
Date of first Publication:2022/01/10
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2024/09/13
Volume:13
Issue:1, Article number: 170
Article Number:170
Page Number:13
Institutes:Physik / Physik
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 53 Physik / 530 Physik
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International