Cerenkov Imaging

OpenAIRE

Das, Sudeep; Thorek, Daniel L.J.; Grimm, Jan

2014-01-01

Cerenkov luminescence (CL) has been used recently in a plethora of medical applications like imaging and therapy with clinically relevant medical isotopes. The range of medical isotopes used is fairly large and expanding. The generation of in vivo light is useful since it circumvents depth limitations for excitation light. Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is much cheaper in terms of infrastructure than positron emission tomography (PET) and is particularly useful for imaging of superficial...

Laser power sources and laser technology for accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowenthal, D.

1986-01-01

The requirements on laser power sources for advanced accelerator concepts are formidable. These requirements are driven by the need to deliver 5 TeV particles at luminosities of 10/sup 33/ - 10/sup 34/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/. Given that optical power can be transferred efficiently to the particles these accelerator parameters translate into single pulse laser output energies of several kilojoules and rep rates of 1-10 kHz. The average laser output power is then 10-20 MW. Larger average powers will be needed if efficient transfer proves not to be possible. A laser plant of this magnitude underscores the importance of high wall plug efficiency and reasonable cost in $/Watt. The interface between the laser output pulse format and the accelerator structure is another area that drives the laser requirements. Laser accelerators break up into two general architectures depending on the strength of the laser coupling. For strong coupling mechanisms, the architecture requires many ''small'' lasers powering the accelerator in a staged arrangement. For the weak coupling mechanisms, the architecture must feature a single large laser system whose power must be transported along the entire accelerator length. Both of these arrangements have demanding optical constraints in terms of phase matching sequential stages, beam combining arrays of laser outputs and optimizing coupling of laser power in a single accelerating stage

Laser technologies for laser accelerators. Annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

The primary result of the work reported is the determination of laser system architectures that satsify the requirements of high luminosity, high energy (about 1 TeV), electron accelerators. It has been found that high laser efficiency is a very hard driver for these accelerators as the total average laser output optical power is likely to fall above 10 MW. The luminosity requires rep rates in the kHz range, and individual pulse lengths in the 1-10 psec range are required to satisfy acceleration gradient goals. CO 2 and KrF lasers were chosen for study because of their potential to simultaneously satisfy the given requirements. Accelerator luminosity is reviewed, and requirements on laser system average power and rep rate are determined as a function of electron beam bunch parameters. Laser technologies are reviewed, including CO 2 , excimers, solid state, and free electron lasers. The proposed accelerator mechanisms are summarized briefly. Work on optical transport geometries for near and far field accelerators are presented. Possible exploitation of the CO 2 and DrF laser technology to generate the required pulse lengths, rep rates, and projected efficiencies is illustrated and needed development work is suggested. Initial efforts at developing a 50 GeV benchmark conceptual design and a 100 MeV demonstration experiment conceptual design are presented

Monte Carlo simulation of gas Cerenkov detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mack, J.M.; Jain, M.; Jordan, T.M.

1984-01-01

Theoretical study of selected gamma-ray and electron diagnostic necessitates coupling Cerenkov radiation to electron/photon cascades. A Cerenkov production model and its incorporation into a general geometry Monte Carlo coupled electron/photon transport code is discussed. A special optical photon ray-trace is implemented using bulk optical properties assigned to each Monte Carlo zone. Good agreement exists between experimental and calculated Cerenkov data in the case of a carbon-dioxide gas Cerenkov detector experiment. Cerenkov production and threshold data are presented for a typical carbon-dioxide gas detector that converts a 16.7 MeV photon source to Cerenkov light, which is collected by optics and detected by a photomultiplier

Progress of Laser-Driven Plasma Accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Kazuhisa

2007-01-01

There is a great interest worldwide in plasma accelerators driven by ultra-intense lasers which make it possible to generate ultra-high gradient acceleration and high quality particle beams in a much more compact size compared with conventional accelerators. A frontier research on laser and plasma accelerators is focused on high energy electron acceleration and ultra-short X-ray and Tera Hertz radiations as their applications. These achievements will provide not only a wide range of sciences with benefits of a table-top accelerator but also a basic science with a tool of ultrahigh energy accelerators probing an unknown extremely microscopic world.Harnessing the recent advance of ultra-intense ultra-short pulse lasers, the worldwide research has made a tremendous breakthrough in demonstrating high-energy high-quality particle beams in a compact scale, so called ''dream beams on a table top'', which represents monoenergetic electron beams from laser wakefield accelerators and GeV acceleration by capillary plasma-channel laser wakefield accelerators. This lecture reviews recent progress of results on laser-driven plasma based accelerator experiments to quest for particle acceleration physics in intense laser-plasma interactions and to present new outlook for the GeV-range high-energy laser plasma accelerators

Laser acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Tajima, T.; Nakajima, K.; Mourou, G.

2017-02-01

The fundamental idea of Laser Wakefield Acceleration (LWFA) is reviewed. An ultrafast intense laser pulse drives coherent wakefield with a relativistic amplitude robustly supported by the plasma. While the large amplitude of wakefields involves collective resonant oscillations of the eigenmode of the entire plasma electrons, the wake phase velocity ˜ c and ultrafastness of the laser pulse introduce the wake stability and rigidity. A large number of worldwide experiments show a rapid progress of this concept realization toward both the high-energy accelerator prospect and broad applications. The strong interest in this has been spurring and stimulating novel laser technologies, including the Chirped Pulse Amplification, the Thin Film Compression, the Coherent Amplification Network, and the Relativistic Mirror Compression. These in turn have created a conglomerate of novel science and technology with LWFA to form a new genre of high field science with many parameters of merit in this field increasing exponentially lately. This science has triggered a number of worldwide research centers and initiatives. Associated physics of ion acceleration, X-ray generation, and astrophysical processes of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are reviewed. Applications such as X-ray free electron laser, cancer therapy, and radioisotope production etc. are considered. A new avenue of LWFA using nanomaterials is also emerging.

Laser acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tajima, T.; Nakajima, K.; Mourou, G.

2017-01-01

The fundamental idea of LaserWakefield Acceleration (LWFA) is reviewed. An ultrafast intense laser pulse drives coherent wakefield with a relativistic amplitude robustly supported by the plasma. While the large amplitude of wake fields involves collective resonant oscillations of the eigenmode of the entire plasma electrons, the wake phase velocity ∼ c and ultra fastness of the laser pulse introduce the wake stability and rigidity. A large number of worldwide experiments show a rapid progress of this concept realization toward both the high-energy accelerator prospect and broad applications. The strong interest in this has been spurring and stimulating novel laser technologies, including the Chirped Pulse Amplification, the Thin Film Compression, the Coherent Amplification Network, and the Relativistic Mirror Compression. These in turn have created a conglomerate of novel science and technology with LWFA to form a new genre of high field science with many parameters of merit in this field increasing exponentially lately. This science has triggered a number of worldwide research centers and initiatives. Associated physics of ion acceleration, X-ray generation, and astrophysical processes of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are reviewed. Applications such as X-ray free electron laser, cancer therapy, and radioisotope production etc. are considered. A new avenue of LWFA using nano materials is also emerging.

Endoscopic Cerenkov luminescence imaging: in vivo small animal tumor model validation

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Tianming; Bao, Chengpeng; Hu, Zhenhua; Wang, Kun; Liu, Xia; Tian, Jie

2015-03-01

Background: Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) provides a great potential for clinical translation of optical molecular imaging techniques through using clinical approved radiotracers. However, it is difficult to obtain the Cerenkov luminescence signal of deeper biological tissues due to the small magnitude of the signal. To efficiently acquire the weak Cerenkov luminescence, we developed an endoscopic Cerenkov luminescence imaging (ECLI) system to reduce the in vivo imaging depth with minimum invasion, and validated the system on small animal tumor models. Methods: For the ECLI system, the laparoscope was connected to a high sensitive charge-couple device (CCD) camera (DU888+, Andor, UK) by a custom made adapter. We conducted a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments by use of the system. In the in vitro experiment, the endoscopic luminescence images of the 18F-FDG with various activities in EP tubes were acquired using ECLI system, and the sensitivity was compared with conventional CLI system. In the in vivo tumor experiment, 18F-FDG with the activity of 200μCi were intravenously injected into 3 tumor mice. Then the ECLI system was used to acquire the optical images for both non-invasive and invasive conditions. Conclusion: Experimental data showed the ECLI system could detect the 18F-FDG with the activity as low as 1μCi. Furthermore, our preliminary results indicated the possibility of ECLI technique for detecting Cerenkov signals inside the tumor tissue with deeper depth and guiding the surgical operation of tumor excision. We believe that this technique can help to accelerate the clinical translation of CLI.

Utilizing the power of Cerenkov light with nanotechnology

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, Travis M.; Pratt, Edwin C.; Grimm, Jan

2017-02-01

The characteristic blue glow of Cerenkov luminescence (CL) arises from the interaction between a charged particle travelling faster than the phase velocity of light and a dielectric medium, such as water or tissue. As CL emanates from a variety of sources, such as cosmic events, particle accelerators, nuclear reactors and clinical radionuclides, it has been used in applications such as particle detection, dosimetry, and medical imaging and therapy. The combination of CL and nanoparticles for biomedicine has improved diagnosis and therapy, especially in oncological research. Although radioactive decay itself cannot be easily modulated, the associated CL can be through the use of nanoparticles, thus offering new applications in biomedical research. Advances in nanoparticles, metamaterials and photonic crystals have also yielded new behaviours of CL. Here, we review the physics behind Cerenkov luminescence and associated applications in biomedicine. We also show that by combining advances in nanotechnology and materials science with CL, new avenues for basic and applied sciences have opened.

Laser-driven acceleration with Bessel beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imasaki, Kazuo; Li, Dazhi

2005-01-01

A new approach of laser-driven acceleration with Bessel beam is described. Bessel beam, in contrast to the Gaussian beam, shows diffraction-free'' characteristics in its propagation, which implies potential in laser-driven acceleration. But a normal laser, even if the Bessel beam, laser can not accelerate charged particle efficiently because the difference of velocity between the particle and photon makes cyclic acceleration and deceleration phase. We proposed a Bessel beam truncated by a set of annular slits those makes several special regions in its travelling path, where the laser field becomes very weak and the accelerated particles are possible to receive no deceleration as they undergo decelerating phase. Thus, multistage acceleration is realizable with high gradient. In a numerical computation, we have shown the potential of multistage acceleration based on a three-stage model. (author)

A cyclotron resonance laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sprangle, P.; Tang, C.M.; Vlahos, L.

1983-01-01

A laser acceleration mechanism which utilizes a strong static, almost uniform, magnetic field together with an intense laser pulse is analyzed. The interaction and acceleration mechanism relies on a self resonance effect. Since the laser field is assumed to be diffraction limited, the magnetic field must be spatially varied to maintain resonance. The effective accelerating gradient is shown to scale like 1/√E /SUB b/ , where E /SUB b/ is the electron energy. For a numerical illustration the authors consider a 1 x 10 13 W/cm 2 , CO 2 laser and show that electrons can be accelerated to more than 500 MeV in a distance of 15 m (approximately two Rayleigh lengths)

Recent progress on laser acceleration research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Kazuhisa; Dewa, Hideki; Hosokai, Tomonao; Kanazawa, Shuhei; Kando, Masaki; Kondoh, Shuji; Kotaki, Hideyuki

2000-01-01

Recently there has been a tremendous experimental progress in ultrahigh field particle acceleration driven by ultraintense laser pulses in plasmas. A design of the laser wakefield accelerators aiming at GeV energy gains is discussed by presenting our recent progress on the laser wakefield acceleration experiments, the developments of high quality electron beam injectors and the capillary plasma waveguide for optical guiding of ultrashort intense laser pulses. (author)

Experimental signatures of direct-laser-acceleration-assisted laser wakefield acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, J. L.; Lemos, N.; Marsh, K. A.; Froula, D. H.; Joshi, C.

2018-04-01

The direct laser acceleration (DLA) of electrons in a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) operating in the forced or quasi-blowout regimes has been investigated through experiment and simulation. When there is a significant overlap between the trapped electrons and the drive laser in a LWFA cavity, the resulting electrons can gain energy from both the LWFA and the DLA mechanisms. Experimental work investigates the properties of the electron beams produced in a LWFA with ionization injection by dispersing those beams in the direction perpendicular to the laser polarization. These electron beams show certain spectral features that are characteristic of DLA. These characteristic features are reproduced using particle-in-cell simulations, where particle tracking was used to elucidate the roles of LWFA and DLA to the energy gain of the electrons in this experimental regime and to demonstrate that such spectral features are definitive signatures of the presence of DLA in LWFA.

Laser acceleration... now with added fibre

CERN Multimedia

Katarina Anthony

2012-01-01

Laser acceleration technology is plagued by two main issues: efficiency and repetition rates. In other words, lasers consume too much power and cannot sustain accelerating particles long enough to produce collisions. ICAN, a new EU-funded project, is examining how fibre lasers may help physicists tackle these issues.   A diode-pumped fibre laser. (Image courtesy of Laser Zentrum Hannover.) The International Coherent Amplification Network (ICAN) is studying the potential of lasers for collision physics. CERN is a beneficiary of the project and will collaborate with 15 other institutes from around the world, including KEK in Japan, Fermilab in the USA, and DESY in Germany. “The network is looking into existing fibre laser technology, which we believe has fantastic potential for accelerators,” says Gerard Mourou, ICAN co-ordinator at the École Polytechnique in France. “The hope is to make laser acceleration competitive with traditional radio-fre...

The Track Imaging Cerenkov Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Wissel, S. A.; Byrum, K.; Cunningham, J. D.; Drake, G.; Hays, E.; Horan, D.; Kieda, D.; Kovacs, E.; Macgill, S.; Nodulman, L.;

Photon acceleration in laser wakefield accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trines, R. M. G. M.

2007-01-01

If the index of a refraction of a dispersive medium, such as a plasma, changes in time, it can be used to change the frequency of light propagating through the medium. This effect is called photon acceleration. It has been predicted in both theory and simulations, and also been demonstrated experimentally for the case of moving ionization fronts in gases (the so-called ionization blueshift) as well as for laser-driven wakefields.Here, we present studies of photon acceleration in laser-driven plasma wakefields. The unique spectral characteristics of this process will be discussed, to distinguish it from e.g. photon acceleration by ionization fronts, frequency domain interferometry or self-phase modulation. The dynamics of the photons in laser-wakefield interaction are studied through both regular particle-in-cell and wave-kinetic simulations. The latter approach provides a powerful, versatile, and easy-to-use method to track the propagation of individual spectral components, providing new insight into the physics of laser-plasma interaction. Theory, simulations and experimental results will be brought together to provide a full understanding of the dynamics of a laser pulse in its own wakefield.Even though the wave-kinetic approach mentioned above has mainly been developed for the description of laser-plasma interaction, it can be applied to a much wider range of fast wave-slow wave interaction processes: Langmuir waves-ion acoustic waves, drift waves-zonal flow, Rossby waves-zonal flow, or even photons-gravitational waves. Several recent results in these areas will be shown, often with surprising results

On-Chip Laser-Power Delivery System for Dielectric Laser Accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Tyler W.; Tan, Si; Zhao, Zhexin; Sapra, Neil V.; Leedle, Kenneth J.; Deng, Huiyang; Miao, Yu; Black, Dylan S.; Solgaard, Olav; Harris, James S.; Vuckovic, Jelena; Byer, Robert L.; Fan, Shanhui; England, R. Joel; Lee, Yun Jo; Qi, Minghao

2018-05-01

We propose an on-chip optical-power delivery system for dielectric laser accelerators based on a fractal "tree-network" dielectric waveguide geometry. This system replaces experimentally demanding free-space manipulations of the driving laser beam with chip-integrated techniques based on precise nanofabrication, enabling access to orders-of-magnitude increases in the interaction length and total energy gain for these miniature accelerators. Based on computational modeling, in the relativistic regime, our laser delivery system is estimated to provide 21 keV of energy gain over an acceleration length of 192 μ m with a single laser input, corresponding to a 108-MV/m acceleration gradient. The system may achieve 1 MeV of energy gain over a distance of less than 1 cm by sequentially illuminating 49 identical structures. These findings are verified by detailed numerical simulation and modeling of the subcomponents, and we provide a discussion of the main constraints, challenges, and relevant parameters with regard to on-chip laser coupling for dielectric laser accelerators.

Cerenkov light spectrum in an optical fiber exposed to a photon or electron radiation therapy beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lambert, Jamil; Yin Yongbai; McKenzie, David R.; Law, Sue; Suchowerska, Natalka

2009-01-01

A Cerenkov signal is generated when energetic charged particles enter the core of an optical fiber. The Cerenkov intensity can be large enough to interfere with signals transmitted through the fiber. We determine the spectrum of the Cerenkov background signal generated in a poly(methyl methacrylate) optical fiber exposed to photon and electron therapeutic beams from a linear accelerator. This spectral measurement is relevant to discrimination of the signal from the background, as in scintillation dosimetry using optical fiber readouts. We find that the spectrum is approximated by the theoretical curve after correction for the wavelength dependent attenuation of the fiber. The spectrum does not depend significantly on the angle between the radiation beam and the axis of the fiber optic but is dependent on the depth in water at which the fiber is exposed to the beam.

Applications of laser-driven particle acceleration

CERN Document Server

Parodi, Katia; Schreiber, Jorg

2018-01-01

The first book of its kind to highlight the unique capabilities of laser-driven acceleration and its diverse potential, Applications of Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration presents the basic understanding of acceleration concepts and envisioned prospects for selected applications. As the main focus, this new book explores exciting and diverse application possibilities, with emphasis on those uniquely enabled by the laser driver that can also be meaningful and realistic for potential users. A key aim of the book is to inform multiple, interdisciplinary research communities of the new possibilities available and to inspire them to engage with laser-driven acceleration, further motivating and advancing this developing field. Material is presented in a thorough yet accessible manner, making it a valuable reference text for general scientific and engineering researchers who are not necessarily subject matter experts. Applications of Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration is edited by Professors Paul R. Bolton, Katia ...

Development of a PET/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Seiichi; Hamamura, Fuka; Kato, Katsuhiko; Ogata, Yoshimune; Watabe, Tadashi; Ikeda, Hayato; Kanai, Yasukazu; Hatazawa, Jun; Watabe, Hiroshi

2014-01-01

Purpose: Cerenkov-light imaging is a new molecular imaging technology that detects visible photons from high-speed electrons using a high sensitivity optical camera. However, the merit of Cerenkov-light imaging remains unclear. If a PET/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system were developed, the merit of Cerenkov-light imaging would be clarified by directly comparing these two imaging modalities. Methods: The authors developed and tested a PET/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system that consists of a dual-head PET system, a reflection mirror located above the subject, and a high sensitivity charge coupled device (CCD) camera. The authors installed these systems inside a black box for imaging the Cerenkov-light. The dual-head PET system employed a 1.2 × 1.2 × 10 mm 3 GSO arranged in a 33 × 33 matrix that was optically coupled to a position sensitive photomultiplier tube to form a GSO block detector. The authors arranged two GSO block detectors 10 cm apart and positioned the subject between them. The Cerenkov-light above the subject is reflected by the mirror and changes its direction to the side of the PET system and is imaged by the high sensitivity CCD camera. Results: The dual-head PET system had a spatial resolution of ∼1.2 mm FWHM and sensitivity of ∼0.31% at the center of the FOV. The Cerenkov-light imaging system's spatial resolution was ∼275μm for a 22 Na point source. Using the combined PET/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system, the authors successfully obtained fused images from simultaneously acquired images. The image distributions are sometimes different due to the light transmission and absorption in the body of the subject in the Cerenkov-light images. In simultaneous imaging of rat, the authors found that 18 F-FDG accumulation was observed mainly in the Harderian gland on the PET image, while the distribution of Cerenkov-light was observed in the eyes. Conclusions: The authors conclude that their developed PET/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging

Control of electron injection and acceleration in laser-wakefield accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillaume, E.

2015-01-01

Laser-plasma accelerators provide a promising compact alternative to conventional accelerators. Plasma waves with extremely strong electric fields are generated when a high intensity laser is focused into an underdense gas target. Electrons that are trapped in these laser-driven plasma waves can be accelerated up to energies of a few GeVs. Despite their great potential, laser-wakefield accelerators face some issues, regarding notably the stability and reproducibility of the beam when electrons are injected in the accelerating structure. In this manuscript, different techniques of electron injection are presented and compared, notably injection in a sharp density gradient and ionization injection. It is shown that combining these two methods allows for the generation of stable and tunable electron beams. We have also studied a way to manipulate the electron bunch in the phase-space in order to accelerate the bunch beyond the dephasing limit. Such a technique was used with quasi-monoenergetic electron beams to enhance their energy. Moreover, the origin of the evolution of the angular momentum of electrons observed experimentally was investigated. Finally, we demonstrated experimentally a new method - the laser-plasma lens - to strongly reduce the divergence of the electron beam. This laser-plasma lens consists of a second gas jet placed at the exit of the accelerator. The laser pulse drives a wakefield in this second jet whose focusing forces take advantage to reduce the divergence of the trailing electron bunch. A simple analytical model describing the principle is presented, underlining the major importance of the second jet length, density and distance from the first jet. Experimental demonstration of the laser-plasma lens shows a divergence reduction by a factor of 2.6 for electrons up to 300 MeV, in accordance with the model predictions

Detection of laser-accelerated protons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinhardt, Sabine

2012-08-08

Real-time (Online) detection of laser-accelerated protons is a challenge for any electronic detector system due to the peculiar time structure ({<=} ns) and high intensity ({>=}10{sup 7} p/cm{sup 2}) of the generated ion pulses. Besides considerable saturation effects, problems are expected by an electromagnetic interference pulse (EMP), generated during laser-plasma interaction. In the scope of this work, different detection systems were built-up with regard to specific demands of laser-ion-acceleration at the MPQ ATLAS laser, which allow the quantitative analysis of the generated proton beam. A cell irradiation experiment at the ATLAS laser was accomplished to demonstrate the usability of laser-accelerated protons for radiation therapy. Cells were irradiated with a single shot dose of few Gy for a proton energy of 5 MeV. The following cell analysis required the spatially resolved measurement of the dose distribution. Only radiation-sensitive films were applicable because of the small proton range, although they show significant quenching effects for the used proton energy. This was extensively studied in the 3-200 MeV energy range. A film-based dosimetry protocol for low-energy proton irradiations was developed, making the absolute dose determination in the cell experiment possible. The non-electronic detectors (nuclear track detectors, radiation-sensitive films) are still state of the art in laser-accelerated ion diagnostics, although these detectors only allow a delayed in time (offline) detection. A non-electronic system, based on image plates, was thoroughly characterized and calibrated for ongoing experiments at the ATLAS laser, for the first time. Main objective of this work, though, was the set-up of a real-time detection system, which is urgently required, owing to increasing repetition rate of the laser accelerator (>Hz), to advance the parameter optimisation of the laser-acceleration in an efficient way. Systems based on silicon pixel detectors are

Detection of laser-accelerated protons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reinhardt, Sabine

2012-01-01

Real-time (Online) detection of laser-accelerated protons is a challenge for any electronic detector system due to the peculiar time structure (≤ ns) and high intensity (≥10 7 p/cm 2 ) of the generated ion pulses. Besides considerable saturation effects, problems are expected by an electromagnetic interference pulse (EMP), generated during laser-plasma interaction. In the scope of this work, different detection systems were built-up with regard to specific demands of laser-ion-acceleration at the MPQ ATLAS laser, which allow the quantitative analysis of the generated proton beam. A cell irradiation experiment at the ATLAS laser was accomplished to demonstrate the usability of laser-accelerated protons for radiation therapy. Cells were irradiated with a single shot dose of few Gy for a proton energy of 5 MeV. The following cell analysis required the spatially resolved measurement of the dose distribution. Only radiation-sensitive films were applicable because of the small proton range, although they show significant quenching effects for the used proton energy. This was extensively studied in the 3-200 MeV energy range. A film-based dosimetry protocol for low-energy proton irradiations was developed, making the absolute dose determination in the cell experiment possible. The non-electronic detectors (nuclear track detectors, radiation-sensitive films) are still state of the art in laser-accelerated ion diagnostics, although these detectors only allow a delayed in time (offline) detection. A non-electronic system, based on image plates, was thoroughly characterized and calibrated for ongoing experiments at the ATLAS laser, for the first time. Main objective of this work, though, was the set-up of a real-time detection system, which is urgently required, owing to increasing repetition rate of the laser accelerator (>Hz), to advance the parameter optimisation of the laser-acceleration in an efficient way. Systems based on silicon pixel detectors are applicable for

Staging laser plasma accelerators for increased beam energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panasenko, Dmitriy; Shu, Anthony; Schroeder, Carl; Gonsalves, Anthony; Nakamura, Kei; Matlis, Nicholas; Cormier-Michel, Estelle; Plateau, Guillaume; Lin, Chen; Toth, Csaba; Geddes, Cameron; Esarey, Eric; Leemans, Wim

2008-01-01

Staging laser plasma accelerators is an efficient way of mitigating laser pump depletion in laser driven accelerators and necessary for reaching high energies with compact laser systems. The concept of staging includes coupling of additional laser energy and transporting the electron beam from one accelerating module to another. Due to laser damage threshold constraints, in-coupling laser energy with conventional optics requires distances between the accelerating modules of the order of 10m, resulting in decreased average accelerating gradient and complicated e-beam transport. In this paper we use basic scaling laws to show that the total length of future laser plasma accelerators will be determined by staging technology. We also propose using a liquid jet plasma mirror for in-coupling the laser beam and show that it has the potential to reduce distance between stages to the cm-scale.

Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) facility

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) facility (formerly LOASIS) develops advanced accelerators and radiation sources. High gradient (1-100 GV/m) laser-plasma...

Femtosecond laser micromachining of sapphire capillaries for laser-wakefield acceleration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Messner, Philipp; Delbos, Niels Matthias; Maier, Andreas R. [CFEL, Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, 22607 Hamburg (Germany); University of Hamburg, Institute of Experimental Physics, 22761 Hamburg (Germany); Calmano, Thomas [University of Hamburg, Institute of Experimental Physics, 22761 Hamburg (Germany)

2015-07-01

Laser-plasma accelerator are promising candidates to provide ultra-relativistic electron beams for compact light sources. One factor that limits the achievable electron beam energy in a laser plasma accelerator is the Rayleigh length of the driver laser, which dictates the length over which the electron beams can effectively be accelerated. To overcome this limitation lasers can be guided in a capillary waveguide to extend the acceleration length beyond the Rayleigh length. The production of waveguide structures on scales, that are suitable for plasma acceleration is very challenging. Here, we present experimental results from waveguide machining in sapphire crystals using a Clark MXR CPA 2010 laser with a wavelength of 775nm, 1KHZ repetition rate and a pulse duration of 160 fs. We discuss the effects of different parameters like energy, lens types, writing speed and polarisation on the size and shape of the capillaries, and compare the performance of different parameter sets.

Monoenergetic laser wakefield acceleration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. E. Andreev

2000-02-01

Full Text Available Three dimensional test particle simulations are applied to optimization of the plasma-channeled laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA operating in a weakly nonlinear regime. Electron beam energy spread, emittance, and luminosity depend upon the proportion of the electron bunch size to the plasma wavelength. This proportion tends to improve with the laser wavelength increase. We simulate a prospective two-stage ∼1GeV LWFA with controlled energy spread and emittance. The input parameters correspond to realistic capabilities of the BNL Accelerator Test Facility that features a picosecond-terawatt CO_{2} laser and a high-brightness electron gun.

Laser-driven acceleration with Bessel and Gaussian beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hafizi, B.; Esarey, E.; Sprangle, P.

1997-01-01

The possibility of enhancing the energy gain in laser-driven accelerators by using Bessel laser beams is examined. Scaling laws are derived for the propagation length, acceleration gradient, and energy gain in various accelerators for both Gaussian and Bessel beam drivers. For equal beam powers, the energy gain can be increased by a factor of N 1/2 by utilizing a Bessel beam with N lobes, provided that the acceleration gradient is linearly proportional to the laser field. This is the case in the inverse free electron laser and the inverse Cherenkov accelerators. If the acceleration gradient is proportional to the square of the laser field (e.g., the laser wakefield, plasma beat wave, and vacuum beat wave accelerators), the energy gain is comparable with either beam profile. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Principles of laser-plasma accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malka, V.; Mora, P.

2009-01-01

The continuing development of powerful laser systems has permitted to extend the interaction of laser beams with matter far into the relativistic domain in which extremely high electric and magnetic fields are generated. Thanks to these tremendous fields, that only plasma can support and sustain, new and compact approaches for producing energetic particle beams have been recently achieved (for example the bubble regime and the colliding laser pulses scheme). The incredible progress of these laser-plasma accelerators has allowed physicists to produce high quality beams of energetic radiation and particles. These beams have interesting properties such as shortness, brightness and spatial quality, and could lend themselves to applications in many fields, including medicine (radiotherapy, proton therapy, imaging), radiation biology (short-time-scale), chemistry (radiolysis), physics and material science (radiography, electron and photon diffraction), security (material inspection), and of course accelerator science. Stimulated by the advent of compact and powerful lasers, with moderate costs and high repetition rate, this research field has witnessed considerable growth in the past few years, and the promises of laser-plasma accelerators are in tremendous progress. The recent years in particular have seen spectacular progress in the acceleration of electrons and of ions, both in terms of energy and in terms of quality of the beams. (authors)

Radiation-Hard Quartz Cerenkov Calorimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akgun, U.; Onel, Y.

2006-01-01

New generation hadron colliders are going to reach unprecedented energies and radiation levels. Quartz has been identified as a radiation-hard material that can be used for Cerenkov calorimeters of the future experiments. We report from the radiation hardness tests performed on quartz fibers, as well as the characteristics of the quartz fiber and plate Cerenkov calorimeters that have been built, designed, and proposed for the CMS experiment

Observation of laser multiple filamentation process and multiple electron beams acceleration in a laser wakefield accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Wentao; Liu, Jiansheng; Wang, Wentao; Chen, Qiang; Zhang, Hui; Tian, Ye; Zhang, Zhijun; Qi, Rong; Wang, Cheng; Leng, Yuxin; Li, Ruxin; Xu, Zhizhan

2013-01-01

The multiple filaments formation process in the laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) was observed by imaging the transmitted laser beam after propagating in the plasma of different density. During propagation, the laser first self-focused into a single filament. After that, it began to defocus with energy spreading in the transverse direction. Two filaments then formed from it and began to propagate independently, moving away from each other. We have also demonstrated that the laser multiple filamentation would lead to the multiple electron beams acceleration in the LWFA via ionization-induced injection scheme. Besides, its influences on the accelerated electron beams were also analyzed both in the single-stage LWFA and cascaded LWFA

Inverse Cerenkov experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, W.D.

1993-01-01

The final report describes work performed to investigate inverse Cherenkov acceleration (ICA) as a promising method for laser particle acceleration. In particular, an improved configuration of ICA is being tested in a experiment presently underway on the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF). In the experiment, the high peak power (∼ 10 GW) linearly polarized ATF CO 2 laser beam is converted to a radially polarized beam. This is beam is focused with an axicon at the Cherenkov angle onto the ATF 50-MeV e-beam inside a hydrogen gas cell, where the gas acts as the phase matching medium of the interaction. An energy gain of ∼12 MeV is predicted assuming a delivered laser peak power of 5 GW. The experiment is divided into two phases. The Phase I experiments, which were completed in the spring of 1992, were conducted before the ATF e-beam was available and involved several successful tests of the optical systems. Phase II experiments are with the e-beam and laser beam, and are still in progress. The ATF demonstrated delivery of the e-beam to the experiment in Dec. 1992. A preliminary ''debugging'' run with the e-beam and laser beam occurred in May 1993. This revealed the need for some experimental modifications, which have been implemented. The second run is tentatively scheduled for October or November 1993. In parallel to the experimental efforts has been ongoing theoretical work to support the experiment and investigate improvement and/or offshoots. One exciting offshoot has been theoretical work showing that free-space laser acceleration of electrons is possible using a radially-polarized, axicon-focused laser beam, but without any phase-matching gas. The Monte Carlo code used to model the ICA process has been upgraded and expanded to handle different types of laser beam input profiles

Inverse Free Electron Laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, A.; Gallardo, J.; van Steenbergen, A.; Sandweiss, J.

1992-09-01

The study of the INVERSE FREE ELECTRON LASER, as a potential mode of electron acceleration, is being pursued at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Recent studies have focussed on the development of a low energy, high gradient, multi stage linear accelerator. The elementary ingredients for the IFEL interaction are the 50 MeV Linac e - beam and the 10 11 Watt CO 2 laser beam of BNL's Accelerator Test Facility (ATF), Center for Accelerator Physics (CAP) and a wiggler. The latter element is designed as a fast excitation unit making use of alternating stacks of Vanadium Permendur (VaP) ferromagnetic laminations, periodically interspersed with conductive, nonmagnetic laminations, which act as eddy current induced field reflectors. Wiggler parameters and field distribution data will be presented for a prototype wiggler in a constant period and in a ∼ 1.5 %/cm tapered period configuration. The CO 2 laser beam will be transported through the IFEL interaction region by means of a low loss, dielectric coated, rectangular waveguide. Short waveguide test sections have been constructed and have been tested using a low power cw CO 2 laser. Preliminary results of guide attenuation and mode selectivity will be given, together with a discussion of the optical issues for the IFEL accelerator. The IFEL design is supported by the development and use of 1D and 3D simulation programs. The results of simulation computations, including also wiggler errors, for a single module accelerator and for a multi-module accelerator will be presented

Picosecond CO2 laser for relativistic particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pogorelsky, I.; Ben-Zvi, I.; Kimura, W.D.; Kurnit, N.A.; Kannari, F.

1994-01-01

A table-top 20-GW 50-ps CO 2 laser system is under operation at the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility. We compare laser performance with model predictions. Extrapolations suggest the possibility of compact terawatt CO 2 laser systems suitable as laser accelerator drivers and for other strong-field applications. Latest progress on an Inverse Cherenkov Laser Accelerator experiment is reported

Summary Report of Working Group 6: Laser-Plasma Acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leemans, Wim P.; Downer, Michael; Siders, Craig

2006-01-01

A summary is given of presentations and discussions in the Laser-Plasma Acceleration Working Group at the 2006 Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop. Presentation highlights include: widespread observation of quasi-monoenergetic electrons; good agreement between measured and simulated beam properties; the first demonstration of laser-plasma acceleration up to 1 GeV; single-shot visualization of laser wakefield structure; new methods for measuring <100 fs electron bunches; and new methods for 'machining' laser-plasma accelerator structures. Discussion of future direction includes: developing a roadmap for laser-plasma acceleration beyond 1 GeV; a debate over injection and guiding; benchmarking simulations with improved wake diagnostics; petawatt laser technology for future laser-plasma accelerators

Charge and velocity resolution of Cerenkov counters in a beam of accelerated heavy nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cantin, M.; Goret, P.; Jorrand, J.; Jouan, R.; Juliusson, E.; Koch, L.; Maubras, Y.; Mestreau, P.; Petrou, N.; Rio, Y.; Soutoul, A.; Cawood, P.; Linney, A.

1975-01-01

The response of various Cerenkov radiators to oxygen and nitrogen nuclei with energies ranging between 2.1GeV/n and 300MeV/n is presented. The velocity and charge resolutions are analyzed in relation to the possible use of these counters for chemical and isotopic analysis of the primary cosmic ray nuclei [fr

CO2 laser technology for advanced particle accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pogorelsky, I.V.

1996-06-01

Short-pulse, high-power CO 2 lasers open new prospects for development of ultra-high gradient laser-driven electron accelerators. The advantages of λ=10 μm CO 2 laser radiation over the more widely exploited solid state lasers with λ∼1 μm are based on a λ 2 -proportional ponderomotive potential, λ-proportional phase slippage, and λ-proportional scaling of the laser accelerator structures. We show how a picosecond terawatt CO 2 laser that is under construction at the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility may benefit the ATF's experimental program of testing far-field, near-field, and plasma accelerator schemes

Acceleration of charged particles by lasers in vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cicchitelli, L.; Hora, H.; Scheid, W.

1989-01-01

For laser acceleration of electrons (and other charged particles) by lasers to the TeV energy range in vacuum, the scheme of trapping electrons in spatially moving and accelerated intensity gradients or minima of laser fields, the single electron motion in standing wave fields is evaluated in details numerically. Acceleration of the minima results in the acceleration of the electrons as expected from global results of the nonlinear forces. If half-wave length laser pulses propagating in vacuum are used the relativistic exact solutions are derived and evaluated. A disadvantage is the lateral motion requiring a large laser focus. For TeV electron energy, MJ KrF-laser pulses are necessary and the acceleration length is about 10 cm. copyright 1989 American Institute of Physics

Accelerator for medical applications and electron acceleration by laser plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosokai, Tomonao; Uesaka, Mitsuru

2006-01-01

In this article, the current status of radiation therapies in Japan and updated medical accelerators are reviewed. For medical use, there is a strong demand of a compact and flexible accelerator. At present, however, we have only two choices of the S-band linac with one or two rotation axis combined with the multi leaf collimator, or the X-band linac with a rather flexible robotic arm. In addition, the laser plasma cathode that is the second generation of the laser wake-field accelerator (LWFA) is studied as a high-quality electron source for medical use though it is still at the stage of the basic research. The potential of LWFA as medical accelerator near future is discussed based on updated results of laser plasma cathode experiment in Univ. of Tokyo. (author)

Laser-propelled ram accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sasoh, A. [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Inst. of Fluid Science

2000-11-01

The concept of 'laser-propelled ram accelerator (L-RAMAC)' is proposed. Theoretically it is capable of achieving a higher launch speed than that by a chemical ram accelerator because a higher specific energy can be input to the propellant gas. The laser beam is supplied through the muzzle, focused as an annulus behind the base of the projectile. The performance of L-RAMAC is analized based on generalized Rankine-Hugoniot relations, suggesting that a superorbital muzzle speed is achievable out of this device. (orig.)

Lasers and new methods of particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parsa, Z.

1998-02-01

There has been a great progress in development of high power laser technology. Harnessing their potential for particle accelerators is a challenge and of great interest for development of future high energy colliders. The author discusses some of the advances and new methods of acceleration including plasma-based accelerators. The exponential increase in sophistication and power of all aspects of accelerator development and operation that has been demonstrated has been remarkable. This success has been driven by the inherent interest to gain new and deeper understanding of the universe around us. With the limitations of the conventional technology it may not be possible to meet the requirements of the future accelerators with demands for higher and higher energies and luminosities. It is believed that using the existing technology one can build a linear collider with about 1 TeV center of mass energy. However, it would be very difficult (or impossible) to build linear colliders with energies much above one or two TeV without a new method of acceleration. Laser driven high gradient accelerators are becoming more realistic and is expected to provide an alternative, (more compact, and more economical), to conventional accelerators in the future. The author discusses some of the new methods of particle acceleration, including laser and particle beam driven plasma based accelerators, near and far field accelerators. He also discusses the enhanced IFEL (Inverse Free Electron Laser) and NAIBEA (Nonlinear Amplification of Inverse-Beamstrahlung Electron Acceleration) schemes, laser driven photo-injector and the high energy physics requirements

Aerogel Cerenkov counters at DESY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poelz, G.

1984-11-01

In high energy physics it is common to identify a charged particle and its kinematical parameters by the measurement of its momentum and its velocity. Cerenkov detectors have developed into a standard tool because they operate in the γ = (1-β 2 )sup(-1/2) range from about 1 to 100 which is not easily accessible by other devices. Pions, kaons and protons in present high energy experiments reach energies of several GeV. Threshold Cerenkov detectors for these particles need indices of refraction below 1.1 which are often produced with gases under high pressure. The design for chambers operating in this region was drasticly simplified when porous materials serving as Cerenkov radiators were invented. These chambers complement the time-of-flight counters, which cover the low energy region. Aerogel of silica is up to now the only porous substance with sufficient optical transparency. Its quality has been improved substantially in recent times so that large size detectors can be constructed. (orig.)

Calculation and optimization of laser acceleration in vacuum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Huang

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Extraordinarily high fields generated by focused lasers are envisioned to accelerate particles to high energies. In this paper, we develop a new method to calculate laser acceleration in vacuum based on the energy exchange arising from the interference of the laser field with the radiation field of the particle. We apply this method to a simple accelerating structure, a perfectly conducting screen with a round hole, and show how to optimize the energy gain with respect to the hole radius, laser angle, and spot size, as well as the transverse profile of the laser. Limitations and energy scaling of this acceleration method are also discussed.

Free-electron laser driven by the LBNL laser-plasma accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, C.B.; Fawley, W.M.; Gruner, F.; Bakeman, M.; Nakamura, K.; Robinson, K.E.; Toth, Cs.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W.P.

2008-01-01

A design of a compact free-electron laser (FEL), generating ultra-fast, high-peak flux, XUV pulses is presented. The FEL is driven by ahigh-current, 0.5 GeV electron beam from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) laser-plasma accelerator, whose active acceleration length is only a few centimeters. The proposed ultra-fast source (∼10 fs) would be intrinsically temporally synchronized to the drive laser pulse, enabling pump-probe studies in ultra-fast science. Owing to the high current (>10 kA) of the laser-plasma-accelerated electron beams, saturated output fluxes are potentially greater than 10 13 photons/pulse. Devices based both on self-amplified spontaneous emission and high-harmonic generated input seeds, to reduce undulator length and fluctuations, are considered.

Cerenkov methodology for monitoring irradiated reactor fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicholson, N.; Dowdy, E.J.

1984-01-01

Attribute measurement methods for confirming declared irradiated fuel inventories at nuclear installations under safeguards surveillance are of significant interest to inspectors. High-gain measurements of the intensity of the Cerenkov glow from exposed assemblies in water-filled storage ponds are promising for this purpose because the measured intensities depend on cooling times and burnup. We have developed a Cerenkov Measuring Device, a hand-held instrument that examines irradiated fuel assemblies in water-filled storage ponds and measures the intensity of the associated Cerenkov glow. In addition, we have developed a method for making such high-gain measurements in the presence of intense ambient light

Relativistically Induced Transparency Acceleration (RITA) - laser-plasma accelerated quasi-monoenergetic GeV ion-beams with existing lasers?

Science.gov (United States)

Sahai, Aakash A.

2013-10-01

Laser-plasma ion accelerators have the potential to produce beams with unprecedented characteristics of ultra-short bunch lengths (100s of fs) and high bunch-charge (1010 particles) over acceleration length of about 100 microns. However, creating and controlling mono-energetic bunches while accelerating to high-energies has been a challenge. If high-energy mono-energetic beams can be demonstrated with minimal post-processing, laser (ω0)-plasma (ωpe) ion accelerators may be used in a wide-range of applications such as cancer hadron-therapy, medical isotope production, neutron generation, radiography and high-energy density science. Here we demonstrate using analysis and simulations that using relativistic intensity laser-pulses and heavy-ion (Mi ×me) targets doped with a proton (or light-ion) species (mp ×me) of trace density (at least an order of magnitude below the cold critical density) we can scale up the energy of quasi-mono-energetically accelerated proton (or light-ion) beams while controlling their energy, charge and energy spectrum. This is achieved by controlling the laser propagation into an overdense (ω0 RITA). Desired proton or light-ion energies can be achieved by controlling the velocity of the snowplow, which is shown to scale inversely with the rise-time of the laser (higher energies for shorter pulses) and directly with the scale-length of the plasma density gradient. Similar acceleration can be produced by controlling the increase of the laser frequency (Chirp Induced Transparency Acceleration, ChITA). Work supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF- PHY-0936278. Also, NSF-PHY-0936266 and NSF-PHY-0903039; the US Department of Energy under DEFC02-07ER41500, DE- FG02-92ER40727 and DE-FG52-09NA29552.

Relativistic ion acceleration by ultraintense laser interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, K.; Koga, J.K.; Nakagawa, K.

2001-01-01

There has been a great interest in relativistic particle generation by ultraintense laser interactions with matter. We propose the use of relativistically self-focused laser pulses for the acceleration of ions. Two dimensional PIC simulations are performed, which show the formation of a large positive electrostatic field near the front of a relativistically self-focused laser pulse. Several factors contribute to the acceleration including self-focusing distance, pulse depletion, and plasma density. Ultraintense laser-plasma interactions are capable of generating enormous electrostatic fields of ∼3 TV/m for acceleration of protons with relativistic energies exceeding 1 GeV

Vacuum laser acceleration using a radially polarized CO sub 2 laser beam

CERN Document Server

Liu, Y; He, P

1999-01-01

Utilizing the high-power, radially polarized CO sub 2 laser and high-quality electron beam at the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility, a vacuum laser acceleration scheme is proposed. In this scheme, optics configuration is simple, a small focused beam spot size can be easily maintained, and optical damage becomes less important. At least 0.5 GeV/m acceleration gradient is achievable by 1 TW laser power.

LIGHT: Towards a laser-based accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busold, Simon; Deppert, Oliver; Roth, Markus [Technical University of Darmstadt, Institute for Nuclear Physics, Schlossgartenstrasse 9, 64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Brabetz, Christian [Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Institute for Applied Physics, Max von Laue Strasse 1, 60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Burris-Mog, Trevor; Joost, Martin; Cowan, Tom [Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Blazevic, Abel; Bagnoud, Vincent [GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Zielbauer, Bernhard [GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz Institute Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena (Germany); Kester, Oliver [GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Institute for Applied Physics, Max von Laue Strasse 1, 60438 Frankfurt (Germany)

2012-07-01

Proton acceleration by ultrashort, high intensity laser pulses has been a fast growing field of research during the last decade. The most intensely investigated acceleration mechanism is the TNSA mechanism (Target Normal Sheath Acceleration), providing protons in the multi-MeV-range. For many possible applications, however, the full energy spread and large beam divergence are major draw-backs. Therefore, a pulsed high-field solenoid was used for collimation and energy-selection and is now integrated in a full test stand for a laser-based accelerator at GSI Helmholtz Center, Darmstadt, namely the LIGHT project (Laser Ion Generation, Handling and Transport), which is a collaboration between TU Darmstadt, GSI, HZDR, JWGU Frankfurt and HI Jena. An overview of the new infrastructure, the goals of the LIGHT project, and first experimental results are presented.

Direct longitudinal laser acceleration of electrons in free space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Carbajo

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Compact laser-driven accelerators are pursued heavily worldwide because they make novel methods and tools invented at national laboratories widely accessible in science, health, security, and technology [V. Malka et al., Principles and applications of compact laser-plasma accelerators, Nat. Phys. 4, 447 (2008]. Current leading laser-based accelerator technologies [S. P. D. Mangles et al., Monoenergetic beams of relativistic electrons from intense laser-plasma interactions, Nature (London 431, 535 (2004; T. Toncian et al., Ultrafast laser-driven microlens to focus and energy-select mega-electron volt protons, Science 312, 410 (2006; S. Tokita et al. Single-shot ultrafast electron diffraction with a laser-accelerated sub-MeV electron pulse, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 111911 (2009] rely on a medium to assist the light to particle energy transfer. The medium imposes material limitations or may introduce inhomogeneous fields [J. R. Dwyer et al., Femtosecond electron diffraction: “Making the molecular movie,”, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 364, 741 (2006]. The advent of few cycle ultraintense radially polarized lasers [S. Carbajo et al., Efficient generation of ultraintense few-cycle radially polarized laser pulses, Opt. Lett. 39, 2487 (2014] has ushered in a novel accelerator concept [L. J. Wong and F. X. Kärtner, Direct acceleration of an electron in infinite vacuum by a pulsed radially polarized laser beam, Opt. Express 18, 25035 (2010; F. Pierre-Louis et al. Direct-field electron acceleration with ultrafast radially polarized laser beams: Scaling laws and optimization, J. Phys. B 43, 025401 (2010; Y. I. Salamin, Electron acceleration from rest in vacuum by an axicon Gaussian laser beam, Phys. Rev. A 73, 043402 (2006; C. Varin and M. Piché, Relativistic attosecond electron pulses from a free-space laser-acceleration scheme, Phys. Rev. E 74, 045602 (2006; A. Sell and F. X. Kärtner, Attosecond electron bunches accelerated and

CO2 laser technology for advanced particle accelerators. Revision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pogorelsky, I.V.

1996-06-01

Short-pulse, high-power CO 2 lasers open new prospects for development of ultra-high gradient laser-driven electron accelerators. The advantages of λ=10 μm CO 2 laser radiation over the more widely exploited solid state lasers with λ∼1 μm are based on a λ 2 -proportional ponderomotive potential, λ-proportional phase slippage distance, and λ-proportional scaling of the laser accelerator structures. We show how a picosecond terawatt CO 2 laser that is under construction at the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility may benefit the ATF's experimental program of testing far-field, near-field, and plasma accelerator schemes

Cerenkov fiber sampling calorimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arrington, K.; Kefford, D.; Kennedy, J.; Pisani, R.; Sanzeni, C.; Segall, K.; Wall, D.; Winn, D.R.; Carey, R.; Dye, S.; Miller, J.; Sulak, L.; Worstell, W.; Efremenko, Y.; Kamyshkov, Y.; Savin, A.; Shmakov, K.; Tarkovsky, E.

1994-01-01

Clear optical fibers were used as a Cerenkov sampling media in Pb (electromagnetic) and Cu (hadron) absorbers in spaghetti calorimeters, for high rate and high radiation dose experiments, such as the forward region of high energy colliders. The fiber axes were aligned close to the direction of the incident particles (1 degree--7 degree). The 7 λ deep hadron tower contained 2.8% by volume 1.5 mm diameter core clear plastic fibers. The 27 radiation length deep electromagnetic towers had packing fractions of 6.8% and 7.2% of 1 mm diameter core quartz fibers as the active Cerenkov sampling medium. The energy resolution on electrons and pions, energy response, pulse shapes and angular studies are presented

Gas Cerenkov detector for measuring 16.7-MeV gamma rays from the D(T,γ)5He reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brolley, J.E.; Ladish, J.S.; Lyons, P.B.

1983-01-01

A gas Cerenkov detector has been developed for measuring radiation from the 16.7-MeV gamma branch of the D-T reaction. This has useful applications as a diagnostic tool for weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), as well as for evaluation of ICF targets and Tokomak plasmas. The Cerenkov process was chosen because of excellent time response. A gas radiator allows threshold control to eliminate low-energy background, such as gamma radiation produced by a neutron capture or scattering. The detector consists of a thin aluminum converter to provide energetic pair and Compton electrons, a deflecting magnet, a Cerenkov radiator, and an optical system for collection and detection of Cerenkov light. The radiator is a gas chamber filled with approximately one atmosphere of carbon dioxide. A photodiode is used for light detection. The electron beam from the DOE/EG and G electron linear accelerator at EG and G's Santa Barbara Operations has been used to measure the detector response as functions of electron energy and gas pressure. A Monte Carlo production-transport code is used to calculate geometrical properties of the pair and Compton electron distributions as they enter the Cerenkov radiator. Fluorescence, transition radiation, and other optical backgrounds produced by subthreshold electrons are being evaluated in order to optimize the detector design

En Route: next-generation laser-plasma-based electron accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hidding, Bernhard

2008-05-01

Accelerating electrons to relativistic energies is of fundamental interest, especially in particle physics. Today's accelerator technology, however, is limited by the maximum electric fields which can be created. This thesis presents results on various mechanisms aiming at exploiting the fields in focussed laser pulses and plasma waves for electron acceleration, which can be orders of magnitude higher than with conventional accelerators. With relativistic, underdense laser-plasma-interaction, quasimonoenergetic electron bunches with energies up to ∼50 MeV and normalized emittances of the order of 5mmmrad have been generated. This was achieved by focussing the ∼80 fs, 1 J pulses of the JETI-laser at the FSU Jena to intensities of several 10 19 W=cm 2 into gas jets. The experimental observations could be explained via ''bubble acceleration'', which is based on self-injection and acceleration of electrons in a highly nonlinear breaking plasma wave. For the rst time, this bubble acceleration was achieved explicitly in the self-modulated laser wakefield regime (SMLWFA). This quasimonoenergetic SMLWFA-regime stands out by relaxing dramatically the requirements on the driving laser pulse necessary to trigger bubble acceleration. This is due to self-modulation of the laser pulse in high-density gas jets, leading to ultrashort laser pulse fragments capable of initiating bubble acceleration. Electron bunches with durations < or similar 5 fs can thus be created, which is at least an order of magnitude shorter than with conventional accelerator technology. In addition, more than one laser pulse fragment can be powerful enough to drive a bubble. Distinct double peaks have been observed in the electron spectra, indicating that two quasimonoenergetic electron bunches separated by only few tens of fs have formed. This is backed up by PIC-Simulations (Particle-in-Cell). These results underline the feasibility of the construction of small table-top accelerators, while at the

Laser-driven ion acceleration with hollow laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brabetz, C.; Kester, O.; Busold, S.; Bagnoud, V.; Cowan, T.; Deppert, O.; Jahn, D.; Roth, M.; Schumacher, D.

2015-01-01

The laser-driven acceleration of protons from thin foils irradiated by hollow high-intensity laser beams in the regime of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) is reported for the first time. The use of hollow beams aims at reducing the initial emission solid angle of the TNSA source, due to a flattening of the electron sheath at the target rear side. The experiments were conducted at the PHELIX laser facility at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH with laser intensities in the range from 10 18  W cm −2 to 10 20  W cm −2 . We observed an average reduction of the half opening angle by (3.07±0.42)° or (13.2±2.0)% when the targets have a thickness between 12 μm and 14 μm. In addition, the highest proton energies were achieved with the hollow laser beam in comparison to the typical Gaussian focal spot

Laser-driven ion acceleration with hollow laser beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brabetz, C., E-mail: c.brabetz@gsi.de; Kester, O. [Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, 60323 Frankfurt (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Busold, S.; Bagnoud, V. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz-Institut Jena, 07743 Jena (Germany); Cowan, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Deppert, O.; Jahn, D.; Roth, M. [Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64277 Darmstadt (Germany); Schumacher, D. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany)

2015-01-15

The laser-driven acceleration of protons from thin foils irradiated by hollow high-intensity laser beams in the regime of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) is reported for the first time. The use of hollow beams aims at reducing the initial emission solid angle of the TNSA source, due to a flattening of the electron sheath at the target rear side. The experiments were conducted at the PHELIX laser facility at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH with laser intensities in the range from 10{sup 18} W cm{sup −2} to 10{sup 20} W cm{sup −2}. We observed an average reduction of the half opening angle by (3.07±0.42)° or (13.2±2.0)% when the targets have a thickness between 12 μm and 14 μm. In addition, the highest proton energies were achieved with the hollow laser beam in comparison to the typical Gaussian focal spot.

Enhanced efficiency of plasma acceleration in the laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badziak, J; Rosiński, M; Jabłoński, S; Pisarczyk, T; Chodukowski, T; Parys, P; Rączka, P; Krousky, E; Ullschmied, J; Liska, R; Kucharik, M

2015-01-01

Among various methods for the acceleration of dense plasmas the mechanism called laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration (LICPA) is capable of achieving the highest energetic efficiency. In the LICPA scheme, a projectile placed in a cavity is accelerated along a guiding channel by the laser-induced thermal plasma pressure or by the radiation pressure of an intense laser radiation trapped in the cavity. This arrangement leads to a significant enhancement of the hydrodynamic or electromagnetic forces driving the projectile, relative to standard laser acceleration schemes. The aim of this paper is to review recent experimental and numerical works on LICPA with the emphasis on the acceleration of heavy plasma macroparticles and dense ion beams. The main experimental part concerns the research carried out at the kilojoule sub-nanosecond PALS laser facility in Prague. Our measurements performed at this facility, supported by advanced two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, have demonstrated that the LICPA accelerator working in the long-pulse hydrodynamic regime can be a highly efficient tool for the acceleration of heavy plasma macroparticles to hyper-velocities and the generation of ultra-high-pressure (>100 Mbar) shocks through the collision of the macroparticle with a solid target. The energetic efficiency of the macroparticle acceleration and the shock generation has been found to be significantly higher than that for other laser-based methods used so far. Using particle-in-cell simulations it is shown that the LICPA scheme is highly efficient also in the short-pulse high-intensity regime and, in particular, may be used for production of intense ion beams of multi-MeV to GeV ion energies with the energetic efficiency of tens of per cent, much higher than for conventional laser acceleration schemes. (paper)

Inverse free-electron laser accelerator development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, A.; Gallardo, J.; Steenbergen, A. van; Sandweiss, J.; Fang, J.M.

1994-06-01

The study of the Inverse Free-Electron Laser, as a potential mode of electron acceleration, has been pursued at Brookhaven National Laboratory for a number of years. More recent studies focused on the development of a low energy (few GeV), high gradient, multistage linear accelerator. The authors are presently designing a short accelerator module which will make use of the 50 MeV linac beam and high power (2 x 10 11 W) CO 2 laser beam of the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at the Center for Accelerator Physics (CAP), Brookhaven National Laboratory. These elements will be used in conjunction with a fast excitation (300 μsec pulse duration) variable period wiggler, to carry out an accelerator demonstration stage experiment

High resolution Cerenkov light imaging of induced positron distribution in proton therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, Seiichi, E-mail: s-yama@met.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Fujii, Kento; Morishita, Yuki; Okumura, Satoshi; Komori, Masataka [Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Aichi 461-8673 (Japan); Toshito, Toshiyuki [Department of Proton Therapy Physics, Nagoya Proton Therapy Center, Nagoya City West Medical Center, Aichi 462-8508 (Japan)

2014-11-01

Purpose: In proton therapy, imaging of the positron distribution produced by fragmentation during or soon after proton irradiation is a useful method to monitor the proton range. Although positron emission tomography (PET) is typically used for this imaging, its spatial resolution is limited. Cerenkov light imaging is a new molecular imaging technology that detects the visible photons that are produced from high-speed electrons using a high sensitivity optical camera. Because its inherent spatial resolution is much higher than PET, the authors can measure more precise information of the proton-induced positron distribution with Cerenkov light imaging technology. For this purpose, they conducted Cerenkov light imaging of induced positron distribution in proton therapy. Methods: First, the authors evaluated the spatial resolution of our Cerenkov light imaging system with a {sup 22}Na point source for the actual imaging setup. Then the transparent acrylic phantoms (100 × 100 × 100 mm{sup 3}) were irradiated with two different proton energies using a spot scanning proton therapy system. Cerenkov light imaging of each phantom was conducted using a high sensitivity electron multiplied charge coupled device (EM-CCD) camera. Results: The Cerenkov light’s spatial resolution for the setup was 0.76 ± 0.6 mm FWHM. They obtained high resolution Cerenkov light images of the positron distributions in the phantoms for two different proton energies and made fused images of the reference images and the Cerenkov light images. The depths of the positron distribution in the phantoms from the Cerenkov light images were almost identical to the simulation results. The decay curves derived from the region-of-interests (ROIs) set on the Cerenkov light images revealed that Cerenkov light images can be used for estimating the half-life of the radionuclide components of positrons. Conclusions: High resolution Cerenkov light imaging of proton-induced positron distribution was possible. The

High resolution Cerenkov light imaging of induced positron distribution in proton therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Seiichi; Fujii, Kento; Morishita, Yuki; Okumura, Satoshi; Komori, Masataka; Toshito, Toshiyuki

2014-01-01

Purpose: In proton therapy, imaging of the positron distribution produced by fragmentation during or soon after proton irradiation is a useful method to monitor the proton range. Although positron emission tomography (PET) is typically used for this imaging, its spatial resolution is limited. Cerenkov light imaging is a new molecular imaging technology that detects the visible photons that are produced from high-speed electrons using a high sensitivity optical camera. Because its inherent spatial resolution is much higher than PET, the authors can measure more precise information of the proton-induced positron distribution with Cerenkov light imaging technology. For this purpose, they conducted Cerenkov light imaging of induced positron distribution in proton therapy. Methods: First, the authors evaluated the spatial resolution of our Cerenkov light imaging system with a 22 Na point source for the actual imaging setup. Then the transparent acrylic phantoms (100 × 100 × 100 mm 3 ) were irradiated with two different proton energies using a spot scanning proton therapy system. Cerenkov light imaging of each phantom was conducted using a high sensitivity electron multiplied charge coupled device (EM-CCD) camera. Results: The Cerenkov light’s spatial resolution for the setup was 0.76 ± 0.6 mm FWHM. They obtained high resolution Cerenkov light images of the positron distributions in the phantoms for two different proton energies and made fused images of the reference images and the Cerenkov light images. The depths of the positron distribution in the phantoms from the Cerenkov light images were almost identical to the simulation results. The decay curves derived from the region-of-interests (ROIs) set on the Cerenkov light images revealed that Cerenkov light images can be used for estimating the half-life of the radionuclide components of positrons. Conclusions: High resolution Cerenkov light imaging of proton-induced positron distribution was possible. The authors

The laser accelerator-another unicorn in the garden

Science.gov (United States)

Hand, L. N.

1981-07-01

Some proposed techniques for using laser beams to accelerate charged particles was reviewed. Two specific ideas for grating type accelerating structures are discussed. Speculations are presented about how a successful laser accelerator could be used in a multipass collider; a type of machine which would have characteristics intermediate between those of synchrotrons and linear (single pass) colliders. No definite conclusions about practical structures for laser accelerators are reached, but it is suggested that a serious effort be made to design a small prototype machine. Achieving a reasonable luminosity demands that the accelerator either be a cw machine or that laser peak power requirements to be much higher than those presently available. Use of superconducting gratings requires a wavelength in the sub-millimeter range.

The laser accelerator-another unicorn in the garden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hand, L.N.

1981-07-01

Some proposed techniques for using laser beams to accelerate charged particles are reviewed. Two specific ideas for ''grating-type'' accelerating structures are discussed. Speculations are presented about how a successful laser accelerator could be used in a ''multi-pass collider'', a type of machine which would have characteristics intermediate between those of synchrotrons and linear (single-pass) colliders. No definite conclusions about practical structures for laser accelerators are reached, but it is suggested that a serious effort be made to design a small prototype machine. Achieving a reasonable luminosity demands that the accelerator either be a cw machine or that laser peak power requirements be much higher than those presently available. Use of superconducting gratings requires a wavelength in the sub-millimeter range. (author)

Laser vacuum acceleration of a relativistic electron bunch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glazyrin, I V; Karpeev, A V; Kotova, O G; Nazarov, K S [E.I. Zababakhin All-Russian Scientific-Research Institute of Technical Physics, Russian Federal Nuclear Centre, Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk region (Russian Federation); Bychenkov, V Yu [P N Lebedev Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2015-06-30

With regard to the problem of laser acceleration of a relativistic electron bunch we present a scheme of its vacuum acceleration directly by a relativistic intensity laser pulse. The energy of the electron bunch injected into the laser pulse leading edge increases during its coaxial movement to a thin, pulse-reflecting target. The laser-accelerated electrons continue to move free forward, passing through the target. The study of this acceleration scheme in the three-dimensional geometry is verified in a numerical simulation by the particle-in-cell method, which showed that the energy of a part of the electrons can increase significantly compared to the initial one. Restrictions are discussed, which impose limiting values of energy and total charge of accelerated electrons. (superstrong light fields)

Laser driven particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faure, J.

2009-06-01

This dissertation summarizes the last ten years of research at the Laboratory of Applied Optics on laser-plasma based electron acceleration. The main result consists of the development and study of a relativistic electron source with unique properties: high energy (100-300 MeV) in short distances (few millimeters), mono-energetic, ultra-short (few fs), stable and tunable. The manuscript describes the steps that led to understanding the physics, and then mastering it in order to produce this new electron source. Non linear propagation of the laser pulse in the plasma is first presented, with phenomena such as non linear wakefield excitation, relativistic and ponderomotive self-focusing in the short pulse regime, self-compression. Acceleration and injection of electrons are then reviewed from a theoretical perspective. Experimental demonstrations of self-injection in the bubble regime and then colliding pulse injection are then presented. These experiments were among the first to produce monoenergetic, high quality, stable and tunable electron beams from a laser-plasma accelerator. The last two chapters are dedicated to the characterization of the electron beam using transition radiation and to its applications to gamma radiography and radiotherapy. Finally, the perspectives of this research are presented in the conclusion. Scaling laws are used to determine the parameters that the electron beams will reach using peta-watt laser systems currently under construction. (author)

Probing electron acceleration and x-ray emission in laser-plasma accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thaury, C.; Ta Phuoc, K.; Corde, S.; Brijesh, P.; Lambert, G.; Malka, V.; Mangles, S. P. D.; Bloom, M. S.; Kneip, S.

2013-01-01

While laser-plasma accelerators have demonstrated a strong potential in the acceleration of electrons up to giga-electronvolt energies, few experimental tools for studying the acceleration physics have been developed. In this paper, we demonstrate a method for probing the acceleration process. A second laser beam, propagating perpendicular to the main beam, is focused on the gas jet few nanosecond before the main beam creates the accelerating plasma wave. This second beam is intense enough to ionize the gas and form a density depletion, which will locally inhibit the acceleration. The position of the density depletion is scanned along the interaction length to probe the electron injection and acceleration, and the betatron X-ray emission. To illustrate the potential of the method, the variation of the injection position with the plasma density is studied

Laser-driven ion acceleration: methods, challenges and prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Badziak, J.

2018-01-01

The recent development of laser technology has resulted in the construction of short-pulse lasers capable of generating fs light pulses with PW powers and intensities exceeding 1021 W/cm2, and has laid the basis for the multi-PW lasers, just being built in Europe, that will produce fs pulses of ultra-relativistic intensities ~ 1023 - 1024 W/cm2. The interaction of such an intense laser pulse with a dense target can result in the generation of collimated beams of ions of multi-MeV to GeV energies of sub-ps time durations and of extremely high beam intensities and ion fluencies, barely attainable with conventional RF-driven accelerators. Ion beams with such unique features have the potential for application in various fields of scientific research as well as in medical and technological developments. This paper provides a brief review of state-of-the art in laser-driven ion acceleration, with a focus on basic ion acceleration mechanisms and the production of ultra-intense ion beams. The challenges facing laser-driven ion acceleration studies, in particular those connected with potential applications of laser-accelerated ion beams, are also discussed.

The chirped-pulse inverse free-electron laser: A high-gradient vacuum laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartemann, F.V.; Landahl, E.C.; Troha, A.L.; Van Meter, J.R.; Baldis, H.A.; Freeman, R.R.; Luhmann, N.C. Jr.; Song, L.; Kerman, A.K.; Yu, D.U.

1999-01-01

The inverse free-electron laser (IFEL) interaction is studied theoretically and computationally in the case where the drive laser intensity approaches the relativistic regime, and the pulse duration is only a few optical cycles long. The IFEL concept has been demonstrated as a viable vacuum laser acceleration process; it is shown here that by using an ultrashort, ultrahigh-intensity drive laser pulse, the IFEL interaction bandwidth and accelerating gradient are increased considerably, thus yielding large energy gains. Using a chirped pulse and negative dispersion focusing optics allows one to take further advantage of the laser optical bandwidth and produce a chromatic line focus maximizing the gradient. The combination of these novel ideas results in a compact vacuum laser accelerator capable of accelerating picosecond electron bunches with a high gradient (GeV/m) and very low energy spread. copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics

Distribution uniformity of laser-accelerated proton beams

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jun-Gao; Zhu, Kun; Tao, Li; Xu, Xiao-Han; Lin, Chen; Ma, Wen-Jun; Lu, Hai-Yang; Zhao, Yan-Ying; Lu, Yuan-Rong; Chen, Jia-Er; Yan, Xue-Qing

2017-09-01

Compared with conventional accelerators, laser plasma accelerators can generate high energy ions at a greatly reduced scale, due to their TV/m acceleration gradient. A compact laser plasma accelerator (CLAPA) has been built at the Institute of Heavy Ion Physics at Peking University. It will be used for applied research like biological irradiation, astrophysics simulations, etc. A beamline system with multiple quadrupoles and an analyzing magnet for laser-accelerated ions is proposed here. Since laser-accelerated ion beams have broad energy spectra and large angular divergence, the parameters (beam waist position in the Y direction, beam line layout, drift distance, magnet angles etc.) of the beamline system are carefully designed and optimised to obtain a radially symmetric proton distribution at the irradiation platform. Requirements of energy selection and differences in focusing or defocusing in application systems greatly influence the evolution of proton distributions. With optimal parameters, radially symmetric proton distributions can be achieved and protons with different energy spread within ±5% have similar transverse areas at the experiment target. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11575011, 61631001) and National Grand Instrument Project (2012YQ030142)

High power laser exciter accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, T.H.

1975-01-01

Recent developments in untriggered oil and water switching now permit the construction of compact, high energy density pulsed power sources for laser excitation. These accelerators, developed principally for electron beam fusion studies, appear adaptable to laser excitation and will provide electron beams of 10 13 to 10 14 W in the next several years. The accelerators proposed for e-beam fusion essentially concentrate the available power from the outside edge of a disk into the central region where the electron beam is formed. One of the main problem areas, that of power flow at the vacuum diode insulator, is greatly alleviated by the multiplicity of electron beams that are allowable for laser excitation. A proposal is made whereby the disk-shaped pulsed power sections are stacked vertically to form a series of radially flowing electron beams to excite the laser gas volume. (auth)

Proof on principle experiments of laser wakefield acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, K.; Kawakubo, T.; Nakanishi, H.

1994-01-01

The principle of laser wakefield particle acceleration has been tested by the Nd:glass laser system providing a short pulse with a power of 10 TW and a duration of 1 ps. Electrons accelerated up to 18 MeV/c have been observed by injecting 1 MeV/c electrons emitted from a solid target by an intense laser impact. The accelerating field gradient of 30 GeV/m is inferred. (author)

Laser plasma acceleration of electrons with multi-PW laser beams in the frame of CILEX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cros, B., E-mail: brigitte.cros@u-psud.fr [LPGP, CNRS and Université Paris Sud, Orsay (France); Paradkar, B.S. [LPGP, CNRS and Université Paris Sud, Orsay (France); Davoine, X. [CEA DAM DIF, Arpajon F-91297 (France); Chancé, A. [CEA IRFU-SACM, Gif-Sur-Yvette (France); Desforges, F.G. [LPGP, CNRS and Université Paris Sud, Orsay (France); Dobosz-Dufrénoy, S. [CEA DSM-IRAMIS-SPAM, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Delerue, N. [LAL, CNRS and Universit Paris Sud, Orsay (France); Ju, J.; Audet, T.L.; Maynard, G. [LPGP, CNRS and Université Paris Sud, Orsay (France); Lobet, M.; Gremillet, L. [CEA DAM DIF, Arpajon F-91297 (France); Mora, P. [CPhT, CNRS and Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France); Schwindling, J.; Delferrière, O. [CEA IRFU-SACM, Gif-Sur-Yvette (France); Bruni, C.; Rimbault, C.; Vinatier, T. [LAL, CNRS and Universit Paris Sud, Orsay (France); Di Piazza, A. [Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Grech, M. [LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, Palaiseau (France); and others

2014-03-11

Laser plasma acceleration of electrons has progressed along with advances in laser technology. It is thus expected that the development in the near-future of multi-PW-class laser and facilities will enable a vast range of scientific opportunities for laser plasma acceleration research. On one hand, high peak powers can be used to explore the extremely high intensity regime of laser wakefield acceleration, producing for example large amounts of electrons in the GeV range or generating high energy photons. On the other hand, the available laser energy can be used in the quasi-linear regime to create accelerating fields in large volumes of plasma and study controlled acceleration in a plasma stage of externally injected relativistic particles, either electrons or positrons. In the frame of the Centre Interdisciplinaire de la Lumière EXtrême (CILEX), the Apollon-10P laser will deliver two beams at the 1 PW and 10 PW levels, in ultra-short (>15fs) pulses, to a target area dedicated to electron acceleration studies, such as the exploration of the non-linear regimes predicted theoretically, or multi-stage laser plasma acceleration.

Electron acceleration by femtosecond laser interaction with micro-structured plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Goers, Andy James

Laser-driven accelerators are a promising and compact alternative to RF accelerator technology for generating relativistic electron bunches for medical, scientific, and security applications. This dissertation presents three experiments using structured plasmas designed to advance the state of the art in laser-based electron accelerators, with the goal of reducing the energy of the drive laser pulse and enabling higher repetition rate operation with current laser technology. First, electron acceleration by intense femtosecond laser pulses in He-like nitrogen plasma waveguides is demonstrated. Second, significant progress toward a proof of concept realization of quasi-phasematched direct acceleration (QPM-DLA) is presented. Finally, a laser wakefield accelerator at very high plasma density is studied, enabling relativistic electron beam generation with ˜10 mJ pulse energies. Major results from these experiments include: • Acceleration of electrons up to 120 MeV from an ionization injected wakefield accelerator driven in a 1.5 mm long He-like nitrogen plasma waveguide • Guiding of an intense, quasi-radially polarized femtosecond laser pulse in a 1 cm plasma waveguide. This pulse provides a strong drive field for the QPM-DLA concept. • Wakefield acceleration of electrons up to ˜10 MeV with sub-terawatt, ˜10 mJ pulses interacting with a thin (˜200 mum), high density (>1020 cm-3) plasma. • Observation of an intense, coherent, broadband wave breaking radiation flash from a high plasma density laser wakefield accelerator. The flash radiates > 1% of the drive laser pulse energy in a bandwidth consistent with half-cycle (˜1 fs) emission from violent unidirectional acceleration of electron bunches from rest. These results open the way to high repetition rate (>˜kHz) laser-driven generation of relativistic electron beams with existing laser technology.

Dynamics of electron acceleration in laser-driven wakefields. Acceleration limits and asymmetric plasma waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popp, Antonia

2011-12-16

The experiments presented in this thesis study several aspects of electron acceleration in a laser-driven plasma wave. High-intensity lasers can efficiently drive a plasma wave that sustains electric fields on the order of 100 GV/m. Electrons that are trapped in this plasma wave can be accelerated to GeV-scale energies. As the accelerating fields in this scheme are 3-4 orders of magnitude higher than in conventional radio-frequency accelerators, the necessary acceleration distance can be reduced by the same factor, turning laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA) into a promising compact, and potentially cheaper, alternative. However, laser-accelerated electron bunches have not yet reached the parameter standards of conventional accelerators. This work will help to gain better insight into the acceleration process and to optimize the electron bunch properties. The 25 fs, 1.8 J-pulses of the ATLAS laser at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics were focused into a steady-state flow gas cell. This very reproducible and turbulence-free gas target allows for stable acceleration of electron bunches. Thus the sensitivity of electron parameters to subtle changes of the experimental setup could be determined with meaningful statistics. At optimized experimental parameters, electron bunches of {approx}50 pC total charge were accelerated to energies up to 450 MeV with a divergence of {approx}2 mrad FWHM. As, in a new design of the gas cell, its length can be varied from 2 to 14 mm, the electron bunch energy could be evaluated after different acceleration distances, at two different electron densities. From this evolution important acceleration parameters could be extracted. At an electron density of 6.43. 10{sup 18} cm{sup -3} the maximum electric field strength in the plasma wave was determined to be {approx}160 GV/m. The length after which the relativistic electrons outrun the accelerating phase of the electric field and are decelerated again, the so-called dephasing length

Dynamics of electron acceleration in laser-driven wakefields. Acceleration limits and asymmetric plasma waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popp, Antonia

2011-01-01

The experiments presented in this thesis study several aspects of electron acceleration in a laser-driven plasma wave. High-intensity lasers can efficiently drive a plasma wave that sustains electric fields on the order of 100 GV/m. Electrons that are trapped in this plasma wave can be accelerated to GeV-scale energies. As the accelerating fields in this scheme are 3-4 orders of magnitude higher than in conventional radio-frequency accelerators, the necessary acceleration distance can be reduced by the same factor, turning laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA) into a promising compact, and potentially cheaper, alternative. However, laser-accelerated electron bunches have not yet reached the parameter standards of conventional accelerators. This work will help to gain better insight into the acceleration process and to optimize the electron bunch properties. The 25 fs, 1.8 J-pulses of the ATLAS laser at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics were focused into a steady-state flow gas cell. This very reproducible and turbulence-free gas target allows for stable acceleration of electron bunches. Thus the sensitivity of electron parameters to subtle changes of the experimental setup could be determined with meaningful statistics. At optimized experimental parameters, electron bunches of ∼50 pC total charge were accelerated to energies up to 450 MeV with a divergence of ∼2 mrad FWHM. As, in a new design of the gas cell, its length can be varied from 2 to 14 mm, the electron bunch energy could be evaluated after different acceleration distances, at two different electron densities. From this evolution important acceleration parameters could be extracted. At an electron density of 6.43. 10 18 cm -3 the maximum electric field strength in the plasma wave was determined to be ∼160 GV/m. The length after which the relativistic electrons outrun the accelerating phase of the electric field and are decelerated again, the so-called dephasing length, was found to be 4.9 mm

Mid-infrared lasers for energy frontier plasma accelerators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. V. Pogorelsky

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Plasma wake field accelerators driven with solid-state near-IR lasers have been considered as an alternative to conventional rf accelerators for next-generation TeV-class lepton colliders. Here, we extend this study to the mid-IR spectral domain covered by CO_{2} lasers. We conclude that the increase in the laser driver wavelength favors the regime of laser wake field acceleration with a low plasma density and high electric charge. This regime is the most beneficial for gamma colliders to be converted from lepton colliders via inverse Compton scattering. Selecting a laser wavelength to drive a Compton gamma source is essential for the design of such a machine. The revealed benefits from spectral diversification of laser drivers for future colliders and off-spring applications validate ongoing efforts in advancing the ultrafast CO_{2} laser technology.

Towards external injection in laser wakefield acceleration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stragier, X.F.D.

2011-01-01

In laser wakefield acceleration (LWA) a plasma wave is driven by a high intensity ultra short laser pulse and the longitudinal electric fields in the plasma wave are used to accelerate electron bunches. Electrons with an appropriate kinetic energy, injected on the right phase of the plasma wave, get

Laser-driven wakefield electron acceleration and associated radiation sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davoine, X.

2009-10-01

The first part of this research thesis introduces the basic concepts needed for the understanding of the laser-driven wakefield acceleration. It describes the properties of the used laser beams and plasmas, presents some notions about laser-plasma interactions for a better understanding of the physics of laser-driven acceleration. The second part deals with the numerical modelling and the presentation of simulation tools needed for the investigation of laser-induced wakefield acceleration. The last part deals with the optical control of the injection, a technique analogous to the impulsion collision scheme

Laser-plasma booster for ion post acceleration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satoh D.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available A remarkable ion energy increase is demonstrated for post acceleration by a laser-plasma booster. An intense short-pulse laser generates a strong current by high-energy electrons accelerated, when this intense short-pulse laser illuminates a plasma target. The strong electric current creates a strong magnetic field along the high-energy electron current in plasma. During the increase phase in the magnetic field, a longitudinal inductive electric field is induced for the forward ion acceleration by the Faraday law. Our 2.5-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate a remarkable increase in ion energy by several tens of MeV.

A proposed laser wakefield acceleration experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebrahim, N.A.

1995-05-01

In this report we discuss the basic concepts of a laser wakefield experiment using an ultrashort laser pulse. In particular, we obtain some heuristic estimates of experimental parameters relevant to an experiment to test the laser wakefield acceleration concept. (author). 8 refs., 2 tabs

Summary Report of Working Group 1: Laser-Plasma Acceleration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geddes, C.G.R.; Clayton, C.; Lu, W.; Thomas, A.G.R.

2010-06-01

Advances in and physics of the acceleration of particles using underdense plasma structures driven by lasers were the topics of presentations and discussions in Working Group 1 of the 2010 Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop. Such accelerators have demonstrated gradients several orders beyond conventional machines, with quasi-monoenergetic beams at MeV-GeV energies, making them attractive candidates for next generation accelerators. Workshop discussions included advances in control over injection and laser propagation to further improve beam quality and stability, detailed diagnostics and physics models of the acceleration process, radiation generation as a source and diagnostic, and technological tools and upcoming facilities to extend the reach of laser-plasma accelerators.

Summary Report of Working Group 1: Laser-Plasma Acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geddes, C.G.R.; Clayton, C.; Lu, W.; Thomas, A.G.R.

2010-01-01

Advances in and physics of the acceleration of particles using underdense plasma structures driven by lasers were the topics of presentations and discussions in Working Group 1 of the 2010 Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop. Such accelerators have demonstrated gradients several orders beyond conventional machines, with quasi-monoenergetic beams at MeV-GeV energies, making them attractive candidates for next generation accelerators. Workshop discussions included advances in control over injection and laser propagation to further improve beam quality and stability, detailed diagnostics and physics models of the acceleration process, radiation generation as a source and diagnostic, and technological tools and upcoming facilities to extend the reach of laser-plasma accelerators.

Laser wakefield electron acceleration. A novel approach employing supersonic microjets and few-cycle laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmid, Karl

2011-01-01

This thesis covers the few-cycle laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a laser-generated plasma. This process, known as laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), relies on strongly driven plasma waves for the generation of accelerating gradients in the vicinity of several 100 GV/m, a value four orders of magnitude larger than that attainable by conventional accelerators. This thesis demonstrates that laser pulses with an ultrashort duration of 8 fs and a peak power of 6 TW allow the production of electron energies up to 50 MeV via LWFA. The special properties of laser accelerated electron pulses, namely the ultrashort pulse duration, the high brilliance, and the high charge density, open up new possibilities in many applications of these electron beams. (orig.)

179th International School of Physics "Enrico Fermi" : Laser-Plasma Acceleration

CERN Document Server

Gizzi, L A; Faccini, R

2012-01-01

Impressive progress has been made in the field of laser-plasma acceleration in the last decade, with outstanding achievements from both experimental and theoretical viewpoints. Closely exploiting the development of ultra-intense, ultrashort pulse lasers, laser-plasma acceleration has developed rapidly, achieving accelerating gradients of the order of tens of GeV/m, and making the prospect of miniature accelerators a more realistic possibility. This book presents the lectures delivered at the Enrico Fermi International School of Physics and summer school: "Laser-Plasma Acceleration" , held in Varenna, Italy, in June 2011. The school provided an opportunity for young scientists to experience the best from the worlds of laser-plasma and accelerator physics, with intensive training and hands-on opportunities related to key aspects of laser-plasma acceleration. Subjects covered include: the secrets of lasers; the power of numerical simulations; beam dynamics; and the elusive world of laboratory plasmas. The object...

Transverse particle acceleration techniques using lasers and masers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoen, N.C.

1983-01-01

The concept discussed herein uses an intense traveling electromagnetic wave, produced by a laser or maser source, to accelerate electrons in the Rayleigh region of a focused beam. Although the possibility of non-synchronous acceleration has been considered, very little analysis of potential device configurations has been reported. Computer simulations of the acceleration process indicate practical figure of merit values in the range of 100 MeV/m for achievable electric field strengths with current technology. The development of compact, high energy electron accelerators will provide an essential component for many new technologies. Such as high power free electron lasers, X-ray and VUV sources, and high power millimeter and microwave devices. Considerable effort has been directed toward studies of new concepts for electron acceleration, including inverse free electron lasers, GYRACS, and modified betatrons

Method for monitoring irradiated nuclear fuel using cerenkov radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caldwell, J.T.; Dowdy, E.J.; Nicholson, N.

1983-01-01

A method is provided for monitoring irradiated nuclear fuel inventories located in a water-filled storage pond wherein the intensity of the cerenkov radiation emitted from the water in the vicinity of the nuclear fuel is measured. This intensity is then compared with the expected intensity for nuclear fuel having a corresponding degree of irradiation exposure and time period after removal from a reactor core. Where the nuclear fuel inventory is located in an assembly having fuel pins or rods with intervening voids, the cerenkov light intensity measurement is taken at selected bright spots corresponding to the water-filled interstices of the assembly in the water storage, the waterfilled interstices acting as cerenkov light channels so as to reduce cross-talk. On-line digital analysis of an analog video signal is possible, or video tapes may be used for later measurement using a video editor and an electrometer. Direct measurement of the cerenkov radiation intensity also is possible using spot photometers pointed at the assembly

Photonic laser-driven accelerator for GALAXIE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naranjo, B.; Ho, M.; Hoang, P.; Putterman, S.; Valloni, A.; Rosenzweig, J. B. [UCLA Dept. of Physics and Astronomy Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States)

2012-12-21

We report on the design and development of an all-dielectric laser-driven accelerator to be used in the GALAXIE (GV-per-meter Acce Lerator And X-ray-source Integrated Experiment) project's compact free-electron laser. The approach of our working design is to construct eigenmodes, borrowing from the field of photonics, which yield the appropriate, highly demanding dynamics in a high-field, short wavelength accelerator. Topics discussed include transverse focusing, power coupling, bunching, and fabrication.

High energy gain electron beam acceleration by 100TW laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotaki, Hideyuki; Kando, Masaki; Kondo, Shuji; Hosokai, Tomonao; Kanazawa, Shuhei; Yokoyama, Takashi; Matoba, Toru; Nakajima, Kazuhisa

2001-01-01

A laser wakefield acceleration experiment using a 100TW laser is planed at JAERI-Kansai. High quality and short pulse electron beams are necessary to accelerate the electron beam by the laser. Electron beam - laser synchronization is also necessary. A microtron with a photocathode rf-gun was prepared as a high quality electron injector. The quantum efficiency (QE) of the photocathode of 2x10 -5 was obtained. A charge of 100pC from the microtron was measured. The emittance and pulse width of the electron beam was 6π mm-mrad and 10ps, respectively. In order to produce a short pulse electron beam, and to synchronize between the electron beam and the laser pulse, an inverse free electron laser (IFEL) is planned. One of problems of LWFA is the short acceleration length. In order to overcome the problem, a Z-pinch plasma waveguide will be prepared as a laser wakefield acceleration tube for 1 GeV acceleration. (author)

Staged electron laser accelerator (STELLA) experiment at brookhaven ATF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pogorelsky, I V; Steenbergen, A van; Gallardo, J C [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States); and others

1998-03-01

The STELLA experiment is being prepared at the BNL Accelerator Test Facility (STF). The goal of the experiment is to demonstrate quasi-monochromatic inverse Cherenkov acceleration (ICA) of electrons bunched to the laser wavelength period. Microbunches on the order of 2 {mu}m in length separated by 10.6 {mu}m will be produced using an inverse free electron laser (IFEL) accelerator driven by a CO{sub 2} laser. The design and simulations for two phases of this experiment including demonstration of 10 MeV and 100 MeV acceleration are presented. (author)

Ion acceleration from relativistic laser nano-target

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Daniel

2012-01-06

Laser-ion acceleration has been of particular interest over the last decade for fundamental as well as applied sciences. Remarkable progress has been made in realizing laser-driven accelerators that are cheap and very compact compared with conventional rf-accelerators. Proton and ion beams have been produced with particle energies of up to 50 MeV and several MeV/u, respectively, with outstanding properties in terms of transverse emittance and current. These beams typically exhibit an exponentially decaying energy distribution, but almost all advanced applications, such as oncology, proton imaging or fast ignition, require quasimonoenergetic beams with a low energy spread. The majority of the experiments investigated ion acceleration in the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) regime with comparably thick targets in the {mu}m range. In this thesis ion acceleration is investigated from nm-scaled targets, which are partially produced at the University of Munich with thickness as low as 3 nm. Experiments have been carried out at LANL's Trident high-power and high-contrast laser (80 J, 500 fs, {lambda}=1054 nm), where ion acceleration with these nano-targets occurs during the relativistic transparency of the target, in the so-called Breakout afterburner (BOA) regime. With a novel high resolution and high dispersion Thomson parabola and ion wide angle spectrometer, thickness dependencies of the ions angular distribution, particle number, average and maximum energy have been measured. Carbon C{sup 6+} energies reached 650 MeV and 1 GeV for unheated and heated targets, respectively, and proton energies peaked at 75 MeV and 120 MeV for diamond and CH{sub 2} targets. Experimental data is presented, where the conversion efficiency into carbon C{sup 6+} (protons) is investigated and found to have an up to 10fold (5fold) increase over the TNSA regime. With circularly polarized laser light, quasi-monoenergetic carbon ions have been generated from the same nm-scaled foil

Characterisation of electron beams from laser-driven particle accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunetti, E.; Manahan, G. G.; Shanks, R. P.; Islam, M. R.; Ersfeld, B.; Anania, M. P.; Cipiccia, S.; Issac, R. C.; Vieux, G.; Welsh, G. H.; Wiggins, S. M.; Jaroszynski, D. A. [Physics Department, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom)

2012-12-21

The development, understanding and application of laser-driven particle accelerators require accurate measurements of the beam properties, in particular emittance, energy spread and bunch length. Here we report measurements and simulations showing that laser wakefield accelerators can produce beams of quality comparable to conventional linear accelerators.

Laser and Particle Guiding Micro-Elements for Particle Accelerators

CERN Document Server

Plettner, Tomas; Spencer, James; Wisdom, Jeffrey

2005-01-01

Laser driven particle accelerators based on the current generation of lasers will require sub-micron control of the laser field as well as precise beam guiding. Hence the fabrication techniques that allow integrating both elements into an accelerator-on-chip format become critical for the success of such particle accelerators. Micromachining technology for silicon has been shown to be one such feasible technology in PAC2003 but with a variety of complications on the laser side. Fortunately, in recent years the fabrication of transparent ceramics has become an interesting technology that could be applied for laser-particle accelerators in several ways. We discuss this area, its advantages such as the range of materials it provides and various ways to implement it followed by some different test examples that have been considered. One important goal of this approach is an integrated system that could avoid the necessity of having to inject either laser or particle pulses into these structures.

Laser technology inspires new accelerator concepts

CERN Multimedia

Katarina Anthony

2012-01-01

A new EU-funded research network, LA³NET, is bringing together universities, research centres and industry partners worldwide to explore the use of laser technology in particle beam generation, acceleration and diagnostics. As one of the network partners, CERN will be hosting three early stage researchers in the BE and EN Departments.   One of the laser systems now in use in the ISOLDE experiment. If you take a closer look at recent experimental developments, you’ll notice a new topic trending: laser technology. It’s being used to study the characteristics of particles, as incorporated into the new ALPHA-2 set-up; to conduct diagnostics of particle beams, as used in a laser wire scanner at Petra III; to “breed” unusual ion beams, as carried out by ISOLDE’s Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS); and even to accelerate particles to high energies, as explored at Berkeley’s BELLA facility. These projects notwithstanding...

Laser-ablation-based ion source characterization and manipulation for laser-driven ion acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Sommer, P.; Metzkes-Ng, J.; Brack, F.-E.; Cowan, T. E.; Kraft, S. D.; Obst, L.; Rehwald, M.; Schlenvoigt, H.-P.; Schramm, U.; Zeil, K.

2018-05-01

For laser-driven ion acceleration from thin foils (∼10 μm–100 nm) in the target normal sheath acceleration regime, the hydro-carbon contaminant layer at the target surface generally serves as the ion source and hence determines the accelerated ion species, i.e. mainly protons, carbon and oxygen ions. The specific characteristics of the source layer—thickness and relevant lateral extent—as well as its manipulation have both been investigated since the first experiments on laser-driven ion acceleration using a variety of techniques from direct source imaging to knife-edge or mesh imaging. In this publication, we present an experimental study in which laser ablation in two fluence regimes (low: F ∼ 0.6 J cm‑2, high: F ∼ 4 J cm‑2) was applied to characterize and manipulate the hydro-carbon source layer. The high-fluence ablation in combination with a timed laser pulse for particle acceleration allowed for an estimation of the relevant source layer thickness for proton acceleration. Moreover, from these data and independently from the low-fluence regime, the lateral extent of the ion source layer became accessible.

A proof of principle experiment of laser wakefield accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, K.; Enomoto, A.; Nakanishi, H.; Ogata, A.; Kato, Y.; Kitagawa, Y.; Mima, K.; Shiraga, H.; Yamakawa, K.; Downer, M.; Horton, W.; Newberger, B.; Tajima, T.

1992-01-01

Ultrashort super-intense lasers allow us to test a principle of the laser wakefield particle acceleration. The peak power of 30 TW and the pulse width of 1 ps produced by the Nd:glass laser system is capable of creating a highly-ionized plasma of a moderate density gas in an ultrafast time scale and generating a large amplitude plasma wave with the accelerating gradient of 2.5 GeV/m. Particle acceleration can be demonstrated by injecting a few MeV electrons emitted from a solid target by intense laser irradiation. (Author) 2 figs., 5 refs

Advanced approaches to high intensity laser-driven ion acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henig, Andreas

2010-01-01

Since the pioneering work that was carried out 10 years ago, the generation of highly energetic ion beams from laser-plasma interactions has been investigated in much detail in the regime of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA). Creation of ion beams with small longitudinal and transverse emittance and energies extending up to tens of MeV fueled visions of compact, laser-driven ion sources for applications such as ion beam therapy of tumors or fast ignition inertial con finement fusion. However, new pathways are of crucial importance to push the current limits of laser-generated ion beams further towards parameters necessary for those applications. The presented PhD work was intended to develop and explore advanced approaches to high intensity laser-driven ion acceleration that reach beyond TNSA. In this spirit, ion acceleration from two novel target systems was investigated, namely mass-limited microspheres and nm-thin, free-standing diamond-like carbon (DLC) foils. Using such ultrathin foils, a new regime of ion acceleration was found where the laser transfers energy to all electrons located within the focal volume. While for TNSA the accelerating electric field is stationary and ion acceleration is spatially separated from laser absorption into electrons, now a localized longitudinal field enhancement is present that co-propagates with the ions as the accompanying laser pulse pushes the electrons forward. Unprecedented maximum ion energies were obtained, reaching beyond 0.5 GeV for carbon C 6+ and thus exceeding previous TNSA results by about one order of magnitude. When changing the laser polarization to circular, electron heating and expansion were shown to be efficiently suppressed, resulting for the first time in a phase-stable acceleration that is dominated by the laser radiation pressure which led to the observation of a peaked C 6+ spectrum. Compared to quasi-monoenergetic ion beam generation within the TNSA regime, a more than 40 times increase in

Advanced approaches to high intensity laser-driven ion acceleration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henig, Andreas

2010-04-26

Since the pioneering work that was carried out 10 years ago, the generation of highly energetic ion beams from laser-plasma interactions has been investigated in much detail in the regime of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA). Creation of ion beams with small longitudinal and transverse emittance and energies extending up to tens of MeV fueled visions of compact, laser-driven ion sources for applications such as ion beam therapy of tumors or fast ignition inertial con finement fusion. However, new pathways are of crucial importance to push the current limits of laser-generated ion beams further towards parameters necessary for those applications. The presented PhD work was intended to develop and explore advanced approaches to high intensity laser-driven ion acceleration that reach beyond TNSA. In this spirit, ion acceleration from two novel target systems was investigated, namely mass-limited microspheres and nm-thin, free-standing diamond-like carbon (DLC) foils. Using such ultrathin foils, a new regime of ion acceleration was found where the laser transfers energy to all electrons located within the focal volume. While for TNSA the accelerating electric field is stationary and ion acceleration is spatially separated from laser absorption into electrons, now a localized longitudinal field enhancement is present that co-propagates with the ions as the accompanying laser pulse pushes the electrons forward. Unprecedented maximum ion energies were obtained, reaching beyond 0.5 GeV for carbon C{sup 6+} and thus exceeding previous TNSA results by about one order of magnitude. When changing the laser polarization to circular, electron heating and expansion were shown to be efficiently suppressed, resulting for the first time in a phase-stable acceleration that is dominated by the laser radiation pressure which led to the observation of a peaked C{sup 6+} spectrum. Compared to quasi-monoenergetic ion beam generation within the TNSA regime, a more than 40 times

Collective ion acceleration via laser controlled ionization channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Destler, W.W.; O'Shea, P.G.; Rodgers, J.; Segalov, Z.

1987-01-01

Initial results from a successful laser-controlled collective ion acceleration experiment at the University of Maryland are presented. In the experiment, positive ions are trapped in the potential well at the head of an intense relativistic electron beam injected at current levels above the space charge limit. Seed ions for acceleration are provided by puff valve injection of a neutral gas cloud localized to within 3 cm of the injection point. Control over the acceleration of the well and the ions is then achieved by means of a laser-generated ionization channel produced by passing the light from a Q-switched ruby laser through a series of partially and fully reflecting mirrors in such a way as to provide time-sequenced laser ionization of a target located on the drift tube wall. Using this system, controlled acceleration of protons at a rate of approximately 40 MV/m has been demonstrated over a distance of about 50 cm

Tunable Laser Plasma Accelerator based on Longitudinal Density Tailoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonsalves, Anthony; Nakamura, Kei; Lin, Chen; Panasenko, Dmitriy; Shiraishi, Satomi; Sokollik, Thomas; Benedetti, Carlo; Schroeder, Carl; Geddes, Cameron; Tilborg, Jeroen van; Osterhoff, Jens; Esarey, Eric; Toth, Csaba; Leemans, Wim

2011-07-15

Laser plasma accelerators have produced high-quality electron beams with GeV energies from cm-scale devices and are being investigated as hyperspectral fs light sources producing THz to {gamma}-ray radiation and as drivers for future high-energy colliders. These applications require a high degree of stability, beam quality and tunability. Here we report on a technique to inject electrons into the accelerating field of a laser-driven plasma wave and coupling of this injector to a lower-density, separately tunable plasma for further acceleration. The technique relies on a single laser pulse powering a plasma structure with a tailored longitudinal density profile, to produce beams that can be tuned in the range of 100-400 MeV with percent-level stability, using laser pulses of less than 40 TW. The resulting device is a simple stand-alone accelerator or the front end for a multistage higher-energy accelerator.

Studies on mechanisms of the laser particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aurand, Bastian

2012-01-01

Within the last decade, many developments towards higher energies and particle numbers paved the way of particle acceleration performed by high intensity laser systems. Up to now, the process of a field-induced acceleration process (Target-Normal-Sheath-Acceleration (TNSA)) is investigated the most. Acceleration occurs as a consequence of separation of charges on a surface potential. Here, the broad energy spectrum is a problem not yet overcome although many improvements were achieved. Calculations for intensities higher than 10 20..21 W/cm 2 give hint that Radiation-Pressure-Acceleration (RPA) may lead to a sharper, monoenergetic energy spectrum. Within the framework of this thesis, the investigation of the acceleration mechanism is studied experimentally in the intensity range of 10 19 W/cm 2 . Suitable targets were developed and applied for patent. A broad range of parameters was scanned by means of high repetition rates together with an adequate laser system to provide high statistics of several thousands of shots, and the dependence of target material, intensity, laser polarisation and pre plasma-conditions was verified. Comparisons with 2-d numeric simulations lead to a model of the acceleration process which was analyzed by several diagnostic methods, giving clear evidence for a new, not field-induced acceleration process. In addition, a system for a continuous variation of the polarization based on reflective optics was developed in order to overcome the disadvantages of retardation plates, and their practicability of high laser energies can be achieved.

Acceleration of polyethelene foils by laser driven ablation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahlstrom, H.G.; Burginyon, G.A.; Haas, R.A.

1974-01-01

The production of thermonuclear energy, by laser driven implosion of spherical DT shells, with achievable laser technology, requires the development of an efficient and stable implosion. Certain aspects of the acceleration of the spherical shells can be studied experimentally by irradiating thin, 5 to 25 μm, polyethelene foils. The results of foil acceleration experiments performed using a Nd:YAG-Glass laser capable of producing 150 J, 1 nsec pulses will be discussed. The dynamics of the accelerated foil, the ion blow off, high energy electron spectrum (6 to 180 keV), x-ray spectrum (1 to 150 keV) the spatial distribution of the x-ray emission, the laser beam focal spot energy distribution, the laser temporal pulse shape and spectrum for reflected and transmitted radiation have all been measured simultaneously. The results of these measurements are compared with detailed numerical simulations. (U.S.)

Design of a free-electron laser driven by the LBNL laser-plasma-accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, C.B.; Fawley, W.M.; Montgomery, A.L.; Robinson, K.E.; Gruner, F.; Bakeman, M.; Leemans, W.P.

2007-01-01

We discuss the design and current status of a compact free-electron laser (FEL), generating ultra-fast, high-peak flux, VUV pulses driven by a high-current, GeV electron beam from the existing Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) laser-plasma accelerator, whose active acceleration length is only a few cm. The proposed ultra-fast source would be intrinsically temporally synchronized to the drive laser pulse, enabling pump-probe studies in ultra-fast science with pulse lengths of tens of fs. Owing to the high current ( and 10 kA) of the laser-plasma-accelerated electron beams, saturated output fluxes are potentially greater than 1013 photons/pulse. Devices based both on SASE and high-harmonic generated input seeds, to reduce undulator length and fluctuations, are considered

Scaling electron acceleration in the bubble regime for upcoming lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, O.; Tueckmantel, T.; Pukhov, A.

2014-01-01

Electron acceleration in the laser-plasma bubble appeared to be the most successful regime of laser wake field acceleration in the last decade. The laser technology became mature enough to generate short and relativistically intense pulses required to reach the bubble regime naturally delivering quasi-monoenergetic bunches of relativistic electrons. The upcoming laser technology projects are promising short pulses with many times more energy than the existing ones. The natural question is how will the bubble regime scale with the available laser energy. We present here a parametric study of laser-plasma acceleration in the bubble regime using full three dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and compare numerical results with the analytical scalings from the relativistic laser-plasma similarity theory. Our simulations and the theory match almost perfectly for spot sizes above R = 2λ and laser amplitudes above a 0 = 4. We also studied the emission of synchrotron radiation by the accelerated electrons. Both classical and a QED model were applied. We found borders, at which theory and simulations stopped matching. With small spot radii (R < 2λ) we almost never observed the formation of a bubble structure or any form of mono-energetic acceleration. Low laser amplitudes lead to higher energies than predicted by the theory

Sapphire capillaries for laser-driven wakefield acceleration in plasma. Fs-laser micromachining and characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwinkendorf, Jan-Patrick

2012-05-01

Plasma wakefields are a promising approach for the acceleration of electrons with ultrahigh (10 to 100 GV/m) electric fields. Nowadays, high-intensity laser pulses are routinely utilized to excite these large-amplitude plasma waves. However, several detrimental effects such as laser diffraction, electron-wake dephasing and laser depletion may terminate the acceleration process. Two of these phenomena can be mitigated or avoided by the application of capillary waveguides, e.g. fabricated out of sapphire for longevity. Capillaries may compensate for laser diffraction like a fiber and allow for the creation of tapered gas-density profiles working against the dephasing between the accelerating wave and the particles. Additionally, they offer the possibility of controlled particle injection. This thesis is reporting on the set up of a laser for fs-micromachining of capillaries of almost arbitrary shapes and a test stand for density-profile characterization. These devices will permit the creation of tailored gas-density profiles for controlled electron injection and acceleration inside plasma.

Sapphire capillaries for laser-driven wakefield acceleration in plasma. Fs-laser micromachining and characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwinkendorf, Jan-Patrick

2012-08-15

Plasma wakefields are a promising approach for the acceleration of electrons with ultrahigh (10 to 100 GV/m) electric fields. Nowadays, high-intensity laser pulses are routinely utilized to excite these large-amplitude plasma waves. However, several detrimental effects such as laser diffraction, electron-wake dephasing and laser depletion may terminate the acceleration process. Two of these phenomena can be mitigated or avoided by the application of capillary waveguides, e.g. fabricated out of sapphire for longevity. Capillaries may compensate for laser diffraction like a fiber and allow for the creation of tapered gas-density profiles working against the dephasing between the accelerating wave and the particles. Additionally, they offer the possibility of controlled particle injection. This thesis is reporting on the set up of a laser for fs-micromachining of capillaries of almost arbitrary shapes and a test stand for density-profile characterization. These devices will permit the creation of tailored gas-density profiles for controlled electron injection and acceleration inside plasma.

Cerenkov counter for the experiment NA3

CERN Multimedia

1978-01-01

The program of the NA3 experiment included the study of hadronic interactions with a large transverse momentum pT, thus the inclusion in the set-up of three gas threshold Cerenkov counters of large acceptance. The photo shows the downstream part of the second Cerenkov (located at the output of the magnet). The yellow membrane is a temporary protection for the optics (shown in photo 7810540X) to be taken away when fixing this part to the gas tank (entering the magnet and not shown). The photomultipliers all around are heavily shielded.

Generation and transport of laser accelerated ion beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmidt, Peter; Boine-Frankenheim, Oliver [Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Kornilov, Vladimir; Spaedtke, Peter [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Collaboration: LIGHT-Collaboration

2013-07-01

Currently the LIGHT- Project (Laser Ion Generation, Handling and Transport) is performed at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH Darmstadt. Within this project, intense proton beams are generated by laser acceleration, using the TNSA mechanism. After the laser acceleration the protons are transported through the beam pipe by a pulsed power solenoid. To study the transport a VORPAL 3D simulation is compared with CST simulation. A criterion as a function of beam parameters was worked out, to rate the importance of space charge. Furthermore, an exemplary comparison of the solenoid with a magnetic quadrupole-triplet was carried out. In the further course of the LIGHT-Project, it is planned to generate ion beams with higher kinetic energies, using ultra-thin targets. The acceleration processes that can appear are: RPA (Radiation Pressure Acceleration) and BOA (Break-Out Afterburner). Therefore the transport of an ion distribution will be studied, as it emerges from a RPA acceleration.

Acceleration of laser-injected electron beams in an electron-beam driven plasma wakefield accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knetsch, Alexander

2018-03-01

Plasma wakefields deliver accelerating fields that are approximately a 100 times higher than those in conventional radiofrequency or even superconducting radiofrequency cavities. This opens a transformative path towards novel, compact and potentially ubiquitous accelerators. These prospects, and the increasing demand for electron accelerator beamtime for various applications in natural, material and life sciences, motivate the research and development on novel plasma-based accelerator concepts. However, these electron beam sources need to be understood and controlled. The focus of this thesis is on electron beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) and the controlled injection and acceleration of secondary electron bunches in the accelerating wake fields by means of a short-pulse near-infrared laser. Two laser-triggered injection methods are explored. The first one is the Trojan Horse Injection, which relies on very good alignment and timing control between electron beam and laser pulse and then promises electron bunches with hitherto unprecedented quality as regards emittance and brightness. The physics of electron injection in the Trojan Horse case is explored with a focus on the final longitudinal bunch length. Then a theoretical and numerical study is presented that examines the physics of Trojan Horse injection when performed in an expanding wake generated by a smooth density down-ramp. The benefits are radically decreased drive-electron bunch requirements and a unique bunch-length control that enables longitudinal electron-bunch shaping. The second laser-triggered injection method is the Plasma Torch Injection, which is a versatile, all-optical laser-plasma-based method capable to realize tunable density downramp injection. At the SLAC National Laboratory, the first proof-of-principle was achieved both for Trojan Horse and Plasma Torch injection. Setup details and results are reported in the experimental part of the thesis along with the commissioning

Laser wakefield acceleration with high-power, few-cycle mid-IR lasers

OpenAIRE

Papp, Daniel; Wood, Jonathan C.; Gruson, Vincent; Bionta, Mina; Gruse, Jan-Niclas; Cormier, Eric; Najmudin, Zulfikar; Légaré, François; Kamperidis, Christos

2018-01-01

The study of laser wakefield electron acceleration (LWFA) using mid-IR laser drivers is a promising path for future laser driven electronaccelerators, when compared to traditional near-IR laser drivers uperating at 0.8-1 {\\mu}m central wavelength ({\\lambda}laser), as the necessary vector potential a_0 for electron injection can be achieved with smaller laser powers due to the linear dependence on {\\lambda}laser. In this work, we perform 2D PIC simulations on LWFA using few-cycle high power (5...

Laser wakefield accelerator based light sources: potential applications and requirements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albert, F. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). NIF and Photon Sciences; Thomas, A. G. [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences; Mangles, S. P.D. [Imperial College, London (United Kingdom). Blackett Lab.; Banerjee, S. [Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States); Corde, S. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Flacco, A. [ENSTA, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France); Litos, M. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Neely, D. [Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Oxford (United Kingdom). Rutherford Appleton Lab. (RAL). Central Laser Facility; Viera, J. [Univ. of Lisbon (Portugal). GoLP-Inst. de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear-Lab. Associado; Najmudin, Z. [Imperial College, London (United Kingdom). Blackett Lab.; Bingham, R. [Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Oxford (United Kingdom). Rutherford Appleton Lab. (RAL). Central Laser Facility; Joshi, C. [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Katsouleas, T. [Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Platt School of Engineering

2015-01-15

In this article we review the prospects of laser wakefield accelerators as next generation light sources for applications. This work arose as a result of discussions held at the 2013 Laser Plasma Accelerators Workshop. X-ray phase contrast imaging, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and nuclear resonance fluorescence are highlighted as potential applications for laser-plasma based light sources. We discuss ongoing and future efforts to improve the properties of radiation from plasma betatron emission and Compton scattering using laser wakefield accelerators for these specific applications.

Solid hydrogen target for laser driven proton acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Perin, J. P.; Garcia, S.; Chatain, D.; Margarone, D.

2015-05-01

The development of very high power lasers opens up new horizons in various fields, such as laser plasma acceleration in Physics and innovative approaches for proton therapy in Medicine. Laser driven proton acceleration is commonly based on the so-called Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanisms: a high power laser is focused onto a solid target (thin metallic or plastic foil) and interact with matter at very high intensity, thus generating a plasma; as a consequence "hot" electrons are produced and move into the forward direction through the target. Protons are generated at the target rear side, electrons try to escape from the target and an ultra-strong quasi-electrostatic field (~1TV/m) is generated. Such a field can accelerate protons with a wide energy spectrum (1-200 MeV) in a few tens of micrometers. The proton beam characteristics depend on the laser parameters and on the target geometry and nature. This technique has been validated experimentally in several high power laser facilities by accelerating protons coming from hydrogenated contaminant (mainly water) at the rear of metallic target, however, several research groups are investigating the possibility to perform experiments by using "pure" hydrogen targets. In this context, the low temperature laboratory at CEA-Grenoble has developed a cryostat able to continuously produce a thin hydrogen ribbon (from 40 to 100 microns thick). A new extrusion concept, without any moving part has been carried out, using only the thermodynamic properties of the fluid. First results and perspectives are presented in this paper.

High-quality laser-accelerated ion beams for medical applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harman, Zoltan; Keitel, Christoph H. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Salamin, Yousef I. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)

2009-07-01

Cancer radiation therapy requires accelerated ion beams of high energy sharpness and a narrow spatial profile. As shown recently, linearly and radially polarized, tightly focused and thus extremely strong laser beams should permit the direct acceleration of light atomic nuclei up to energies that may offer the potentiality for medical applications. Radially polarized beams have better emittance than their linearly polarized counterparts. We put forward the direct laser acceleration of ions, once the refocusing of ion beams by external fields is solved or radially polarized laser pulses of sufficient power can be generated.

A laser plasma beatwave accelerator experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebrahim, N.A.

1987-03-01

An experiment to test the laser plasma beatware accelerator concept is outlined. A heuristic estimate of the relevant experimental parameters is obtained from fluid theory and considerations of wave-particle interactions. Acceleration of 10 MeV electrons to approximately 70 MeV over a plasma length of 3 cm appears to be feasible. This corresponds to an accelerating gradient of approximately 2.5 GeV/m

Laser contrast and other key parameters enhancing the laser conversion efficiency in ion acceleration regime

Science.gov (United States)

Torrisi, Lorenzo

2018-01-01

Measurements of ion acceleration in plasma produced by fs lasers at intensity of the order of 1018 W/cm2 have been performed in different European laboratories. The forward emission in target-normal-sheath-acceleration (TNSA) regime indicated that the maximum energy is a function of the laser parameters, of the irradiation conditions and of the target properties.In particular the laser intensity and contrast play an important role to maximize the ion acceleration enhancing the conversion efficiency. Also the use of suitable prepulses, focal distances and polarized laser light has important roles. Finally the target composition, surface, geometry and multilayered structure, permit to enhance the electric field driving the forward ion acceleration.Experimental measurements will be reported and discussed.

Determining reactor fuel elements broken by Cerenkov counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Juhao; Dong Shiyuan; Feng Yuying

1996-01-01

The basis and method of determining fuel elements broken in a reactor by Cerenkov counting measured with liquid scintillation spectrometer are introduced. The radioactive characteristic of the radiation nuclides generating Cherenkov radiation in the primary water of 200 MW nuclear district heating reactor is analyzed. The activity of the activation products in the primary water and the fission products in the fuel elements are calculated. A feasibility of Cerenkov counting measure was analyzed. This method is simple and quick

SU-F-J-46: Feasibility of Cerenkov Emission for Absorption Spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oraiqat, I; Rehemtulla, A; Lam, K; Ten Haken, R; El Naqa, I; Clarke, R

2016-01-01

Purpose: Cerenkov emission (CE) is a promising tool for online tumor microenvironment interrogation and targeting during radiotherapy. In this work, we utilize CE generated during radiotherapy as a broadband excitation source for real-time absorption spectroscopy. We demonstrate the feasibility of CE spectroscopy using a controlled experiment of materials with known emission/absorption properties. Methods: A water tank is irradiated with 20 MeV electron beam to induce Cerenkov emission. Food coloring dyes (Yellow #5, Red #40, and Blue #1), which have known emission/absorption properties were added to the water tank with increasing concentration (1 drop (0.05 mL), 2 drops, and 4 drops from a dispenser bottle). The signal is collected using a condensing lens which is coupled into a 20m optical fiber that is fed into a spectrometer that measures the emitted spectra. The resulting spectra from water/food coloring dye solutions were normalized by the reference spectrum, which is the Cerenkov spectrum of pure water, correcting for both the nonlinearity of the broadband Cerenkov emission spectrum as well as the non-uniform spectral response of the spectrometer. The emitted spectra were then converted into absorbance and their characteristics were analyzed. Results: The food coloring dye had a drastic change on the Cerenkov emission, shifting its wavelength according to its visible color. The collected spectra showed various absorbance peaks which agrees with tabulated peak positions of the dyes added within 0.3% for yellow, 1.7% for red, and 0.16% for blue. The CE peak heights proportionally increased as the dye concentration is increased. Conclusion: This work shows the potential for real-time functional spectroscopy using Cerenkov emission during radiotherapy. It was demonstrated that molecule identification as well as relative concentration can be extracted from the Cerenkov emission color shift.

SU-F-J-46: Feasibility of Cerenkov Emission for Absorption Spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oraiqat, I; Rehemtulla, A; Lam, K; Ten Haken, R; El Naqa, I [University of Michigan, Radiation Oncology, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Clarke, R [University of Michigan, Physics Department, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Cerenkov emission (CE) is a promising tool for online tumor microenvironment interrogation and targeting during radiotherapy. In this work, we utilize CE generated during radiotherapy as a broadband excitation source for real-time absorption spectroscopy. We demonstrate the feasibility of CE spectroscopy using a controlled experiment of materials with known emission/absorption properties. Methods: A water tank is irradiated with 20 MeV electron beam to induce Cerenkov emission. Food coloring dyes (Yellow #5, Red #40, and Blue #1), which have known emission/absorption properties were added to the water tank with increasing concentration (1 drop (0.05 mL), 2 drops, and 4 drops from a dispenser bottle). The signal is collected using a condensing lens which is coupled into a 20m optical fiber that is fed into a spectrometer that measures the emitted spectra. The resulting spectra from water/food coloring dye solutions were normalized by the reference spectrum, which is the Cerenkov spectrum of pure water, correcting for both the nonlinearity of the broadband Cerenkov emission spectrum as well as the non-uniform spectral response of the spectrometer. The emitted spectra were then converted into absorbance and their characteristics were analyzed. Results: The food coloring dye had a drastic change on the Cerenkov emission, shifting its wavelength according to its visible color. The collected spectra showed various absorbance peaks which agrees with tabulated peak positions of the dyes added within 0.3% for yellow, 1.7% for red, and 0.16% for blue. The CE peak heights proportionally increased as the dye concentration is increased. Conclusion: This work shows the potential for real-time functional spectroscopy using Cerenkov emission during radiotherapy. It was demonstrated that molecule identification as well as relative concentration can be extracted from the Cerenkov emission color shift.

High quality electron beams from a plasma channel guided laser wakefield accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geddes, C.G.R.; Toth, Cs.; Tilborg, J. van; Esarey, E.; Schroeder, C.B.; Bruhwiler, D.; Nieter, C.; Cary, J.; Leemans, W.P.

2004-01-01

Laser driven accelerators, in which particles are accelerated by the electric field of a plasma wave driven by an intense laser, have demonstrated accelerating electric fields of hundreds of GV/m. These fields are thousands of times those achievable in conventional radiofrequency (RF) accelerators, spurring interest in laser accelerators as compact next generation sources of energetic electrons and radiation. To date however, acceleration distances have been severely limited by lack of a controllable method for extending the propagation distance of the focused laser pulse. The ensuing short acceleration distance results in low energy beams with 100% electron energy spread, limiting applications. Here we demonstrate that a relativistically intense laser can be guided by a preformed plasma density channel and that the longer propagation distance can result in electron beams of percent energy spread with low emittance and increased energy, containing >10 9 electrons above 80 MeV. The preformed plasma channel technique forms the basis of a new class of accelerators, combining beam quality comparable to RF accelerators with the high gradients of laser accelerators to produce compact tunable high brightness electron and radiation sources

Laser beam accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tajima, T.; Dawson, J.M.

1981-01-01

Parallel intense photon (laser, microwave, etc.) beams /omega/sub //0, k/sub 0/ and /omega/sub //1, k/sub 1/ shone on a plasma with frequency separation equal to the plasma frequency /omega/sub //p is capable of accelerating plasma electrons to high energies in large flux. The photon beat excites through the forward Raman scattering large amplitude plasmons whose phase velocity is equal to (/omega/ /sub 0/-/omega/sub //1)/(k/sub 0/-k/sub 1/), close to c in an underdense plasma. The multiple forward Raman instability produces smaller and smaller frequency and group velocity of photons; thus the photons slow down in the plasma by emitting accelerated electrons (inverse Cherenkov process). 6 refs

Ion acceleration from relativistic laser nano-target interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Daniel

2012-01-01

Laser-ion acceleration has been of particular interest over the last decade for fundamental as well as applied sciences. Remarkable progress has been made in realizing laser-driven accelerators that are cheap and very compact compared with conventional rf-accelerators. Proton and ion beams have been produced with particle energies of up to 50 MeV and several MeV/u, respectively, with outstanding properties in terms of transverse emittance and current. These beams typically exhibit an exponentially decaying energy distribution, but almost all advanced applications, such as oncology, proton imaging or fast ignition, require quasimonoenergetic beams with a low energy spread. The majority of the experiments investigated ion acceleration in the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) regime with comparably thick targets in the μm range. In this thesis ion acceleration is investigated from nm-scaled targets, which are partially produced at the University of Munich with thickness as low as 3 nm. Experiments have been carried out at LANL's Trident high-power and high-contrast laser (80 J, 500 fs, λ=1054 nm), where ion acceleration with these nano-targets occurs during the relativistic transparency of the target, in the so-called Breakout afterburner (BOA) regime. With a novel high resolution and high dispersion Thomson parabola and ion wide angle spectrometer, thickness dependencies of the ions angular distribution, particle number, average and maximum energy have been measured. Carbon C 6+ energies reached 650 MeV and 1 GeV for unheated and heated targets, respectively, and proton energies peaked at 75 MeV and 120 MeV for diamond and CH 2 targets. Experimental data is presented, where the conversion efficiency into carbon C 6+ (protons) is investigated and found to have an up to 10fold (5fold) increase over the TNSA regime. With circularly polarized laser light, quasi-monoenergetic carbon ions have been generated from the same nm-scaled foil targets at Trident with an

Injection of electrons by colliding laser pulses in a laser wakefield accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansson, M., E-mail: martin.hansson@fysik.lth.se; Aurand, B.; Ekerfelt, H.; Persson, A.; Lundh, O.

2016-09-01

To improve the stability and reproducibility of laser wakefield accelerators and to allow for future applications, controlling the injection of electrons is of great importance. This allows us to control the amount of charge in the beams of accelerated electrons and final energy of the electrons. Results are presented from a recent experiment on controlled injection using the scheme of colliding pulses and performed using the Lund multi-terawatt laser. Each laser pulse is split into two parts close to the interaction point. The main pulse is focused on a 2 mm diameter gas jet to drive a nonlinear plasma wave below threshold for self-trapping. The second pulse, containing only a fraction of the total laser energy, is focused to collide with the main pulse in the gas jet under an angle of 150°. Beams of accelerated electrons with low divergence and small energy spread are produced using this set-up. Control over the amount of accelerated charge is achieved by rotating the plane of polarization of the second pulse in relation to the main pulse. Furthermore, the peak energy of the electrons in the beams is controlled by moving the collision point along the optical axis of the main pulse, and thereby changing the acceleration length in the plasma. - Highlights: • Compact colliding pulse injection set-up used to produce low energy spread e-beams. • Beam charge controlled by rotating the polarization of injection pulse. • Peak energy controlled by point of collision to vary the acceleration length.

Pulsed radiobiology with laser-driven plasma accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

Giulietti, Antonio; Grazia Andreassi, Maria; Greco, Carlo

2011-05-01

Recently, a high efficiency regime of acceleration in laser plasmas has been discovered, allowing table top equipment to deliver doses of interest for radiotherapy with electron bunches of suitable kinetic energy. In view of an R&D program aimed to the realization of an innovative class of accelerators for medical uses, a radiobiological validation is needed. At the present time, the biological effects of electron bunches from the laser-driven electron accelerator are largely unknown. In radiobiology and radiotherapy, it is known that the early spatial distribution of energy deposition following ionizing radiation interactions with DNA molecule is crucial for the prediction of damages at cellular or tissue levels and during the clinical responses to this irradiation. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the radio-biological effects obtained with electron bunches from a laser-driven electron accelerator compared with bunches coming from a IORT-dedicated medical Radio-frequency based linac's on human cells by the cytokinesis block micronucleus assay (CBMN). To this purpose a multidisciplinary team including radiotherapists, biologists, medical physicists, laser and plasma physicists is working at CNR Campus and University of Pisa. Dose on samples is delivered alternatively by the "laser-linac" operating at ILIL lab of Istituto Nazionale di Ottica and an RF-linac operating for IORT at Pisa S. Chiara Hospital. Experimental data are analyzed on the basis of suitable radiobiological models as well as with numerical simulation based on Monte Carlo codes. Possible collective effects are also considered in the case of ultrashort, ultradense bunches of ionizing radiation.

Laser acceleration in vacuum with an open iris-loaded waveguide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, Ming

1997-05-01

An open iris-loaded waveguide structure is considered for laser acceleration of highly relativistic particle in vacuum. Complete characterization of all eigenmodes are given in analytical form for the structure. In particular the dominant radially polarized TM mode is evaluated in detail for laser acceleration. The entire parameter space is searched and it is found that below the laser damage threshold of the structure an acceleration gradient around 1 GV/m can be obtained over a phase slippage length of 10s of cm with TWs laser in the wavelength range from 1 to 10 μm

Betatron radiation from a laser-plasma accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schnell, Michael

2014-01-01

The presented thesis investigates the processes which lead to the generation of highenergetic X-ray radiation, also known as ''betatron radiation'', by means of a relativistic laser-plasma interaction. The generated betatron radiation has been extensively characterized by measuring its radiated intensity, energy distribution, far-field beam profile, and source size. It was shown for the first time that betatron radiation can be used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool to retrieve very subtle information on the electron acceleration dynamics within the plasma wave. Furthermore, a compact polarimeter setup has been developed in a unique experiment in which the polarization state of the laser-plasma generated betatron radiation was measured in single-shot mode. This lead to a detailed study of the orientation of the electron trajectory within the plasma interaction. By controlling the injection of the electrons into the plasma wave it was demonstrated that one can tune the polarization state of the emitted X-rays. This result is very promising for further applications, particularly for feeding the electrons into an additional conventional accelerator or a permanent magnet based undulator for the production of intense X-ray beams. During this work, the experimental setup for accelerating electrons and generating high-energy X-ray beams was consistently improved: to enhance both its reliability and stability. Subsequently, the betatron radiation was used as a reliable diagnostic tool of the electron dynamics within the plasma. Parallel to the experimental work, 3-Dimensional Particle-In-Cell (3D-PlC) simulations were performed together with colleagues from the University of Duesseldorf. The simulations included the electron acceleration and the X-ray generation processes together with the recoil force acting on an accelerating electron caused by the emitted radiation during which one can also ascertain its polarization state. The simulations proved to be in good agreement

A ring image Cerenkov detector for the CERN Omega Spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davenport, M.; Deol, R.S.; Flower, P.S.

1983-05-01

A development program has been undertaken to produce a large ring image Cerenkov detector (RICH) for use at the CERN Omega Spectrometer. A prototype Cerenkov counter has been constructed and successfully operated in a high energy particle beam, Cerenkov rings having been observed in an experimental time projection chamber (TPC) using the photoionising agents Triethylamine (TEA) and Tetrakis (dimethylamine) ethylene (TMAE). Systematic measurements have been made of the optical properties of window materials and reflecting surfaces in the vacuum ultraviolet region. Results of these tests are presented, and the design of the large detector based on these experiences together with Monte Carlo simulations of the events expected in the WA69 experiment, is discussed. (author)

Studies on mechanisms of the laser particle acceleration; Untersuchungen zu Mechanismen der Laser-Teilchenbeschleunigung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aurand, Bastian

2012-06-20

Within the last decade, many developments towards higher energies and particle numbers paved the way of particle acceleration performed by high intensity laser systems. Up to now, the process of a field-induced acceleration process (Target-Normal-Sheath-Acceleration (TNSA)) is investigated the most. Acceleration occurs as a consequence of separation of charges on a surface potential. Here, the broad energy spectrum is a problem not yet overcome although many improvements were achieved. Calculations for intensities higher than 10{sup 20..21} W/cm{sup 2} give hint that Radiation-Pressure-Acceleration (RPA) may lead to a sharper, monoenergetic energy spectrum. Within the framework of this thesis, the investigation of the acceleration mechanism is studied experimentally in the intensity range of 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}. Suitable targets were developed and applied for patent. A broad range of parameters was scanned by means of high repetition rates together with an adequate laser system to provide high statistics of several thousands of shots, and the dependence of target material, intensity, laser polarisation and pre plasma-conditions was verified. Comparisons with 2-d numeric simulations lead to a model of the acceleration process which was analyzed by several diagnostic methods, giving clear evidence for a new, not field-induced acceleration process. In addition, a system for a continuous variation of the polarization based on reflective optics was developed in order to overcome the disadvantages of retardation plates, and their practicability of high laser energies can be achieved.

Editorial: Focus on Laser- and Beam-Driven Plasma Accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

Joshi, Chan; Malka, Victor

2010-04-01

The ability of short but intense laser pulses to generate high-energy electrons and ions from gaseous and solid targets has been well known since the early days of the laser fusion program. However, during the past decade there has been an explosion of experimental and theoretical activity in this area of laser-matter interaction, driven by the prospect of realizing table-top plasma accelerators for research, medical and industrial uses, and also relatively small and inexpensive plasma accelerators for high-energy physics at the frontier of particle physics. In this focus issue on laser- and beam-driven plasma accelerators, the latest advances in this field are described. Focus on Laser- and Beam-Driven Plasma Accelerators Contents Slow wave plasma structures for direct electron acceleration B D Layer, J P Palastro, A G York, T M Antonsen and H M Milchberg Cold injection for electron wakefield acceleration X Davoine, A Beck, A Lifschitz, V Malka and E Lefebvre Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation J S Green, D C Carroll, C Brenner, B Dromey, P S Foster, S Kar, Y T Li, K Markey, P McKenna, D Neely, A P L Robinson, M J V Streeter, M Tolley, C-G Wahlström, M H Xu and M Zepf Dose-dependent biological damage of tumour cells by laser-accelerated proton beams S D Kraft, C Richter, K Zeil, M Baumann, E Beyreuther, S Bock, M Bussmann, T E Cowan, Y Dammene, W Enghardt, U Helbig, L Karsch, T Kluge, L Laschinsky, E Lessmann, J Metzkes, D Naumburger, R Sauerbrey, M. Scḧrer, M Sobiella, J Woithe, U Schramm and J Pawelke The optimum plasma density for plasma wakefield excitation in the blowout regime W Lu, W An, M Zhou, C Joshi, C Huang and W B Mori Plasma wakefield acceleration experiments at FACET M J Hogan, T O Raubenheimer, A Seryi, P Muggli, T Katsouleas, C Huang, W Lu, W An, K A Marsh, W B Mori, C E Clayton and C Joshi Electron trapping and acceleration on a downward density ramp: a two-stage approach R M G M Trines, R Bingham, Z Najmudin

An Inverse Free-Electron-Laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, A.S.; Gallardo, J.C.; van Steenbergen, A.; Ulc, S.; Woodle, M.; Sandweiss, J.; Fang, Jyan-Min

1993-01-01

Recent work at BNL on electron acceleration using the Inverse Free-Electron Laser (IFEL) has considered a low-energy, high-gradient, multi-stage linear accelerator. Experiments are planned at BNL's Accelerator Test Facility using its 50-MeV linac and 100-GW CO 2 laser. We have built and tested a fast-excitation wiggler magnet with constant field, tapered period, and overall length of 47 cm. Vanadium-Permendur ferromagnetic laminations are stacked in alternation with copper, eddy-current-induced, field reflectors to achieve a 1.4-T peak field with a 4-mm gap and a typical period of 3 cm. The laser beam will pass through the wiggler in a low-loss, dielectric-coated stainless-steel, rectangular waveguide. The attenuation and transverse mode has been measured in waveguide sections of various lengths, with and without the dielectric. Results of 1-D and 3-D IFEL simulations, including wiggler errors, will be presented for several cases: the initial, single-module experiment with ΔE = 39 MeV, a four-module design giving ΔE = 100 MeV in a total length of 2 m, and an eight-module IFEL with ΔE = 210 MeV

The SLD Cerenkov Ring Imaging Detector: Progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashford, V.; Bienz, T.; Bird, F.

1986-10-01

We describe test beam results from a prototype Cerenkov Ring Imaging Detector (CRID) for the SLD experiment at the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC). The system includes both liquid and gas radiators, a long drift box containing gaseous TMAE and a proportional wire chamber with charge division readout. Measurements of the multiplicity and detection resolution of Cerenkov photons, from both radiators are presented. Various design aspects of a new engineering prototype, currently under construction, are discussed and recent R and D results relevant to this effort are reported

Dielectric laser acceleration of non-relativistic electrons at a photonic structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breuer, John

2013-08-29

This thesis reports on the observation of dielectric laser acceleration of non-relativistic electrons via the inverse Smith-Purcell effect in the optical regime. Evanescent modes in the vicinity of a periodic grating structure can travel at the same velocity as the electrons along the grating surface. A longitudinal electric field component is used to continuously impart momentum onto the electrons. This is only possible in the near-field of a suitable photonic structure, which means that the electron beam has to pass the structure within about one wavelength. In our experiment we exploit the third spatial harmonic of a single fused silica grating excited by laser pulses derived from a Titanium:sapphire oscillator and accelerate non-relativistic 28 keV electrons. We measure a maximum energy gain of 280 eV, corresponding to an acceleration gradient of 25 MeV/m, already comparable with state-of-the-art radio-frequency linear accelerators. To experience this acceleration gradient the electrons approach the grating closer than 100 nm. We present the theory behind grating-based particle acceleration and discuss simulation results of dielectric laser acceleration in the near-field of photonic grating structures, which is excited by near-infrared laser light. Our measurements show excellent agreement with our simulation results and therefore confirm the direct acceleration with the light field. We further discuss the acceleration inside double grating structures, dephasing effects of non-relativistic electrons as well as the space charge effect, which can limit the attainable peak currents of these novel accelerator structures. The photonic structures described in this work can be readily concatenated and therefore represent a scalable realization of dielectric laser acceleration. Furthermore, our structures are directly compatible with the microstructures used for the acceleration of relativistic electrons demonstrated in parallel to this work by our collaborators in

High-energy inverse free-electron laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courant, E.D.; Pellegrini, C.; Zakowicz, W.

1985-01-01

We study the inverse free electron laser (IFEL) accelerator and show that it can accelerate electrons to the few hundred GeV region with average acceleration rates of the order of 200 meV/m. Several possible accelerating structures are analyzed, and the effect of synchrotron radiation losses is studied. The longitudinal phase stability of accelerated particles is also analyzed. A Hamiltonian description, which takes into account the dissipative features of the IFEL accelerator, is introduced to study perturbations from the resonant acceleration. Adiabatic invariants are obtained and used to estimate the change of the electron phase space density during the acceleration process

Laser-controlled collective ion accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Shea, P.G.; Destler, W.W.; Rodgers, J.; Segalov, Z.

1986-01-01

We report first results from a new collective accelerator experiment in which a laser-controlled channel of ionization is used to control the propagation of the potential well at the front of an intense relativistic electron beam injected at currents above the space-charge limit. The controlled acceleration of protons at the rate of 40 MeV/m over a distance of 45 cm is reported, in good agreement with experimental design values

Prospects of the surfatron laser plasma accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsouleas, T.; Joshi, C.; Mori, W.; Dawson, J.M.

1983-01-01

The surfatron concept is proposed as a possible solution to the problem of staging in the laser-plasma beat wave accelerator scheme. Prospects of a 100 GeV particle accelerator based on the surfatron concept are explored. Finite angle optical mixing appears to be a promising solution for drastically reducing the width of the plane wave, thereby, making the required laser power and the device size realizable for a proof-of-principle experiment. Our conclusions are based mainly on analytical theory and one-dimensional particle simulations

Alignment of Ion Accelerator for Surface Analysis using Theodolite and Laser Tracker

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Tae Sung; Seo, Dong Hyuk; Kim, Dae Il; Kim, Han Sung; Kwon, Hyeok Jung; Cho, Yong Sub [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The method of ion accelerator alignment is used two ways which are a theodolite and laser tracker. For the alignment and maintenance of the proton linear accelerator, the laser tracker is typically used at KOMAC. While the device for alignment by using laser tracker is not installed in all ion accelerator components, it was used in parallel in two methods. In this paper, alignment methods are introduced and the result and comparison of each alignment method are presented. The ion accelerator for surface analysis has aligned using theodolite and laser tracker. The two ways for alignment have advantage as well as weakness. But alignment using laser tracker is stronger than using theodolite. Because it is based on alignment and position data and it is more detailed. Also since the beam distribution is smaller than accelerator component that is direction of beam progress, main component (ex. Magnet, Chamber, Pelletron tank, etc.) alignment using laser tracker is enough to align the ion accelerator.

Excitation of Accelerating Plasma Waves by Counter-propagating Laser Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gennady Shvets; Nathaniel J. Fisch; Alexander Pukhov

2001-01-01

Generation of accelerating plasma waves using two counter-propagating laser beams is considered. Colliding-beam accelerator requires two laser pulses: the long pump and the short timing beam. We emphasize the similarities and differences between the conventional laser wakefield accelerator and the colliding-beam accelerator (CBA). The highly nonlinear nature of the wake excitation is explained using both nonlinear optics and plasma physics concepts. Two regimes of CBA are considered: (i) the short-pulse regime, where the timing beam is shorter than the plasma period, and (ii) the parametric excitation regime, where the timing beam is longer than the plasma period. Possible future experiments are also outlined

Generation of monoenergetic ion beams with a laser accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M.

2009-01-01

A method for the generation of monoenergetic proton and ion beams from a laser-based particle accelerator is presented. This method utilizes the unique space-charge effects occurring during relativistic laser-plasma interactions on solid targets in combination with a dot-like particle source. Due to this unique interaction geometry, MeV proton beams with an intrinsically narrow energy spectrum were obtained, for the first time, from a micrometer-scale laser accelerator. Over the past three years, the acceleration scheme has been consistently improved to enhance both the maximum particle energy and the reliability of the setup. The achieved degree of reliability allowed to derive the first scaling laws specifically for monoenergetic proton beams. Furthermore, the acceleration scheme was expanded on other target materials, enabling the generation of monoenergetic carbon beams. The experimental work was strongly supported by the parallel development of a complex theoretical model, which fully accounts for the observations and is in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. The presented results have an extraordinarily broad scope way beyond the current thesis: The availability of monoenergetic ion beams from a compact laser-plasma beam source - in conjunction with the unique properties of laser-produced particle beams - addresses a number of outstanding applications in fundamental research, material science and medical physics, and will help to shape a new generation of accelerators. (orig.)

Generation of monoenergetic ion beams with a laser accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M.

2009-01-29

A method for the generation of monoenergetic proton and ion beams from a laser-based particle accelerator is presented. This method utilizes the unique space-charge effects occurring during relativistic laser-plasma interactions on solid targets in combination with a dot-like particle source. Due to this unique interaction geometry, MeV proton beams with an intrinsically narrow energy spectrum were obtained, for the first time, from a micrometer-scale laser accelerator. Over the past three years, the acceleration scheme has been consistently improved to enhance both the maximum particle energy and the reliability of the setup. The achieved degree of reliability allowed to derive the first scaling laws specifically for monoenergetic proton beams. Furthermore, the acceleration scheme was expanded on other target materials, enabling the generation of monoenergetic carbon beams. The experimental work was strongly supported by the parallel development of a complex theoretical model, which fully accounts for the observations and is in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. The presented results have an extraordinarily broad scope way beyond the current thesis: The availability of monoenergetic ion beams from a compact laser-plasma beam source - in conjunction with the unique properties of laser-produced particle beams - addresses a number of outstanding applications in fundamental research, material science and medical physics, and will help to shape a new generation of accelerators. (orig.)

Plasma Density Tapering for Laser Wakefield Acceleration of Electrons and Protons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ting, A.; Gordon, D.; Kaganovich, D.; Sprangle, P.; Helle, M.; Hafizi, B.

2010-01-01

Extended acceleration in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator can be achieved by tailoring the phase velocity of the accelerating plasma wave, either through profiling of the density of the plasma or direct manipulation of the phase velocity. Laser wakefield acceleration has also reached a maturity that proton acceleration by wakefield could be entertained provided we begin with protons that are substantially relativistic, ∼1 GeV. Several plasma density tapering schemes are discussed. The first scheme is called ''bucket jumping'' where the plasma density is abruptly returned to the original density after a conventional tapering to move the accelerating particles to a neighboring wakefield period (bucket). The second scheme is designed to specifically accelerate low energy protons by generating a nonlinear wakefield in a plasma region with close to critical density. The third scheme creates a periodic variation in the phase velocity by beating two intense laser beams with laser frequency difference equal to the plasma frequency. Discussions and case examples with simulations are presented where substantial acceleration of electrons or protons could be obtained.

Observations of visual sensations produced by Cerenkov radiation from high-energy electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steidley, K.D.; Eastman, R.M.; Stabile, R.J.

1989-01-01

Ten cancer patients whose eyes were therapeutically irradiated with 6-18 MeV electrons reported visual light sensations. Nine reported seeing blue light and one reported seeing white light. Controls reported seeing no light. Additionally, tests with patients ruled out the x-ray contamination of the electron beam as being important. The photon yield due to Cerenkov radiation produced by radium and its daughters for both electrons and gamma rays was calculated; it was found to account for a turn-of-the-century human observation of the radium phosphene. We conclude that the dominant mechanism of this phosphene is Cerenkov radiation, primarily from betas. From our own patient data, based on the color seen and the Cerenkov production rates, we conclude that the dominant mechanism is Cerenkov radiation and that high-energy electrons are an example of particle induced visual sensations

Laser wakefield acceleration using wire produced double density ramps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Burza

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A novel approach to implement and control electron injection into the accelerating phase of a laser wakefield accelerator is presented. It utilizes a wire, which is introduced into the flow of a supersonic gas jet creating shock waves and three regions of differing plasma electron density. If tailored appropriately, the laser plasma interaction takes place in three stages: Laser self-compression, electron injection, and acceleration in the second plasma wave period. Compared to self-injection by wave breaking of a nonlinear plasma wave in a constant density plasma, this scheme increases beam charge by up to 1 order of magnitude in the quasimonoenergetic regime. Electron acceleration in the second plasma wave period reduces electron beam divergence by ≈25%, and the localized injection at the density downramps results in spectra with less than a few percent relative spread.

En Route: next-generation laser-plasma-based electron accelerators; En Route: Elektronenbeschleuniger der naechsten Generation auf Laser-Plasma-Basis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hidding, Bernhard

2008-05-15

Accelerating electrons to relativistic energies is of fundamental interest, especially in particle physics. Today's accelerator technology, however, is limited by the maximum electric fields which can be created. This thesis presents results on various mechanisms aiming at exploiting the fields in focussed laser pulses and plasma waves for electron acceleration, which can be orders of magnitude higher than with conventional accelerators. With relativistic, underdense laser-plasma-interaction, quasimonoenergetic electron bunches with energies up to {approx}50 MeV and normalized emittances of the order of 5mmmrad have been generated. This was achieved by focussing the {approx}80 fs, 1 J pulses of the JETI-laser at the FSU Jena to intensities of several 10{sup 19}W=cm{sup 2} into gas jets. The experimental observations could be explained via 'bubble acceleration', which is based on self-injection and acceleration of electrons in a highly nonlinear breaking plasma wave. For the rst time, this bubble acceleration was achieved explicitly in the self-modulated laser wakefield regime (SMLWFA). This quasimonoenergetic SMLWFA-regime stands out by relaxing dramatically the requirements on the driving laser pulse necessary to trigger bubble acceleration. This is due to self-modulation of the laser pulse in high-density gas jets, leading to ultrashort laser pulse fragments capable of initiating bubble acceleration. Electron bunches with durations accelerator technology. In addition, more than one laser pulse fragment can be powerful enough to drive a bubble. Distinct double peaks have been observed in the electron spectra, indicating that two quasimonoenergetic electron bunches separated by only few tens of fs have formed. This is backed up by PIC-Simulations (Particle-in-Cell). These results underline the feasibility of the construction of small table

Cerenkov radiation simulation in the Auger water ground detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Van Ngoc; Vo Van Thuan; Dang Quang Thieu

2003-01-01

The simulation of response of the Auger water Cerenkov ground detector to atmospheric shower muons in practically needed for the experimental research of cosmic rays at extreme energies. We consider here a simulation model for the process of emission and diffusion of Cerenkov photons concerned with muons moving through the detector volume with the velocity greater than the phase velocity of light in the water on purpose to define photons producing signal in the detector. (author)

Radio-isotope production using laser Wakefield accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leemans, W.P.; Rodgers, D.; Catravas, P.E.; Geddes, C.G.R.; Fubiani, G.; Toth, C.; Esarey, E.; Shadwick, B.A.; Donahue, R.; Smith, A.; Reitsma, A.

2001-01-01

A 10 Hz, 10 TW solid state laser system has been used to produce electron beams suitable for radio-isotope production. The laser beam was focused using a 30 cm focal length f/6 off-axis parabola on a gas plume produced by a high pressure pulsed gas jet. Electrons were trapped and accelerated by high gradient wakefields excited in the ionized gas through the self-modulated laser wakefield instability. The electron beam was measured to contain excesses of 5 nC/bunch. A composite Pb/Cu target was used to convert the electron beam into gamma rays which subsequently produced radio-isotopes through (gamma, n) reactions. Isotope identification through gamma-ray spectroscopy and half-life time measurements demonstrated that Cu 61 was produced which indicates that 20-25 MeV gamma rays were produced, and hence electrons with energies greater than 25-30 MeV. The production of high energy electrons was independently confirmed using a bending magnet spectrometer. The measured spectra had an exponential distribution with a 3 MeV width. The amount of activation was on the order of 2.5 uCi after 3 hours of operation at 1 Hz. Future experiments will aim at increasing this yield by post-accelerating the electron beam using a channel guided laser wakefield accelerator

Optical design for increased interaction length in a high gradient dielectric laser accelerator

OpenAIRE

Cesar, D.; Maxson, J.; Musumeci, P.; Shen, X.; England, R. J.; Wootton, K. P.

2018-01-01

We present a methodology for designing and measuring pulse front tilt in an ultrafast laser for use in dielectric laser acceleration. Previous research into dielectric laser accelerating modules has focused on measuring high accelerating gradients in novel structures, but has done so only for short electron-laser coupling lengths. Here we demonstrate an optical design to extend the laser-electron interaction to 1mm.

Beam manipulation for compact laser wakefield accelerator based free-electron lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loulergue, A; Labat, M; Benabderrahmane, C; Couprie, M E; Evain, C; Malka, V

2015-01-01

Free-electron lasers (FELs) are a unique source of light, particularly in the x-ray domain. After the success of FELs based on conventional acceleration using radio-frequency cavities, an important challenge is the development of FELs based on electron bunching accelerated by a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA). However, the present LWFA electron bunch properties do not permit use directly for a significant FEL amplification. It is known that longitudinal decompression of electron beams delivered by state-of-the-art LWFA eases the FEL process. We propose here a second order transverse beam manipulation turning the large inherent transverse chromatic emittances of LWFA beams into direct FEL gain advantage. Numerical simulations are presented showing that this beam manipulation can further enhance by orders of magnitude the peak power of the radiation. (paper)

The technique of Cerenkov ring image detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langerveld, D.

1990-01-01

Charged particles with an energy between 2 GeV and 25 GeV can be identified in the DELPHI barrel RICH detector by using the technique of Cerenkov ring image detection. The method of identification is based on a determination of the Cerenkov angle by measuring the positions of the emitted Cerenkov photons to high precision in a photon detector. The resolution in the photon that can be obtained depends mainly on the chromatic dispersion in the radiators and on the resolution in the photon detector is used in the barrel RICH in combination with two radiators. The photon detector consists of 48 drift tubes, constructed from quarz plates, each equipped with a wire chamber at the end. The drift gas with which the tubes are filled contains a small admixture of TMAE vapour from which the Cerenkov photons can liberate photoelectrons. It is shown in this thesis that an efficient photon detection and an accurate localization of the photon conversion points is possible. The spatial resolution of the photon detector is determind by the resolution of the wire chambe, the accuracy of the drift measurement, the distortions in the paths of the drifting electrons. The resolution of the wire chamber has been measured to be 0.8 mm in the x- and 1.7 mm in the y-coordinate. The error in the z-coordinate introduced by the drift time measurement is 0.2 mm. The distortions in the paths of the drifting electrons have been measured both in the x and y-direction. The longitudinal and transverse diffusion coefficients have been measured as a function of the field strength for two different drift gas mixtures. (author). 96 refs.; 61 figs.; 11 tabs

A mm-Wave, Table Top Cerenkov Free-Electron Laser

CERN Document Server

De la Fuente, Isabel; Van der Slot, Peter

2004-01-01

We have designed and constructed a compact (0.5 x 1.5 m), 100 kV Cerenkov FEL operating at a frequency of 50 GHz. The electron beam is produced by a gridded thermionic electron gun with a beam current of 800 mA. Simulations shows that 800 mA is sufficient to produce an output power of ~ 1 kW peak at 50 GHz using a total cavity reflectivity of about 10 to 20 %. The average power approaches 1 kW when the electron pulse length is extended to CW. A depressed collector will be used to increase the overall efficiency of this device. Special attention has been given to the outcoupler that has to combine multiple functions. First it has to separate the radiation field from the electron beam. Second it has to be transparent for the electron beam and acts as a partial reflector for radiation. Finally it has to convert the generated TM01 mode in the interaction region into the fundamental TE01 mode of the standard rectangular output port. We will present the overall design and experimental set-up, first experimental res...

Cerenkov ring imaging detector development at SLAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, S.H.

1984-06-01

The imaging of Cerenkov light on to photosensitive detectors promises to be a powerful technique for identifying particles in colliding beam spectrometers. Toward this end two and three dimensional imaging photon detectors are being developed at SLAC. The present techniques involve photon conversion using easily ionized exotic chemicals like tetrakisdimethyl-amino-ethylene (TMAE) in a drift and amplifying gas mixture of methane and isobutane. Single photoelectrons from Cerenkov light are currently being drifted 20 cm and a new device under study will be used to study drifting up to 80 cm along a magnetic field. A short description of a large device currently being designed for the SLD spectrometer at the Stanford Linear Collider will be given

Photonic Crystal Laser-Driven Accelerator Structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowan, B

2004-01-01

The authors discuss simulated photonic crystal structure designs for laser-driven particle acceleration. They focus on three-dimensional planar structures based on the so-called ''woodpile'' lattice, demonstrating guiding of a speed-of-light accelerating mode by a defect in the photonic crystal lattice. They introduce a candidate geometry and discuss the properties of the accelerating mode. They also discuss the linear beam dynamics in the structure present a novelmethod for focusing the beam. In addition they describe ongoing investigations of photonic crystal fiber-based structures

The potential of a Cerenkov Array for Supersymmetry and Cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasileiadis, G.; Falvard, A.; Giraud, E.; Lavalle, J.; Sajjad, S.

2005-01-01

If R-parity is sufficiently well conserved, most of the supersymmetric models predict the existence of a stable, neutral particle, the neutralino, which would be a natural candidate for dark matter. Such particles can annihilate through various channels producing in particular, a faint flux of high energy photons in galactic and extragalactic high density regions. We have considered the potential of a Cerenkov array for exploring a significant fraction of the supersymmetric parameter space. The main constraints are the flux limit, which requires a very large effective area, and the energy threshold which needs reaching lower limit of the order of 15-20 GeV due to the lowest neutralino mass given by accelerators. Combining such constraints leads to an array of at least 16-19 Cerenkov reflectors with diameters of the order of 18m, located at high altitude (5000 m). This instrument would combine wide angle camera and large detection areas. It would also serve as a major tool in Observational Cosmology and Astrophysics above 15-20 GeV up to 1 TeV. Coming after GLAST, it would allow studying in details, at higher energy, the sources detected by this satellite. This instrument would not be able to explore the 10 GeV to sub-10 GeV domain unless higher QE detectors are discovered or larger diameters are considered. A very interesting site would be the Chajnantor-Toco area for this project which requires clear UBV photometric nights

The LILIA (laser induced light ions acceleration) experiment at LNF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agosteo, S.; Anania, M.P.; Caresana, M.; Cirrone, G.A.P.; De Martinis, C.; Delle Side, D.; Fazzi, A.; Gatti, G.; Giove, D.; Giulietti, D.; Gizzi, L.A.; Labate, L.; Londrillo, P.; Maggiore, M.; Nassisi, V.; Sinigardi, S.; Tramontana, A.; Schillaci, F.; Scuderi, V.; Turchetti, G.

2014-01-01

Laser-matter interaction at relativistic intensities opens up new research fields in the particle acceleration and related secondary sources, with immediate applications in medical diagnostics, biophysics, material science, inertial confinement fusion, up to laboratory astrophysics. In particular laser-driven ion acceleration is very promising for hadron therapy once the ion energy will attain a few hundred MeV. The limited value of the energy up to now obtained for the accelerated ions is the drawback of such innovative technique to the real applications. LILIA (laser induced light ions acceleration) is an experiment now running at LNF (Frascati) with the goal of producing a real proton beam able to be driven for significant distances (50–75 cm) away from the interaction point and which will act as a source for further accelerating structure. In this paper the description of the experimental setup, the preliminary results of solid target irradiation and start to end simulation for a post-accelerated beam up to 60 MeV are given

The LILIA (laser induced light ions acceleration) experiment at LNF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agosteo, S. [Energy Department, Polytechnic of Milan and INFN, Milan (Italy); Anania, M.P. [INFN LNF Frascati, Frascati (Italy); Caresana, M. [Energy Department, Polytechnic of Milan and INFN, Milan (Italy); Cirrone, G.A.P. [INFN LNS Catania, Catania (Italy); De Martinis, C. [Physics Department, University of Milan and INFN, Milan (Italy); Delle Side, D. [LEAS, University of Salento and INFN, Lecce (Italy); Fazzi, A. [Energy Department, Polytechnic of Milan and INFN, Milan (Italy); Gatti, G. [INFN LNF Frascati, Frascati (Italy); Giove, D. [Physics Department, University of Milan and INFN, Milan (Italy); Giulietti, D. [Physics Department, University of Pisa and INFN, Pisa (Italy); Gizzi, L.A.; Labate, L. [INO-CNR and INFN, Pisa (Italy); Londrillo, P. [Physics Department, University of Bologna and INFN, Bologna (Italy); Maggiore, M. [INFN LNL, Legnaro (Italy); Nassisi, V., E-mail: vincenzo.nassisi@le.infn.it [LEAS, University of Salento and INFN, Lecce (Italy); Sinigardi, S. [Physics Department, University of Bologna and INFN, Bologna (Italy); Tramontana, A.; Schillaci, F. [INFN LNS Catania, Catania (Italy); Scuderi, V. [INFN LNS Catania, Catania (Italy); Institute of Physics of the ASCR, Prague (Czech Republic); Turchetti, G. [Physics Department, University of Bologna and INFN, Bologna (Italy); and others

2014-07-15

Laser-matter interaction at relativistic intensities opens up new research fields in the particle acceleration and related secondary sources, with immediate applications in medical diagnostics, biophysics, material science, inertial confinement fusion, up to laboratory astrophysics. In particular laser-driven ion acceleration is very promising for hadron therapy once the ion energy will attain a few hundred MeV. The limited value of the energy up to now obtained for the accelerated ions is the drawback of such innovative technique to the real applications. LILIA (laser induced light ions acceleration) is an experiment now running at LNF (Frascati) with the goal of producing a real proton beam able to be driven for significant distances (50–75 cm) away from the interaction point and which will act as a source for further accelerating structure. In this paper the description of the experimental setup, the preliminary results of solid target irradiation and start to end simulation for a post-accelerated beam up to 60 MeV are given.

A new collective-field acceleration mechanism using a powerful laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willis, W.J.

1975-01-01

Performance estimates for a linear accelerator for positive ions are presented. Focusing and acceleration is performed by means of a local, strong modulation of a relativistic electron beam using the electromagnetic field of a laser. For high-power laser beams of 1010 watts per square wavelength, the accelerating field strength can be several GV/m, assuming free electrons. Various interaction mechanisms of the laser beam with the electron beam are briefly discussed, notably inverse bremsstrahlung and interaction with the self-magnetic field of the electron beam. Finally, coherent effects and the injection of ions are dealt with. (author)

Study of laser driven plasma based electron acceleration and Bremsstrahlung radiation emission using ultra-high intensity laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, B.S.

2013-01-01

High energy particle accelerators are one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century which have led to enormous advances in basic scientific understanding of world around us. Despite their grand success, the present day high energy accelerators are hitting practical limits due to their large size and cost. This is because the accelerating gradients in conventional radio-frequency (RF) accelerators are typically limited to < 50 MV/m by the field breakdown of the accelerating structure. To address this major issue, many advanced accelerator techniques have been proposed and some of them are being actively pursued. Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) in plasma medium is one of the techniques being most actively pursued world over due to extremely large acceleration gradients of the order of 100 GV/m possible in this scheme which promises significant reduction of the size and cost of the future high energy accelerators. The present thesis work mainly deals with laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) of self-injected electrons to 10s of MeV energy in plasma medium of length of the order of 500 μm using the table-top 10 TW laser at Laser Plasma Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology

ELIMAIA: A Laser-Driven Ion Accelerator for Multidisciplinary Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Margarone

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The main direction proposed by the community of experts in the field of laser-driven ion acceleration is to improve particle beam features (maximum energy, charge, emittance, divergence, monochromaticity, shot-to-shot stability in order to demonstrate reliable and compact approaches to be used for multidisciplinary applications, thus, in principle, reducing the overall cost of a laser-based facility compared to a conventional accelerator one and, at the same time, demonstrating innovative and more effective sample irradiation geometries. The mission of the laser-driven ion target area at ELI-Beamlines (Extreme Light Infrastructure in Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic, called ELI Multidisciplinary Applications of laser-Ion Acceleration (ELIMAIA , is to provide stable, fully characterized and tuneable beams of particles accelerated by Petawatt-class lasers and to offer them to the user community for multidisciplinary applications. The ELIMAIA beamline has been designed and developed at the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic (IoP-ASCR in Prague and at the National Laboratories of Southern Italy of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (LNS-INFN in Catania (Italy. An international scientific network particularly interested in future applications of laser driven ions for hadrontherapy, ELI MEDical applications (ELIMED, has been established around the implementation of the ELIMAIA experimental system. The basic technology used for ELIMAIA research and development, along with envisioned parameters of such user beamline will be described and discussed.

Summary Report of Working Group: Laser-Plasma Acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esarey, Eric; Schroeder, Carl B.; Tochitsky, Sergei; Milchberg, Howard M.

2004-01-01

A summary is given on the work presented and discussed in the Laser-Plasma Acceleration Working Group at the 2004 Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop, including the Plasma Acceleration Subgroup (Group-Leader: Eric Esarey; Co-Group-Leader: Sergei Tochitsky) and the Plasma Guiding Subgroup (Group-Leader: Howard Milchberg; Co-Group-Leader: Carl Schroeder)

Experimental results of laser wakefield acceleration using a femtosecond terawatt laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kando, Masaki; Ahn, Hyeyoung; Dewa, Hideki

1999-01-01

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWA) experiments have been carried out in an underdense plasma driven by a 2 TW, 90 fs laser pulse synchronized with a 17 MeV RF linac electron injector at 10 Hz. Around optimum plasma densities for LWA, we have observed electrons accelerated to 35 MeV. Wakefield excitation has been confirmed by measuring the electron density oscillation with a frequency domain interferometer. At plasma densities higher than the optimum density, we have also observed high energy electrons over 100 MeV up to 200 MeV. (author)

Enhanced efficiency of plasma acceleration in the laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration scheme

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Badziak, J.; Rosinski, M.; Jabłonski, S.; Pisarczyk, T.; Chodukowski, T.; Parys, P.; Raczka, P.; Krouský, Eduard; Ullschmied, Jiří; Liska, R.; Kucharik, M.

2015-01-01

Roč. 57, č. 1 (2015), 014007 ISSN 0741-3335 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC528; GA MŠk LM2010014 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 ; RVO:61389021 Keywords : laser ion acceleration * laser plasma * fast ignition * ion diagnostics * LICPA Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics; BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers (UFP-V) Impact factor: 2.404, year: 2015

Air core detectors for Cerenkov-free scintillation dosimetry of brachytherapy β-sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Eichmann, Marion; Thomann, Benedikt

2017-09-01

Plastic scintillation detectors are used for dosimetry in small radiation fields with high dose gradients, e.g., provided by β-emitting sources like 106 Ru/ 106 Rh eye plaques. A drawback is a background signal caused by Cerenkov radiation generated by electrons passing the optical fibers (light guides) of this dosimetry system. Common approaches to correct for the Cerenkov signal are influenced by uncertainties resulting from detector positioning and calibration procedures. A different approach to avoid any correction procedure is to suppress the Cerenkov signal by replacing the solid core optical fiber with an air core light guide, previously shown for external beam therapy. In this study, the air core concept is modified and applied to the requirements of dosimetry in brachytherapy, proving its usability for measuring water energy doses in small radiation fields. Three air core detectors with different air core lengths are constructed and their performance in dosimetry for brachytherapy β-sources is compared with a standard two-fiber system, which uses a second fiber for Cerenkov correction. The detector systems are calibrated with a 90 Sr/ 90 Y secondary standard and tested for their angular dependence as well as their performance in depth dose measurements of 106 Ru/ 106 Rh sources. The signal loss relative to the standard detector increases with increasing air core length to a maximum value of 58.3%. At the same time, however, the percentage amount of Cerenkov light in the total signal is reduced from at least 12.1% to a value below 1.1%. There is a linear correlation between induced dose and measured signal current. The air core detectors determine the dose rates for 106 Ru/ 106 Rh sources without any form of correction for the Cerenkov signal. The air core detectors show advantages over the standard two-fiber system especially when measuring in radiation fields with high dose gradients. They can be used as simple one-fiber systems and allow for an almost

Organization of lasers with particle accelerators to create new tools for frontier sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Kazuhisa; Kando, Masaki; Kotaki, Hideyuki; Kondo, Shuji; Kanazawa, Shuhei; Masuda, Shinichi; Honma, Takayuki

2003-01-01

Recently great advances of ultraintense ultrashort pulse lasers have brought about tremendous experimental and theoretical progress in maturity of laser-driven particle accelerator concepts. In near future creation of new tools for frontier sciences is forseen, which will be combined and organized from ultraintense lasers and particle accelerators. Here we report research activities on the laser acceleration at JAERI - APR as well as the outlook for developments of laser-driven particle injectors, accelerators and radiation sources. Recent world-wide experiments have successfully demonstrated that the self-modulated LWFA mechanism is capable of generating ultrahigh accelerating gradient of the order of 100 GeV/m, while the maximum energy gain is limited at most to 200 MeV with energy spread of 100% because of dephasing and wavebreaking effects in plasmas. The first high energy gain acceleration 300 MeV has been opened with the injection of an electron beam at an energy matched to a wakefield phase velocity in a fairly underdense plasma by our group. Our activities on laser acceleration research have focused on the laser wakefield accelerator developments for high energy electron acceleration achieving more than 1 GeV with channel-guided scheme, and on high quality beam generation with both conventional and advanced technologies. The main task has been devoted to completion of the Laser Acceleration Test Facility (LATF) consisting of the photocathode RF gun, the 150 MeV microtron accelerator and the test beam line as well as the estimation of radiation doses produced by LATF for the radiation safety clearance. With the use of LATF, we plan to demonstrate the channel-guided LWFA in which both the driving laser pulses and particle beams can be guided through the capillary discharge plasmas with a cm-scale length. The development of the plasma waveguide is underway after the first demonstration of propagating a 2 TW, 90 fs laser pulse through a stable 2 cm plasma

Enhancement of proton acceleration field in laser double-layer target interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, Y. J.; Kong, Q.; Li, X. F.; Yu, Q.; Wang, P. X.; Kawata, S.; Izumiyama, T.; Ma, Y. Y.

2013-01-01

A mechanism is proposed to enhance a proton acceleration field in laser plasma interaction. A double-layer plasma with different densities is illuminated by an intense short pulse. Electrons are accelerated to a high energy in the first layer by the wakefield. The electrons accelerated by the laser wakefield induce the enhanced target normal sheath (TNSA) and breakout afterburner (BOA) accelerations through the second layer. The maximum proton energy reaches about 1 GeV, and the total charge with an energy higher than 100 MeV is about several tens of μC/μm. Both the acceleration gradient and laser energy transfer efficiency are higher than those in single-target-based TNSA or BOA. The model has been verified by 2.5D-PIC simulations

Calculating the radiation characteristics of accelerated electrons in laser-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, X. F.; Yu, Q.; Qu, J. F.; Kong, Q.; Gu, Y. J.; Ma, Y. Y.; Kawata, S.

2016-01-01

In this paper, we studied the characteristics of radiation emitted by electrons accelerated in a laser–plasma interaction by using the Lienard–Wiechert field. In the interaction of a laser pulse with a underdense plasma, electrons are accelerated by two mechanisms: direct laser acceleration (DLA) and laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). At the beginning of the process, the DLA electrons emit most of the radiation, and the DLA electrons emit a much higher peak photon energy than the LWFA electrons. As the laser–plasma interaction progresses, the LWFA electrons become the major radiation emitter; however, even at this stage, the contribution from DLA electrons is significant, especially to the peak photon energy.

Effect of polarization and focusing on laser pulse driven auto-resonant particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagar, Vikram; Sengupta, Sudip; Kaw, Predhiman

2014-01-01

The effect of laser polarization and focusing is theoretically studied on the final energy gain of a particle in the Auto-resonant acceleration scheme using a finite duration laser pulse with Gaussian shaped temporal envelope. The exact expressions for dynamical variables viz. position, momentum, and energy are obtained by analytically solving the relativistic equation of motion describing particle dynamics in the combined field of an elliptically polarized finite duration pulse and homogeneous static axial magnetic field. From the solutions, it is shown that for a given set of laser parameters viz. intensity and pulse length along with static magnetic field, the energy gain by a positively charged particle is maximum for a right circularly polarized laser pulse. Further, a new scheme is proposed for particle acceleration by subjecting it to the combined field of a focused finite duration laser pulse and static axial magnetic field. In this scheme, the particle is initially accelerated by the focused laser field, which drives the non-resonant particle to second stage of acceleration by cyclotron Auto-resonance. The new scheme is found to be efficient over two individual schemes, i.e., auto-resonant acceleration and direct acceleration by focused laser field, as significant particle acceleration can be achieved at one order lesser values of static axial magnetic field and laser intensity

Radiation pressure injection in laser-wakefield acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y. L.; Kuramitsu, Y.; Isayama, S.; Chen, S. H.

2018-01-01

We investigated the injection of electrons in laser-wakefield acceleration induced by a self-modulated laser pulse by a two dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The localized electric fields and magnetic fields are excited by the counter-streaming flows on the surface of the ion bubble, owing to the Weibel or two stream like instability. The electrons are injected into the ion bubble from the sides of it and then accelerated by the wakefield. Contrary to the conventional wave breaking model, the injection of monoenergetic electrons are mainly caused by the electromagnetic process. A simple model was proposed to address the instability, and the growth rate was verified numerically and theoretically.

Multistage Coupling of Laser-Wakefield Accelerators with Curved Plasma Channels

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, J.; Chen, M.; Wu, W. Y.; Weng, S. M.; Sheng, Z. M.; Schroeder, C. B.; Jaroszynski, D. A.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.; Mori, W. B.; Zhang, J.

2018-04-01

Multistage coupling of laser-wakefield accelerators is essential to overcome laser energy depletion for high-energy applications such as TeV-level electron-positron colliders. Current staging schemes feed subsequent laser pulses into stages using plasma mirrors while controlling electron beam focusing with plasma lenses. Here a more compact and efficient scheme is proposed to realize the simultaneous coupling of the electron beam and the laser pulse into a second stage. A partly curved channel, integrating a straight acceleration stage with a curved transition segment, is used to guide a fresh laser pulse into a subsequent straight channel, while the electrons continue straight. This scheme benefits from a shorter coupling distance and continuous guiding of the electrons in plasma while suppressing transverse beam dispersion. Particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the electron beam from a previous stage can be efficiently injected into a subsequent stage for further acceleration while maintaining high capture efficiency, stability, and beam quality.

Shaping laser accelerated ions for future applications – The LIGHT collaboration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busold, S.; Almomani, A.; Bagnoud, V.; Barth, W.; Bedacht, S.; Blažević, A.; Boine-Frankenheim, O.

2014-01-01

The generation of intense ion beams from high-intensity laser-generated plasmas has been the focus of research for the last decade. In the LIGHT collaboration the expertise of heavy ion accelerator scientists and laser and plasma physicists has been combined to investigate the prospect of merging these ion beams with conventional accelerator technology and exploring the possibilities of future applications. We report about the goals and first results of the LIGHT collaboration to generate, handle and transport laser driven ion beams. This effort constitutes an important step in research for next generation accelerator technologies

Shaping laser accelerated ions for future applications – The LIGHT collaboration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busold, S., E-mail: s.busold@gsi.de [Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstraße 9, D-64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Almomani, A. [Institut für angewandte Physik, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Max von Laue Straße 1, D-60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Bagnoud, V. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz Institut Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, D-07734 Jena (Germany); Barth, W. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Bedacht, S. [Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstraße 9, D-64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Blažević, A. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz Institut Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, D-07734 Jena (Germany); Boine-Frankenheim, O. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Institut für Theorie Elektromagnetischer Felder, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstraße 8, D-64289 Darmstadt (Germany); and others

2014-03-11

The generation of intense ion beams from high-intensity laser-generated plasmas has been the focus of research for the last decade. In the LIGHT collaboration the expertise of heavy ion accelerator scientists and laser and plasma physicists has been combined to investigate the prospect of merging these ion beams with conventional accelerator technology and exploring the possibilities of future applications. We report about the goals and first results of the LIGHT collaboration to generate, handle and transport laser driven ion beams. This effort constitutes an important step in research for next generation accelerator technologies.

Cerenkov counters at ISABELLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashford, V.; Etkin, A.; Honma, A.; Kostoulas, I.; Lanou, R.; Watts, T.

1978-01-01

Particle mass identification capability will be very important for much of the physics at ISABELLE. It will be required for studying quantum number flow in quark--quark scattering (jet and high P/sub t/ physics), hadronic decays of W's and Z's, and ''onium'' states. It will be essential for detecting and studying ''naked flavor'' states and generally required or at least very useful for most hadronic physics at ISABELLE. The large all-purpose detectors envisioned for ISABELLE require particle identification covering up to 4π solid angle with high multiplicity capability, high rate capability, insensitivity to high magnetic fields, and large dynamic range (1 to 400 GeV/c). In addition, it would be desirable to have this information for on-line event selection. At present there are only four practical methods for doing charged hadron identification: time-of-flight, dE/dX (ionization sampling), transition radiation, and Cerenkov radiation. All these methods need independent momentum determination and are effective over only limited kinematic ranges. Although the status and foreseeable development of these techniques are discussed at length elsewhere their expected capabilities are summarized in order to compare them with Cerenkov techniques. For the sake of argument a 4π steradian detector with an inner radius of 2 m is assumed

Preformed transient gas channels for laser wakefield particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, W.M.

1994-01-01

Acceleration of electrons by laser-driven plasma wake fields is limited by the range over which a laser pulse can maintain its intensity. This distance is typically given by the Rayleigh range for the focused laser beam, usually on the order of 0.1 mm to 1 mm. For practical particle acceleration, interaction distances on the order of centimeters are required. Therefore, some means of guiding high intensity laser pulses is necessary. Light intensities on the order of a few times 10 17 W/cm 2 are required for laser wakefield acceleration schemes using near IR radiation. Gas densities on the order of or greater than 10 17 cm -3 are also needed. Laser-atom interaction studies in this density and intensity regime are generally limited by the concomitant problems in beam propagation introduced by the creation of a plasma. In addition to the interaction distance limit imposed by the Rayleigh range, defocusing of the high intensity laser pulse further limits the peak intensity which can be achieved. To solve the problem of beam propagation limitations in laser-plasma wakefield experiments, two potential methods for creating transient propagation channels in gaseous targets are investigated. The first involves creation of a charge-neutral channel in a gas by an initial laser pulse, which then is ionized by a second, ultrashort, high-intensity pulse to create a waveguide. The second method involves the ionization of a gas column by an ultrashort pulse; a transient waveguide is formed by the subsequent expansion of the heated plasma into the neutral gas

Development of gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid system for simultaneous imaging of I-131 radionuclide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, Seiichi; Suzuki, Mayumi; Kato, Katsuhiko [Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan); Watabe, Tadashi; Ikeda, Hayato; Kanai, Yasukazu [Department of Molecular Imaging in Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan); Ogata, Yoshimune [Radiological and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan); Hatazawa, Jun [Department of Molecular Imaging in Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan)

2016-09-11

Although iodine 131 (I-131) is used for radionuclide therapy, high resolution images are difficult to obtain with conventional gamma cameras because of the high energy of I-131 gamma photons (364 keV). Cerenkov-light imaging is a possible method for beta emitting radionuclides, and I-131 (606 MeV maximum beta energy) is a candidate to obtain high resolution images. We developed a high energy gamma camera system for I-131 radionuclide and combined it with a Cerenkov-light imaging system to form a gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system to compare the simultaneously measured images of these two modalities. The high energy gamma imaging detector used 0.85-mm×0.85-mm×10-mm thick GAGG scintillator pixels arranged in a 44×44 matrix with a 0.1-mm thick reflector and optical coupled to a Hamamatsu 2 in. square position sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT: H12700 MOD). The gamma imaging detector was encased in a 2 cm thick tungsten shield, and a pinhole collimator was mounted on its top to form a gamma camera system. The Cerenkov-light imaging system was made of a high sensitivity cooled CCD camera. The Cerenkov-light imaging system was combined with the gamma camera using optical mirrors to image the same area of the subject. With this configuration, we simultaneously imaged the gamma photons and the Cerenkov-light from I-131 in the subjects. The spatial resolution and sensitivity of the gamma camera system for I-131 were respectively ~3 mm FWHM and ~10 cps/MBq for the high sensitivity collimator at 10 cm from the collimator surface. The spatial resolution of the Cerenkov-light imaging system was 0.64 mm FWHM at 10 cm from the system surface. Thyroid phantom and rat images were successfully obtained with the developed gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system, allowing direct comparison of these two modalities. Our developed gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system will be useful to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these two

Ion Acceleration by Laser Plasma Interaction from Cryogenic Microjets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Propp, Adrienne [Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)

2015-08-16

Processes that occur in extreme conditions, such as in the center of stars and large planets, can be simulated in the laboratory using facilities such as SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). These facilities allow scientists to investigate the properties of matter by observing their interactions with high-power lasers. Ion acceleration from laser plasma interaction is gaining greater attention today due to its widespread potential applications, including proton beam cancer therapy and fast ignition for energy production. Typically, ion acceleration is achieved by focusing a high power laser on thin foil targets through a mechanism called Target Normal Sheath Acceleration. However, this mechanism is not ideal for creating the high-energy proton beams needed for future applications. Based on research and recent experiments, we hypothesized that a pure liquid cryogenic jet would be an ideal target for exploring new regimes of ion acceleration. Furthermore, it would provide a continuous, pure target, unlike metal foils which are consumed in the interaction and easily contaminated. In an effort to test this hypothesis, we used the 527 nm split beam, frequency-doubled TITAN laser at JLF. Data from the cryogenic jets was limited due to the flow of current up the jet into the nozzle during the interaction, heating the jet and damaging the orifice. However, we achieved a pure proton beam with evidence of a monoenergetic feature. Furthermore, data from gold and carbon wires showed surprising and interesting results. Preliminary analysis of data from two ion emission diagnostics, Thomson parabola spectrometers (TPs) and radio chromic films (RCFs), suggests that shockwave acceleration occurred rather than target normal sheath acceleration, the standard mechanism of ion acceleration. Upon completion of the experiment at TITAN, I researched the possibility of transforming our liquid cryogenic

Ion Acceleration by Laser Plasma Interaction from Cryogenic Microjets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Propp, Adrienne

2015-01-01

Processes that occur in extreme conditions, such as in the center of stars and large planets, can be simulated in the laboratory using facilities such as SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). These facilities allow scientists to investigate the properties of matter by observing their interactions with high-power lasers. Ion acceleration from laser plasma interaction is gaining greater attention today due to its widespread potential applications, including proton beam cancer therapy and fast ignition for energy production. Typically, ion acceleration is achieved by focusing a high power laser on thin foil targets through a mechanism called Target Normal Sheath Acceleration. However, this mechanism is not ideal for creating the high-energy proton beams needed for future applications. Based on research and recent experiments, we hypothesized that a pure liquid cryogenic jet would be an ideal target for exploring new regimes of ion acceleration. Furthermore, it would provide a continuous, pure target, unlike metal foils which are consumed in the interaction and easily contaminated. In an effort to test this hypothesis, we used the 527 nm split beam, frequency-doubled TITAN laser at JLF. Data from the cryogenic jets was limited due to the flow of current up the jet into the nozzle during the interaction, heating the jet and damaging the orifice. However, we achieved a pure proton beam with evidence of a monoenergetic feature. Furthermore, data from gold and carbon wires showed surprising and interesting results. Preliminary analysis of data from two ion emission diagnostics, Thomson parabola spectrometers (TPs) and radio chromic films (RCFs), suggests that shockwave acceleration occurred rather than target normal sheath acceleration, the standard mechanism of ion acceleration. Upon completion of the experiment at TITAN, I researched the possibility of transforming our liquid cryogenic

Effects of laser-polarization and wiggler magnetic fields on electron acceleration in laser-cluster interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Singh Ghotra, Harjit; Kant, Niti

2018-06-01

We examine the electron dynamics during laser-cluster interaction. In addition to the electrostatic field of an individual cluster and laser field, we consider an external transverse wiggler magnetic field, which plays a pivotal role in enhancing the electron acceleration. Single-particle simulation has been presented with a short pulse linearly polarized as well as circularly polarized laser pulses for electron acceleration in a cluster. The persisting Coulomb field allows the electron to absorb energy from the laser field. The stochastically heated electron finds a weak electric field at the edge of the cluster from where it is ejected. The wiggler magnetic field connects the regions of the stochastically heated, ejected electron from the cluster and high energy gain by the electron from the laser field outside the cluster. This increases the field strength and hence supports the electron to meet the phase of the laser field for enhanced acceleration. A long duration resonance appears with an optimized magnetic wiggler field of about 3.4 kG. Hence, the relativistic energy gain by the electron is enhanced up to a few 100 MeV with an intense short pulse laser with an intensity of about 1019 W cm‑2 in the presence of a wiggler magnetic field.

Micron-scale resolution radiography of laser-accelerated and laser-exploded foils using an yttrium x-ray laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cauble, R.; Da Silva, L.B.; Barbee, T.W. Jr.; Celliers, P.; Moreno, J.C.; Mrowka, S.; Perry, T.S.; Wan, A.S.

1994-09-01

The authors have imaged laser-accelerated foils and exploding foils on the few-micron scale using an yttrium x-ray laser (155 angstrom, 80 eV, ∼200 ps duration) and a multilayer mirror imaging system. At the maximum magnification of 30, resolution was of order one micron. The images were side-on radiographs of the foils. Accelerated foils showed significant filamentation on the rear-side (away from the driving laser) of the foil, although the laser beam was smoothed. In addition to the narrow rear-side filamentation, some shots revealed larger-scale plume-like structures on the front (driven) side of the Al foil. These plumes seem to be little-affected by beam smoothing and are likely a consequence of Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The experiments were carried out at the Nova two-beam facility

Measurement of the pulse night spectrum Cerenkov flashes in the atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlemmer, G.

1981-03-01

The determination of the energy spectrum of Cosmic Rays is difficult because of the low particle density at high energies. Normally such observations would require detectors with large collecting areas and long measurement periods. However the difficulty can be overcome by measuring shower induced Cerenkov radiation, the photon density of which is proportional to the shower energy. The Cerenkov radiation measurements reported here were made using two photomultipliers connected to a coincidence counter unit. The shower energy was deduced from measurements of the height of the pulses observed at the multiplier output,which should be proportional to the number of Cerenkov photons arriving at the photocathode. In order to make meaningful statements about the shower energy the statistical response of the photomultiplier system had to be standardized. This calibration was carried out by illuminating the photomultiplier cathode with a pulsed LED of pulsewidth 5 ns. For different light intensities of the LED a pulse-height spectrum was taken at the multiplier output. In addition to the Cerenkov photons counted by the photomultipliers, there exists a strong constant background light intensity. This background can be eliminated by employing a coincidence amplifier with a resolution time of 10 ns. To reduce background induced accidental coincidences the apparatus was equipped with a variable trigger level. To test the apparatus the Cerenkov radiation induced by cosmic rays in a water basin and in the photomultiplier window itself was measured and compared to theoretical estimates. The agreement was good. The pulse height spectrum of atmospheric Cerenkov radiation was obtained at the Cosmic Ray Physics Laboratory at the Hafelekar Observatory near Innsbruck. The measurements obtained there allowed the exponnent $delta in the differential energy spectrum N(E) dE c.Esup(-$delta)dE of the primary Cosmic Radiation to be evaluated. The value of $delta in the energy range 2,5 x 10 14

Novel target design for enhanced laser driven proton acceleration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malay Dalui

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate a simple method of preparing structured target for enhanced laser-driven proton acceleration under target-normal-sheath-acceleration scheme. A few layers of genetically modified, clinically grown micron sized E. Coli bacteria cell coated on a thin metal foil has resulted in an increase in the maximum proton energy by about 1.5 times and the total proton yield is enhanced by approximately 25 times compared to an unstructured reference foil at a laser intensity of 1019 W/cm2. Particle-in-cell simulations on the system shows that the structures on the target-foil facilitates anharmonic resonance, contributing to enhanced hot electron production which leads to stronger accelerating field. The effect is observed to grow as the number of structures is increased in the focal area of the laser pulse.

An analytical reconstruction model of the spread-out Bragg peak using laser-accelerated proton beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Li; Zhu, Kun; Zhu, Jungao; Xu, Xiaohan; Lin, Chen; Ma, Wenjun; Lu, Haiyang; Zhao, Yanying; Lu, Yuanrong; Chen, Jia-Er; Yan, Xueqing

2017-07-07

With the development of laser technology, laser-driven proton acceleration provides a new method for proton tumor therapy. However, it has not been applied in practice because of the wide and decreasing energy spectrum of laser-accelerated proton beams. In this paper, we propose an analytical model to reconstruct the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) using laser-accelerated proton beams. Firstly, we present a modified weighting formula for protons of different energies. Secondly, a theoretical model for the reconstruction of SOBPs with laser-accelerated proton beams has been built. It can quickly calculate the number of laser shots needed for each energy interval of the laser-accelerated protons. Finally, we show the 2D reconstruction results of SOBPs for laser-accelerated proton beams and the ideal situation. The final results show that our analytical model can give an SOBP reconstruction scheme that can be used for actual tumor therapy.

Colour quenching corrections on the measurement of 90Sr through Cerenkov counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mosqueda, F.; Villa, M.; Vaca, F.; Bolivar, J.P.

2007-01-01

The determination of 90 Sr through the Cerenkov radiation emitted by its descendant 90 Y is a well-known method and firmly established in literature. Nevertheless, in order to obtain an accurate result based on a Cerenkov measurement, the experimental work must be extremely rigorous because the efficiency of Cerenkov counting is especially sensitive to the presence of colour. Any traces of colour in the sample produce a decrease in the number of photons detected in the photomultipliers and, therefore, this might cause a diminution in Cerenkov counting efficiency. It is essential not only to detect the effect of colour quenching in the sample but also to correct the decrease in counting efficiency. For this reason, colour quenching correction curves versus counting efficiency are usually done when measuring through Cerenkov counting. One of the most widely used techniques to evaluate colour quenching in these measurements is the channel ratio method, which consists of the measurement of the shift of the spectrum measuring the ratio of counts in two different windows. The selection of the windows for the application of the corrections might have an influence on the quality of the fitting parameters of the correction curves efficiency versus colour quenching degree and hence on the final 90 Sr result. This work is focused on the calculation of the counting efficiency decrease using the channel ratio method and on obtaining the best fitting correction curve. For this purpose, empirical curves obtained through artificial quenchers have been studied and the results have been tested in real samples. Additionally, given that the Packard Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL liquid scintillation counter is a novel detector for use in Cerenkov counting, the previous calibration of the Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL detector, necessary for the measurement of 90 Sr, is included

On the elimination of numerical Cerenkov radiation in PIC simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenwood, Andrew D.; Cartwright, Keith L.; Luginsland, John W.; Baca, Ernest A.

2004-01-01

Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are a useful tool in modeling plasma in physical devices. The Yee finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is commonly used in PIC simulations to model the electromagnetic fields. However, in the Yee FDTD method, poorly resolved waves at frequencies near the cut off frequency of the grid travel slower than the physical speed of light. These slowly traveling, poorly resolved waves are not a problem in many simulations because the physics of interest are at much lower frequencies. However, when high energy particles are present, the particles may travel faster than the numerical speed of their own radiation, leading to non-physical, numerical Cerenkov radiation. Due to non-linear interaction between the particles and the fields, the numerical Cerenkov radiation couples into the frequency band of physical interest and corrupts the PIC simulation. There are two methods of mitigating the effects of the numerical Cerenkov radiation. The computational stencil used to approximate the curl operator can be altered to improve the high frequency physics, or a filtering scheme can be introduced to attenuate the waves that cause the numerical Cerenkov radiation. Altering the computational stencil is more physically accurate but is difficult to implement while maintaining charge conservation in the code. Thus, filtering is more commonly used. Two previously published filters by Godfrey and Friedman are analyzed and compared to ideally desired filter properties

3D printing of gas jet nozzles for laser-plasma accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Döpp, A.; Guillaume, E.; Thaury, C.; Gautier, J.; Ta Phuoc, K.; Malka, V. [LOA, ENSTA ParisTech, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay, 828 Boulevard des Maréchaux, 91762 Palaiseau Cedex (France)

2016-07-15

Recent results on laser wakefield acceleration in tailored plasma channels have underlined the importance of controlling the density profile of the gas target. In particular, it was reported that the appropriate density tailoring can result in improved injection, acceleration, and collimation of laser-accelerated electron beams. To achieve such profiles, innovative target designs are required. For this purpose, we have reviewed the usage of additive layer manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, in order to produce gas jet nozzles. Notably we have compared the performance of two industry standard techniques, namely, selective laser sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA). Furthermore we have used the common fused deposition modeling to reproduce basic gas jet designs and used SLA and SLS for more sophisticated nozzle designs. The nozzles are characterized interferometrically and used for electron acceleration experiments with the SALLE JAUNE terawatt laser at Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée.

Ultra fast imaging of a laser wake field accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saevert, Alexander; Schnell, Michael; Nicolai, Maria; Reuter, Maria; Schwab, Matthew B.; Moeller, Max [Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet, Jena (Germany); Mangles, Stuart P.D.; Cole, Jason M.; Poder, Kristjan; Najmudin, Zulfikar [The John Adams Institute Imperial College, London (United Kingdom); Jaeckel, Oliver; Paulus, Gerhard G.; Spielmann, Christian; Kaluza, Malte C. [Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet, Jena (Germany); Helmholtz Institut Jena, Jena (Germany)

2014-07-01

Ultra intense laser pulses are known to excite plasma waves with a relativistic phase velocity. By harnessing these waves it is possible to generate quasi-monoenergetic, ultra-short electron pulses with kinetic energies from 0.1 to 2 GeV by guiding the laser pulse over several Rayleigh lengths. To further improve the stability of these particle pulses and ultimately to be able to tailor the energy spectrum toward their suitability for various applications, the physics underlying the different acceleration scenarios need to be understood as completely as possible. To be able to resolve the acceleration process diagnostics well-suited for this plasma environment need to be designed and realized. By using sub-10 fs probe pulses we were able to freeze the transient accelerating structure in the plasma. We will present the first results of an experiment which was carried out with the 30 TW JETi Laser and a few cycle probe pulse at the Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics Jena. The resulting snapshots show unprecedented details from the laser plasma interaction and allow a direct comparison to computer simulations.

LIGHT - from laser ion acceleration to future applications

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Markus; Light Collaboration

2013-10-01

Creation of high intensity multi-MeV ion bunches by high power lasers became a reliable tool during the last 15 years. The laser plasma source provides for TV/m accelerating field gradients and initially sub-ps bunch lengths. However, the large envelope divergence and the continuous exponential energy spectrum are substential drawbacks for many possible applications. To face this problem, the LIGHT collaboration was founded (Laser Ion Generation, Handling and Transport). The collaboration consists of several university groups and research centers, namely TU Darmstadt, JWGU Frankfurt, HI Jena, HZDR Dresden and GSI Darmstadt. The central goal is building a test beamline for merging laser ion acceleration with conventional accelerator infrastructure at the GSI facility. In the latest experiments, low divergent proton bunches with a central energy of up to 10 MeV and containing >109 particles could be provided at up to 2.2 m behind the plasma source, using a pulsed solenoid. In a next step, a radiofrequency cavity will be added to the beamline for phase rotation of these bunches, giving access to sub-ns bunch lengths and reaching highest intensities. An overview of the LIGHT objectives and the recent experimental results will be given. This work was supported by HIC4FAIR.

Staging of laser-plasma accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinke, S., E-mail: ssteinke@lbl.gov; Tilborg, J. van; Benedetti, C.; Geddes, C. G. R.; Gonsalves, A. J.; Nakamura, K.; Schroeder, C. B.; Esarey, E. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Daniels, J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven (Netherlands); Swanson, K. K.; Shaw, B. H.; Leemans, W. P. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

2016-05-15

We present results of an experiment where two laser-plasma-accelerator stages are coupled at a short distance by a plasma mirror. Stable electron beams from the first stage were used to longitudinally probe the dark-current-free, quasi-linear wakefield excited by the laser of the second stage. Changing the arrival time of the electron beam with respect to the second stage laser pulse allowed reconstruction of the temporal wakefield structure, determination of the plasma density, and inference of the length of the electron beam. The first stage electron beam could be focused by an active plasma lens to a spot size smaller than the transverse wake size at the entrance of the second stage. This permitted electron beam trapping, verified by a 100 MeV energy gain.

Laser wakefield accelerator experiments at LBNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leemans, W.P.; Rodgers, D.; Catravas, P.E.; Fubiani, G.; Geddes, C.G.R.; Esarey, E.; Shadwick, B.A.; Brussaard, G.J.H.; Tilborg, J. van; Chattopadhyay, S.; Wurtele, J.S.; Archambault, L.; Dickinson, M.R.; DiMaggio, S.; Short, R.; Barat, K.L.; Donahue, R.; Floyd, J.; Smith, A.; Wong, E.

2001-01-01

The status is presented of the laser wakefield acceleration research at the l'OASIS laboratory of the Center for Beam Physics at LBNL. Experiments have been performed on laser driven production of relativistic electron beams from plasmas using a high repetition rate (10 Hz), high power (10 TW) Ti:sapphire (0.8 μm) laser system. Large amplitude plasma waves have been excited in the self-modulated laser wakefield regime by tightly focusing (spot diameter 8 μm) a single high power (≤10 TW), ultra-short (≥50 fs) laser pulse onto a high density (>10 19 cm -3 ) pulsed gasjet (length 1.2 mm). Nuclear activation measurements in lead and copper targets indicate the production of electrons with energy in excess of 25 MeV. This result was confirmed by electron distribution measurements using a bending magnet spectrometer. Progress on implementing the colliding pulse laser injection method is also presented. This method is expected to produce low emittance ( 7 electrons/bunch

Relativistic electron acceleration by net inverse bremsstrahlung in a laser-irradiated plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, S.H.; Chen, K.W.

1985-01-01

Using the quantum-kinetic method, the net acceleration of relativistic electrons in a laser-irradiated plasma is studied as a function of the relevant parameters of the incident laser wave and the plasma wave. It is suggested that, in general, the net acceleration in laser-produced turbulent plasmas is primarily due to inverse bremsstrahlung proceses, and the acceleration gradient exceeds several hundreds gigavolt per meter when the electron energy is large (TeV) and the momentum spread of the beam is properly controlled

SU-E-T-238: Monte Carlo Estimation of Cerenkov Dose for Photo-Dynamic Radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chibani, O; Price, R; Ma, C [Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Eldib, A [Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA (United States); University Cairo (Egypt); Mora, G [de Lisboa, Codex, Lisboa (Portugal)

2014-06-01

Purpose: Estimation of Cerenkov dose from high-energy megavoltage photon and electron beams in tissue and its impact on the radiosensitization using Protoporphyrine IX (PpIX) for tumor targeting enhancement in radiotherapy. Methods: The GEPTS Monte Carlo code is used to generate dose distributions from 18MV Varian photon beam and generic high-energy (45-MV) photon and (45-MeV) electron beams in a voxel-based tissueequivalent phantom. In addition to calculating the ionization dose, the code scores Cerenkov energy released in the wavelength range 375–425 nm corresponding to the pick of the PpIX absorption spectrum (Fig. 1) using the Frank-Tamm formula. Results: The simulations shows that the produced Cerenkov dose suitable for activating PpIX is 4000 to 5500 times lower than the overall radiation dose for all considered beams (18MV, 45 MV and 45 MeV). These results were contradictory to the recent experimental studies by Axelsson et al. (Med. Phys. 38 (2011) p 4127), where Cerenkov dose was reported to be only two orders of magnitude lower than the radiation dose. Note that our simulation results can be corroborated by a simple model where the Frank and Tamm formula is applied for electrons with 2 MeV/cm stopping power generating Cerenkov photons in the 375–425 nm range and assuming these photons have less than 1mm penetration in tissue. Conclusion: The Cerenkov dose generated by high-energy photon and electron beams may produce minimal clinical effect in comparison with the photon fluence (or dose) commonly used for photo-dynamic therapy. At the present time, it is unclear whether Cerenkov radiation is a significant contributor to the recently observed tumor regression for patients receiving radiotherapy and PpIX versus patients receiving radiotherapy only. The ongoing study will include animal experimentation and investigation of dose rate effects on PpIX response.

Physical Foundations for Acceleration by Traveling Laser Focus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikhailichenko, A.A.

2004-01-01

In this method called Travelling Laser Focus (TLF), multi-cell microstructures scaled down to the laser wavelength-size. Each cell in these structures has an opening from the side. Special Electro-Optical device controllably sweeps focused laser spot along these openings in accordance with instant position of accelerated micro-bunch inside the structure. This arrangement reduces the illuminating time for every point on the structure's surface and power required from the laser. Physical limitations considered for mostly important components of the TLF scheme

Ultrafast terawatt laser sources for high-field particle acceleration and short wavelength generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downer, M.C.

1996-01-01

The Laser Sources working group concerned itself with recent advances in and future requirements for the development of laser sources relevant to high-energy physics (HEP) colliders, small scale accelerators, and the generation of short wave-length radiation. We heavily emphasized pulsed terawatt peak power laser sources for several reasons. First, their development over the past five years has been rapid and multi-faceted, and has made relativistic light intensity available to the advanced accelerator community, as well as the wider physics community, for the first time. Secondly, they have strongly impacted plasma-based accelerator research over the past two years, producing the first experimental demonstrations of the laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) in both its resonantly-driven and self-modulated forms. Thirdly, their average power and wall-plug efficiency currently fall well short of projected requirements for future accelerators and other high average power applications, but show considerable promise for improving substantially over the next few years. A review of this rapidly emerging laser technology in the context of advanced accelerator research is therefore timely

Electron acceleration using laser produced plasmas

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Landua, Rolf

2005-01-01

Low density plasmas have long been of interest as a potential medium for particle acceleration since relativistic plasma waves are capable of supporting electric fields greater than 100 GeV/m. The physics of particle acceleration using plasmas will be reviewed, and new results will be discussed which have demonstrated that relatively narrow energy spread (<3%) beams having energies greater than 100 MeV can be produced from femtosecond laser plasma interactions. Future experiments and potential applications will also be discussed.

Role of laser contrast and foil thickness in target normal sheath acceleration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gizzi, L.A. [ILIL, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa (Italy); Altana, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Catania (Italy); Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, INFN, Via S. Sofia, Catania (Italy); Brandi, F. [ILIL, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa (Italy); Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova (Italy); Cirrone, P. [Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, INFN, Via S. Sofia, Catania (Italy); Cristoforetti, G. [ILIL, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa (Italy); Fazzi, A. [Energy Department, Polytechnic of Milan, Milan (Italy); INFN, Milan (Italy); Ferrara, P.; Fulgentini, L. [ILIL, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa (Italy); Giove, D. [INFN-LASA, Via Fratelli Cervi 201, 20090 Segrate (Italy); Koester, P. [ILIL, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa (Italy); Labate, L. [ILIL, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa (Italy); Lanzalone, G. [Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, INFN, Via S. Sofia, Catania (Italy); Università degli Studi di Enna Kore, Via delle Olimpiadi, 94100 Enna (Italy); Londrillo, P. [INAF–Osservatorio astronomico Bologna (Italy); Mascali, D.; Muoio, A. [Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, INFN, Via S. Sofia, Catania (Italy); Palla, D. [ILIL, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa (Italy); Schillaci, F. [Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, INFN, Via S. Sofia, Catania (Italy); Sinigardi, S. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); INFN, Sez. di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna (Italy); and others

2016-09-01

In this paper we present an experimental investigation of laser driven light-ion acceleration using the ILIL laser at an intensity of 2×10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}. In the experiment we focused our attention on the identification of the role of target thickness and resistivity in the fast electron transport and in the acceleration process. Here we describe the experimental results concerning the effect of laser contrast in the laser–target interaction regime. We also show preliminary results on ion acceleration which provide information about the role of bulk target ions and surface ions and target dielectric properties in the acceleration process.

Dynamics and transport of laser-accelerated particle beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, Stefan

2010-01-01

The subject of this thesis is the investigation and optimization of beam transport elements in the context of the steadily growing field of laser-driven particle acceleration. The first topic is the examination of the free vacuum expansion of an electron beam at high current density. It could be shown that particle tracking codes which are commonly used for the calculation of space charge effects will generate substantial artifacts in the regime considered here. The artifacts occurring hitherto predominantly involve insufficient prerequisites for the Lorentz transformation, the application of inadequate initial conditions and non negligible retardation artifacts. A part of this thesis is dedicated to the development of a calculation approach which uses a more adequate ansatz calculating space charge effects for laser-accelerated electron beams. It can also be used to validate further approaches for the calculation of space charge effects. The next elements considered are miniature magnetic quadrupole devices for the focusing of charged particle beams. General problems involved with their miniaturization concern distorting higher order field components. If these distorting components cannot be controlled, the field of applications is very limited. In this thesis a new method for the characterization and compensation of the distorting components was developed, which might become a standard method when assembling these permanent magnet multipole devices. The newly developed characterization method has been validated at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) electron accelerator. Now that we can ensure optimum performance, the first application of permanent magnet quadrupole devices in conjunction with laser-accelerated ion beams is presented. The experiment was carried out at the Z-Petawatt laser system at Sandia National Laboratories. A promising application for laser-accelerated electron beams is the FEL in a university-scale size. The first discussion of all relevant aspects

Dynamics and transport of laser-accelerated particle beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, Stefan

2010-04-19

The subject of this thesis is the investigation and optimization of beam transport elements in the context of the steadily growing field of laser-driven particle acceleration. The first topic is the examination of the free vacuum expansion of an electron beam at high current density. It could be shown that particle tracking codes which are commonly used for the calculation of space charge effects will generate substantial artifacts in the regime considered here. The artifacts occurring hitherto predominantly involve insufficient prerequisites for the Lorentz transformation, the application of inadequate initial conditions and non negligible retardation artifacts. A part of this thesis is dedicated to the development of a calculation approach which uses a more adequate ansatz calculating space charge effects for laser-accelerated electron beams. It can also be used to validate further approaches for the calculation of space charge effects. The next elements considered are miniature magnetic quadrupole devices for the focusing of charged particle beams. General problems involved with their miniaturization concern distorting higher order field components. If these distorting components cannot be controlled, the field of applications is very limited. In this thesis a new method for the characterization and compensation of the distorting components was developed, which might become a standard method when assembling these permanent magnet multipole devices. The newly developed characterization method has been validated at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) electron accelerator. Now that we can ensure optimum performance, the first application of permanent magnet quadrupole devices in conjunction with laser-accelerated ion beams is presented. The experiment was carried out at the Z-Petawatt laser system at Sandia National Laboratories. A promising application for laser-accelerated electron beams is the FEL in a university-scale size. The first discussion of all relevant aspects

Irradiated fuel examination using the Cerenkov technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicholson, N.; Dowdy, E.J.

1981-03-01

A technique for monitoring irradiated nuclear fuel inventories located in water filled storage ponds has been developed and demonstrated. This technique provides sufficient qualitative information to be useful as a confirmatory technique to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. Measurements have been made on the Cerenkov glow light intensity from irradiated fuel that show the intensity of this light to be proportional to the cooling time. Fieldable instruments used in several tests confirm that such measurements can be made easily and rapidly, without fuel assembly movement or the introduction of apparatus into the storage ponds. The Cerenkov technique and instrumentation have been shown to be of potential use to operators of reactor spent fuel facilities and away from reactor storage facilities, and to the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors who provide surveillance of the irradiated fuel stored in these facilities

Cerenkov-ΔE-Cerenkov detector for high-energy cosmic-ray isotopes and an accelerator study of 40Ar and 56Fe fragmentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, K.H.

1985-01-01

This thesis has two major parts. The first part of the thesis will describe a high energy cosmic ray detector - the High Energy Isotope Spectrometer Telescope (HEIST). HEIST is a large area (0.25 m 2 sr) balloon-borne isotope spectrometer designed to make high-resolution measurements of isotopes in the element range from neon to nickel (10 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 28) at energies of about 2 GeV/nucleon. The instrument consists of a stack of 12 NaI(Tl) scintillators, two Cerenkov counters, and two plastic scintillators. The second part of this thesis presents an experimental measurement of the isotopic composition of the fragments from the breakup of high energy 40 Ar and 56 Fe nuclei. Cosmic ray composition studies rely heavily on semi-empirical estimates of the cross-sections for the nuclear fragmentation reactions which alter the composition during propagation through the interstellar medium. Experimentally measured yields of isotopes from the fragmentation of 40 Ar and 56 Fe are compared with calculated yields based on semi-empirical cross-section formulae

Unlimited electron acceleration in laser-driven plasma waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsouleas, T.; Dawson, J.M.

1983-01-01

It is shown that the limitation to the energy gain of 2(ω/ω/sub p/) 2 mc 2 of an electron in the laser-plasma beat-wave accelerator can be overcome by imposing a magnetic field of appropriate strength perpendicular to the plasma wave. This accelerates particles parallel to the phase fronts of the accelerating wave which keeps them in phase with it. Arbitrarily large energy is theoretically possible

Cerenkov counters at the Omega Facility

CERN Multimedia

1975-01-01

P. Petroff on the left. Here one sees both the gas Cerenkov counters sitting in front of the magnet to select forward emitted particles. The smaller one, working at high pressure, sits nearest to the Omega magnet (see photo 7505073X), the other (see photo 7505071X) works at atmospheric pressure.

Electron acceleration in laser-plasma interaction: development and characterization of an optical injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rechatin, C.

2009-09-01

In any particle accelerator, the injector plays a crucial role since it determines most of the characteristics of the accelerated beam. This is also true for laser-plasma accelerators, that are based on the interaction of an ultra short, ultra intense laser with an underdense plasma. However, due to the compactness of these accelerators, injection is a real challenge: to obtain a good beam quality, injected electron beams have to be ultra short and precisely synchronized with the laser. In this manuscript, the relevance of an optical injector, that relies on a second laser pulse, is experimentally demonstrated. With this injector, mono energetic electron beams have been produced in a stable manner. Moreover, this injector gives control over the electron beam parameters. Using the parameters of the second laser pulse, it has been proven that the energy, the charge and the energy spread of the accelerated beam can be simply tuned. Those additional controls make it possible to study in great details the physical phenomena at play during the acceleration. Beam loading effects, due to the interaction of the accelerated bunch with the plasma, have been identified and studied. With optimized injector parameters, the narrowest electron beams measured to date in the laser plasma interaction have been obtained, with a relative energy spread of 1%. (author)

Measurement and interpretation of laser accelerated protons at GSI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Omari, Husam

2014-01-01

This thesis is structured into 7 chapters: - Chapter 2 gives an overview of the ultrashort high intensity laser interaction with matter. The laser interaction with an induced plasma is described, starting from the kinematics of single electron motion, followed by collective electron effects and the ponderamotive motion in the laser focus and the plasma transparency for the laser beam. The three different mechanisms prepared to accelerate and propagate electrons through matter are discussed. The following indirect acceleration of protons is explained by the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. Finally some possible applications of laser accelerated protons are explained briefly. - Chapter 3 deals with the modeling of geometry and field mapping of magnetic lens. Initial proton and electron distributions, fitted to PHELIX measured data are generated, a brief description of employed codes and used techniques in simulation is given, and the aberrations at the solenoid focal spot is studied. - Chapter 4 presents a simulation study for suggested corrections to optimize the proton beam as a later beam source. Two tools have been employed in these suggested corrections, an aperture placed at the solenoid focal spot as energy selection tool, and a scattering foil placed in the proton beam to smooth the radial energy beam profile correlation at the focal spot due to chromatic aberrations. Another suggested correction has been investigated, to optimize the beam radius at the focal spot by lens geometry controlling. - Chapter 5 presents a simulation study for the de-neutralization problem in TNSA caused by the fringing fields of pulsed magnetic solenoid and quadrupole. In this simulation, we followed an electrostatic model, where the evolution of both, self and mutual fields through the pulsed magnetic solenoid could be found, which is not the case in the quadrupole and only the growth of self fields could be found. The field mapping of magnetic elements is

Measurement and interpretation of laser accelerated protons at GSI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Omari, Husam

2014-04-28

This thesis is structured into 7 chapters: - Chapter 2 gives an overview of the ultrashort high intensity laser interaction with matter. The laser interaction with an induced plasma is described, starting from the kinematics of single electron motion, followed by collective electron effects and the ponderamotive motion in the laser focus and the plasma transparency for the laser beam. The three different mechanisms prepared to accelerate and propagate electrons through matter are discussed. The following indirect acceleration of protons is explained by the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. Finally some possible applications of laser accelerated protons are explained briefly. - Chapter 3 deals with the modeling of geometry and field mapping of magnetic lens. Initial proton and electron distributions, fitted to PHELIX measured data are generated, a brief description of employed codes and used techniques in simulation is given, and the aberrations at the solenoid focal spot is studied. - Chapter 4 presents a simulation study for suggested corrections to optimize the proton beam as a later beam source. Two tools have been employed in these suggested corrections, an aperture placed at the solenoid focal spot as energy selection tool, and a scattering foil placed in the proton beam to smooth the radial energy beam profile correlation at the focal spot due to chromatic aberrations. Another suggested correction has been investigated, to optimize the beam radius at the focal spot by lens geometry controlling. - Chapter 5 presents a simulation study for the de-neutralization problem in TNSA caused by the fringing fields of pulsed magnetic solenoid and quadrupole. In this simulation, we followed an electrostatic model, where the evolution of both, self and mutual fields through the pulsed magnetic solenoid could be found, which is not the case in the quadrupole and only the growth of self fields could be found. The field mapping of magnetic elements is

WE-FG-BRA-12: Research Work of the Radio-Dynamic Treatment Mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Quanshi; Sun, Q.Y; Xiao, G.P.; Zeng, J.; Wang, L. [Beijing Top Grade Medical (Yiren Hospital), Beijing, BEIJING (China); Chen, L.L.; Ma, C.M.C. [Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: The finite penetration depth of Laser light has limited clinical applications for PDT. This present work investigates the activation of photosensitizers using Cerenkov light emission from 45MV photon beams produced in an LA45 cancer therapy accelerator. We have named this new treatment technique Radio-Dynamic Therapy (RDT). Methods: Monte Carlo simulations were made on various Cerenkov emission energies and their spectroscopy in excited target areas in order to estimate their photosensitizer inner activation efficiency. The Cerenkov light excitation efficiency used in RDT has been theoretically compared with the exotic excitation efficiency of external Laser light used in PDT. In addition, laboratory tests showed the differences of the excitation efficiencies between a patented catalyst coenzyme added as a substrate, and then without the coenzyme. A specific probe of DMA (Singlet Oxygen fluorescent probe-9, 10-dimethylanthracene) was also used to detect singlet oxygen. Finally, we also compared our results with similar previous experimental work reported in the scientific literature. Results: Our Monte Carlo results showed that the Cerenkov light intensity induced with 45MV beams from an LA45 is 8 – 10 times the Cerenkov light intensity induced with 6MV beams from conventional accelerators. Furthermore, the patented catalyst coenzyme enhanced the excitation efficiency of photosensitizers by 3–6 times under different conditions. In clinical situations, the new RDT technique also showed favorable outcomes for early and late stages of specific cancers and it is also good at metastatic cancer treatment. Conclusion: Our results indicated that the process of using the Cerenkov light emission to excite photosensitizers from 45MV photons has a similar process and efficiency as the conventional laser in PDT. Comparing the advantages of RDT with a conventional PDT, the RDT may be developed into a potential treatment modality for a wider range of cancers stages

An inverse free electron laser accelerator: Experiment and theoretical interpretation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang, Jyan-Min.

1997-01-01

Experimental and numerical studies of the Inverse Free Electron Laser using a GW-level 10.6 μm CO 2 laser have been carried out at Brookhaven's Accelerator Test Facility. An energy gain of 2.5 % (ΔE/E) on a 40 MeV electron beam has been observed E which compares well with theory. The effects on IFEL acceleration with respect to the variation of the laser electric field, the input electron beam energy, and the wiggler magnetic field strength were studied, and show the importance of matching the resonance condition in the IFEL. The numerical simulations were performed under various conditions and the importance of the electron bunching in the IFEL is shown. The numerical interpretation of our IFEL experimental results was examined. Although good numerical agreement with the experimental results was obtained, there is a discrepancy between the level of the laser power measured in the experiment and used in the simulation, possibly due to the non-Gaussian profile of the input high power laser beam. The electron energy distribution was studied numerically and a smoothing of the energy spectrum by the space charge effect at the location of the spectrometer was found, compared with the spectrum at the exit of the wiggler. The electron bunching by the IFEL and the possibility of using the IFEL as an electron prebuncher for another laser-driven accelerator were studied numerically. We found that bunching of the electrons at 1 meter downstream from the wiggler can be achieved using the existing facility. The simulation shows that there is a fundamental difference between the operating conditions for using the IFEL as a high gradient accelerator, and as a prebuncher for another accelerator

High quality electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiggins, S M; Issac, R C; Welsh, G H; Brunetti, E; Shanks, R P; Anania, M P; Cipiccia, S; Manahan, G G; Aniculaesei, C; Ersfeld, B; Islam, M R; Burgess, R T L; Vieux, G; Jaroszynski, D A [SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (United Kingdom); Gillespie, W A [SUPA, Division of Electronic Engineering and Physics, University of Dundee, Dundee (United Kingdom); MacLeod, A M [School of Computing and Creative Technologies, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee (United Kingdom); Van der Geer, S B; De Loos, M J, E-mail: m.wiggins@phys.strath.ac.u [Pulsar Physics, Burghstraat 47, 5614 BC Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2010-12-15

High quality electron beams have been produced in a laser-plasma accelerator driven by femtosecond laser pulses with a peak power of 26 TW. Electrons are produced with an energy up to 150 MeV from the 2 mm gas jet accelerator and the measured rms relative energy spread is less than 1%. Shot-to-shot stability in the central energy is 3%. Pepper-pot measurements have shown that the normalized transverse emittance is {approx}1{pi} mm mrad while the beam charge is in the range 2-10 pC. The generation of high quality electron beams is understood from simulations accounting for beam loading of the wakefield accelerating structure. Experiments and self-consistent simulations indicate that the beam peak current is several kiloamperes. Efficient transportation of the beam through an undulator is simulated and progress is being made towards the realization of a compact, high peak brilliance free-electron laser operating in the vacuum ultraviolet and soft x-ray wavelength ranges.

Studies of ion acceleration in a one meter laser controlled collective accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Destler, W.W.; Rodgers, J.; Striffler, C.D.; Yao, R.L.

1991-01-01

The basic concept behind the Laser Controlled Beam-front Experiment has been described in detail in previous reports. In the experiment, control over the propagation of a virtual cathode at the front of an intense relativistic electron beam is achieved by a time-sequenced plasma channel produced by laser-target interactions. Ions are trapped and accelerated by the very strong electric fields (50-400 MV/m) at the virtual cathode

Inverse free electron laser accelerator for advanced light sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. P. Duris

2012-06-01

Full Text Available We discuss the inverse free electron laser (IFEL scheme as a compact high gradient accelerator solution for driving advanced light sources such as a soft x-ray free electron laser amplifier or an inverse Compton scattering based gamma-ray source. In particular, we present a series of new developments aimed at improving the design of future IFEL accelerators. These include a new procedure to optimize the choice of the undulator tapering, a new concept for prebunching which greatly improves the fraction of trapped particles and the final energy spread, and a self-consistent study of beam loading effects which leads to an energy-efficient high laser-to-beam power conversion.

Diagnostics for studies of novel laser ion acceleration mechanisms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Senje, Lovisa; Aurand, Bastian; Wahlström, Claes-Göran [Department of Physics, Lund University, P. O. Box 118, S-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Yeung, Mark; Kuschel, Stephan; Rödel, Christian [Helmholtz-Institut Jena, D-07743 Jena (Germany); Wagner, Florian; Roth, Markus [Technische Universität Darmstadt, D-64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Li, Kun; Neumayer, Paul [ExtreMe Matter Institut, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Dromey, Brendan; Jung, Daniel [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queen' s University, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Bagnoud, Vincent [Helmholtz-Institut Jena, D-07743 Jena (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Zepf, Matthew [Helmholtz-Institut Jena, D-07743 Jena (Germany); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queen' s University, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Kuehl, Thomas [ExtreMe Matter Institut, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Universität Mainz, D-55099 Mainz (Germany)

2014-11-15

Diagnostic for investigating and distinguishing different laser ion acceleration mechanisms has been developed and successfully tested. An ion separation wide angle spectrometer can simultaneously investigate three important aspects of the laser plasma interaction: (1) acquire angularly resolved energy spectra for two ion species, (2) obtain ion energy spectra for multiple species, separated according to their charge to mass ratio, along selected axes, and (3) collect laser radiation reflected from and transmitted through the target and propagating in the same direction as the ion beam. Thus, the presented diagnostic constitutes a highly adaptable tool for accurately studying novel acceleration mechanisms in terms of their angular energy distribution, conversion efficiency, and plasma density evolution.

Diagnostics for studies of novel laser ion acceleration mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senje, Lovisa; Aurand, Bastian; Wahlström, Claes-Göran; Yeung, Mark; Kuschel, Stephan; Rödel, Christian; Wagner, Florian; Roth, Markus; Li, Kun; Neumayer, Paul; Dromey, Brendan; Jung, Daniel; Bagnoud, Vincent; Zepf, Matthew; Kuehl, Thomas

2014-01-01

Diagnostic for investigating and distinguishing different laser ion acceleration mechanisms has been developed and successfully tested. An ion separation wide angle spectrometer can simultaneously investigate three important aspects of the laser plasma interaction: (1) acquire angularly resolved energy spectra for two ion species, (2) obtain ion energy spectra for multiple species, separated according to their charge to mass ratio, along selected axes, and (3) collect laser radiation reflected from and transmitted through the target and propagating in the same direction as the ion beam. Thus, the presented diagnostic constitutes a highly adaptable tool for accurately studying novel acceleration mechanisms in terms of their angular energy distribution, conversion efficiency, and plasma density evolution

Modeling of inverse Cherenkov laser acceleration with axicon laser-beam focusing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romea, R.D.; Kimura, W.D.

1990-01-01

Acceleration of free electrons by the inverse Cherenkov effect using radially polarized laser light focused through an axicon [J. P. Fontana and R. H. Pantell, J. Appl. Phys. 54, 4285 (1983)] has been studied utilizing a Monte Carlo computer simulation and further theoretical analysis. The model includes effects, such as scattering of the electrons by the gas, and diffraction and interference effects of the axicon laser beam, that were not included in the original analysis of Fontana and Pantell. Its accuracy is validated using available experimental data. The model results show that effective acceleration is possible even with the effects of scattering. Sample results are given. The analysis includes examining the issues of axicon focusing, phase errors, energy gain, phase slippage, focusing of the e beam, and emittance growth

Ultra-relativistic ion acceleration in the laser-plasma interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang Yongsheng; Wang Naiyan; Tang Xiuzhang; Shi Yijin [China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing 102413 (China); Xueqing Yan [Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2012-09-15

An analytical relativistic model is proposed to describe the relativistic ion acceleration in the interaction of ultra-intense laser pulses with thin-foil plasmas. It is found that there is a critical value of the ion momentum to make sure that the ions are trapped by the light sail and accelerated in the radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) region. If the initial ion momentum is smaller than the critical value, that is in the classical case of RPA, the potential has a deep well and traps the ions to be accelerated, as the same described before by simulation results [Eliasson et al., New J. Phys. 11, 073006 (2009)]. There is a new ion acceleration region different from RPA, called ultra-relativistic acceleration, if the ion momentum exceeds the critical value. In this case, ions will experience a potential downhill. The dependence of the ion momentum and the self-similar variable at the ion front on the acceleration time has been obtained. In the ultra-relativistic limit, the ion momentum at the ion front is proportional to t{sup 4/5}, where t is the acceleration time. In our analytical hydrodynamical model, it is naturally predicted that the ion distribution from RPA is not monoenergetic, although the phase-stable acceleration mechanism is effective. The critical conditions of the laser and plasma parameters which identify the two acceleration modes have been achieved.

Ultra-relativistic ion acceleration in the laser-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Yongsheng; Wang Naiyan; Tang Xiuzhang; Shi Yijin; Xueqing Yan

2012-01-01

An analytical relativistic model is proposed to describe the relativistic ion acceleration in the interaction of ultra-intense laser pulses with thin-foil plasmas. It is found that there is a critical value of the ion momentum to make sure that the ions are trapped by the light sail and accelerated in the radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) region. If the initial ion momentum is smaller than the critical value, that is in the classical case of RPA, the potential has a deep well and traps the ions to be accelerated, as the same described before by simulation results [Eliasson et al., New J. Phys. 11, 073006 (2009)]. There is a new ion acceleration region different from RPA, called ultra-relativistic acceleration, if the ion momentum exceeds the critical value. In this case, ions will experience a potential downhill. The dependence of the ion momentum and the self-similar variable at the ion front on the acceleration time has been obtained. In the ultra-relativistic limit, the ion momentum at the ion front is proportional to t 4/5 , where t is the acceleration time. In our analytical hydrodynamical model, it is naturally predicted that the ion distribution from RPA is not monoenergetic, although the phase-stable acceleration mechanism is effective. The critical conditions of the laser and plasma parameters which identify the two acceleration modes have been achieved.

Colour quenching corrections on the measurement of {sup 90}Sr through Cerenkov counting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosqueda, F. [Dpto. de Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, Campus de El Carmen, 21071 Huelva (Spain)], E-mail: fernando.mosqueda@dfa.uhu.es; Villa, M. [Centro de Investigacion, Tecnologia e Innovacion, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes 4B, E41012 Sevilla (Spain); Vaca, F.; Bolivar, J.P. [Dpto. de Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, Campus de El Carmen, 21071 Huelva (Spain)

2007-12-05

The determination of {sup 90}Sr through the Cerenkov radiation emitted by its descendant {sup 90}Y is a well-known method and firmly established in literature. Nevertheless, in order to obtain an accurate result based on a Cerenkov measurement, the experimental work must be extremely rigorous because the efficiency of Cerenkov counting is especially sensitive to the presence of colour. Any traces of colour in the sample produce a decrease in the number of photons detected in the photomultipliers and, therefore, this might cause a diminution in Cerenkov counting efficiency. It is essential not only to detect the effect of colour quenching in the sample but also to correct the decrease in counting efficiency. For this reason, colour quenching correction curves versus counting efficiency are usually done when measuring through Cerenkov counting. One of the most widely used techniques to evaluate colour quenching in these measurements is the channel ratio method, which consists of the measurement of the shift of the spectrum measuring the ratio of counts in two different windows. The selection of the windows for the application of the corrections might have an influence on the quality of the fitting parameters of the correction curves efficiency versus colour quenching degree and hence on the final {sup 90}Sr result. This work is focused on the calculation of the counting efficiency decrease using the channel ratio method and on obtaining the best fitting correction curve. For this purpose, empirical curves obtained through artificial quenchers have been studied and the results have been tested in real samples. Additionally, given that the Packard Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL liquid scintillation counter is a novel detector for use in Cerenkov counting, the previous calibration of the Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL detector, necessary for the measurement of {sup 90}Sr, is included.

Interference of dissolved salts in Cerenkov and liquid scintillation estimation of 90Sr

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulhani, Vandana; Jha, S.K.; Tripathi, R.M.; Reddy, Priyanka; Bhade, Sonali

2014-01-01

Quenching is the most important effect occurring in Cerenkov and LSC because it affects the efficiency of conversion of β particles into light. Bore well water samples are very often concentrated by evaporation to reduce the detection limit which can also increase the dissolved solid content (TDS) in the sample. Some ground waters are inherently having higher TDS. Self-absorption of beta-particle radiation by the sample especially the lower-energy beta particles depends on sample thickness and density. Environmental samples, after applying the radiochemical procedure, are also estimated by Cerenkov/LSC and might be affected by colour quenching. To get best measurements using Liquid Scintillation and Cerenkov radiations, it is necessary to avoid high salt concentrations and colors which may weaken energy transfers within scintillator cocktails and sample medium. Therefore the degree of self-absorption and quench should be evaluated and taken into account in the calibration. Efficiency is represented as a function spectral quench parameter of external standard SQP(E). The quenching effect of dissolved solids on the efficiency of estimation of 90 Sr by Cerenkov and Liquid Scintillation are studied

Laser-driven particle acceleration towards radiobiology and medicine

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

This book deals with the new method of laser-driven acceleration for application to radiation biophysics and medicine. It provides multidisciplinary contributions from world leading scientist in order to assess the state of the art of innovative tools for radiation biology research and medical applications of ionizing radiation. The book contains insightful contributions on highly topical aspects of spatio-temporal radiation biophysics, evolving over several orders of magnitude, typically from femtosecond and sub-micrometer scales. Particular attention is devoted to the emerging technology of laser-driven particle accelerators and their applicatio to spatio-temporal radiation biology and medical physics, customization of non-conventional and selective radiotherapy and optimized radioprotection protocols.

Laser acceleration and nonlinear beam dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellegrini, C.

1991-01-01

This research contract covers the period April 1990, September 1991. The work to be done under the contract was theoretical research in the areas of nonlinear beam dynamics and laser acceleration. In this final report we will discuss the motivation for this work and the results obtained

Electron acceleration by a self-diverging intense laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, K.P.; Gupta, D.N.; Tripathi, V.K.; Gupta, V.L.

2004-01-01

Electron acceleration by a laser pulse having a Gaussian radial and temporal profile of intensity has been studied. The interaction region is vacuum followed by a gas. The starting point of the gas region has been chosen around the point at which the peak of the pulse interacts with the electron. The tunnel ionization of the gas causes a defocusing of the laser pulse and the electron experiences the action of a ponderomotive deceleration at the trailing part of the pulse with a lower intensity rather than an acceleration at the rising part of the laser pulse with a high intensity, and thus gains net energy. The initial density of the neutral gas atoms should be high enough to properly defocus the pulse; otherwise the electron experiences some deceleration during the trailing part of the pulse and the net energy gain is reduced. The rate of tunnel ionization increases with the increase in the laser intensity and the initial density of neutral gas atoms, and with the decreases in the laser spot size, which causes more defocusing of the laser pulse. The required initial density of neutral gas atoms decreases with the increase in the laser intensity and also with the decrease in the laser spot size

Betatron emission as a diagnostic for injection and acceleration mechanisms in laser plasma accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corde, S; Thaury, C; Phuoc, K Ta; Lifschitz, A; Lambert, G; Lundh, O; Brijesh, P; Sebban, S; Rousse, A; Faure, J; Malka, V; Arantchuk, L

2012-01-01

Betatron x-ray emission in laser plasma accelerators is a promising compact source that may be an alternative to conventional x-ray sources, based on large scale machines. In addition to its potential as a source, precise measurements of betatron emission can reveal crucial information about relativistic laser–plasma interaction. We show that the emission length and the position of the x-ray emission can be obtained by placing an aperture mask close to the source, and by measuring the beam profile of the betatron x-ray radiation far from the aperture mask. The position of the x-ray emission gives information on plasma wave breaking and hence on the laser non-linear propagation. Moreover, the measurement of the longitudinal extension helps one to determine whether the acceleration is limited by pump depletion or dephasing effects. In the case of multiple injections, it is used to retrieve unambiguously the position in the plasma of each injection. This technique is also used to study how, in a capillary discharge, the variations of the delay between the discharge and the laser pulse affect the interaction. The study reveals that, for a delay appropriate for laser guiding, the x-ray emission only occurs in the second half of the capillary: no electrons are injected and accelerated in the first half. (paper)

Diagnostics for advanced laser acceleration experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Misuri, Alessio [Univ. of Pisa (Italy)

2002-01-01

The first proposal for plasma based accelerators was suggested by 1979 by Tajima and Dawson. Since then there has been a tremendous progress both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical progress is particularly due to the growing interest in the subject and to the development of more accurate numerical codes for the plasma simulations (especially particle-in-cell codes). The experimental progress follows from the development of multi-terawatt laser systems based on the chirped-pulse amplification technique. These efforts have produced results in several experiments world-wide, with the detection of accelerated electrons of tens of MeV. The peculiarity of these advanced accelerators is their ability to sustain extremely large acceleration gradients. In the conventional radio frequency linear accelerators (RF linacs) the acceleration gradients are limited roughly to 100 MV/m; this is partially due to breakdown which occurs on the walls of the structure. The electrical breakdown is originated by the emission of the electrons from the walls of the cavity. The electrons cause an avalanche breakdown when they reach other metal parts of the RF linacs structure.

Diagnostics for advanced laser acceleration experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misuri, Alessio

2002-01-01

The first proposal for plasma based accelerators was suggested by 1979 by Tajima and Dawson. Since then there has been a tremendous progress both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical progress is particularly due to the growing interest in the subject and to the development of more accurate numerical codes for the plasma simulations (especially particle-in-cell codes). The experimental progress follows from the development of multi-terawatt laser systems based on the chirped-pulse amplification technique. These efforts have produced results in several experiments world-wide, with the detection of accelerated electrons of tens of MeV. The peculiarity of these advanced accelerators is their ability to sustain extremely large acceleration gradients. In the conventional radio frequency linear accelerators (RF linacs) the acceleration gradients are limited roughly to 100 MV/m; this is partially due to breakdown which occurs on the walls of the structure. The electrical breakdown is originated by the emission of the electrons from the walls of the cavity. The electrons cause an avalanche breakdown when they reach other metal parts of the RF linacs structure

Dosimetry of laser-accelerated electron beams used for in vitro cell irradiation experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richter, C.; Kaluza, M.; Karsch, L.; Schlenvoigt, H.-P.; Schürer, M.; Sobiella, M.; Woithe, J.; Pawelke, J.

2011-01-01

The dosimetric characterization of laser-accelerated electrons applied for the worldwide first systematic radiobiological in vitro cell irradiation will be presented. The laser-accelerated electron beam at the JeTi laser system has been optimized, monitored and controlled in terms of dose homogeneity, stability and absolute dose delivery. A combination of different dosimetric components were used to provide both an online beam as well as dose monitoring and a precise absolute dosimetry. In detail, the electron beam was controlled and monitored by means of an ionization chamber and an in-house produced Faraday cup for a defined delivery of the prescribed dose. Moreover, the precise absolute dose delivered to each cell sample was determined by an radiochromic EBT film positioned in front of the cell sample. Furthermore, the energy spectrum of the laser-accelerated electron beam was determined. As presented in a previous work of the authors, also for laser-accelerated protons a precise dosimetric characterization was performed that enabled initial radiobiological cell irradiation experiments with laser-accelerated protons. Therefore, a precise dosimetric characterization, optimization and control of laser-accelerated and therefore ultra-short pulsed, intense particle beams for both electrons and protons is possible, allowing radiobiological experiments and meeting all necessary requirements like homogeneity, stability and precise dose delivery. In order to fulfill the much higher dosimetric requirements for clinical application, several improvements concerning, i.e., particle energy and spectral shaping as well as patient safety are necessary.

Pulsed high field magnets. An efficient way of shaping laser accelerated proton beams for application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kroll, Florian; Schramm, Ulrich [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Bagnoud, Vincent; Blazevic, Abel; Busold, Simon [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz Institut Jena, 07734 Jena (Germany); Brabetz, Christian; Schumacher, Dennis [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Deppert, Oliver; Jahn, Diana; Roth, Markus [Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Karsch, Leonhard; Masood, Umar [OncoRay-National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden (Germany); Kraft, Stephan [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, 01328 Dresden (Germany)

2015-07-01

Compact laser-driven proton accelerators are a potential alternative to complex, expensive conventional accelerators, enabling unique beam properties, like ultra-high pulse dose. Nevertheless, they still require substantial development in reliable beam generation and transport. We present experimental studies on capture, shape and transport of laser and conventionally accelerated protons via pulsed high-field magnets. These magnets, common research tools in the fields of solid state physics, have been adapted to meet the demands of laser acceleration experiments.Our work distinctively shows that pulsed magnet technology makes laser acceleration more suitable for application and can facilitate compact and efficient accelerators, e.g. for material research as well as medical and biological purposes.

Van-de-Graaf accelerator operation with laser source of highly-charged heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barabash, L.S.; Golubev, A.A.; Koshkarev, S.G.; Krechet, K.I.; Sharkov, B.Y.; Shumshurov, A.V.

1988-01-01

Multicharged ions (Z = +1 divided-by +10) of practically any elements of the periodical table have been generated by the laser source based on a simple in operation and fabrication laser. One of the features of the laser source is that the energy needed for plasma heating is transported to the target from a great distance. In this case the target can be placed under high voltage or in a magnetic field. These advantages of the laser source are particularly important for its application in the Van-de-Graaf accelerator, where absence of resonance units allows to accelerate ions with any charge-to-mass ratio. The goal of this paper consists in designing a laser source of highly- charged heavy ions in the Van-de-Graaf accelerator and in measuring charge spectra of the accelerated ion beam. The peculiarities of this accelerator are taken into account in the discussion of the source scheme. Such peculiarities include potential up to 5 MV on the high-voltage conductor, where the ion source is placed, and high up to 15 atm gas environment pressure

Photonic Free-Electron Lasers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Slot, Petrus J.M.; Denis, T.; Lee, J.H.H.; van Dijk, M.W.; Boller, Klaus J.

2012-01-01

A photonic free-electron laser (pFEL) produces coherent Cerenkov radiation from a set of parallel electron beams streaming through a photonic crystal. The function of the crystal is to slow down the phase velocity of a copropagating electromagnetic wave, such that also mildly relativistic electrons

High energy electron acceleration with PW-class laser system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakanii, N.; Kondo, K.; Yabuuchi, T.; Tsuji, K.; Kimura, K.; Fukumochi, S.; Kashihara, M.; Tanimoto, T.; Nakamura, H.; Ishikura, T.; Kodama, R.; Mima, K.; Tanaka, K. A.; Mori, Y.; Miura, E.; Suzuki, S.; Asaka, T.; Yanagida, K.; Hanaki, H.; Kobayashi, T.

2008-01-01

We performed electron acceleration experiment with PW-class laser and a plasma tube, which was created by imploding a hollow polystyrene cylinder. In this experiment, electron energies in excess of 600 MeV have been observed. Moreover, the spectra of a comparatively high-density plasma ∼10 19 cm -3 had a bump around 10 MeV. Additionally, we performed the absolute sensitivity calibration of imaging plate for 1 GeV electrons from the injector Linac of Spring-8 in order to evaluate absolute number of GeV-class electrons in the laser acceleration experiment

RF acceleration of intense laser generated proton bunches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almomani, Ali

2012-07-13

With respect to laser-accelerated beams, the high current capability of the CH-DTL cavity has been investigated. Beam simulations have demonstrated that 10{sup 10} protons per bunch can be accelerated successfully and loss free along the structure. It was shown that, the maximum number of protons per bunch that can be accelerated in the first cavity by exploiting about 1% of the stored field energy is 2.02 x 10{sup 11} protons. One further aspect is the total number of protons arriving at the linac entrance. One main aspect of an rf postacceleration experiment is the rf operation stability under these beam load conditions. Detailed simulations from the target along the solenoid and down to the linac entrance were presented, applying adapted software. Special care was taken on the time steps, especially close to the target, and on the collective phenomena between electron and proton distributions. The effect of comoving electrons on the beam dynamics has been investigated in detail. A CH-linac with high space charge limit and large transverse and longitudinal acceptance was designed to accept a maximum fraction of the laser generated proton bursts. Due to well-known transformations of the injected beam emittances along the CH-cavity, it is aimed to derive parameters of the laser generated beam by measuring the beam properties behind of the CH-cavity. With respect to the linac development it is intended to realize the first cavity of the proposed CH-DTL and to demonstrate the acceleration of a laser generated proton bunch with the LIGHT project. The first cavity consists of 7 gaps within a total length of about 668 mm. It is operated at 325 MHz and has an effective accelerating field gradient of about 12.6 MV/m. The study on the surface electric field for this cavity shows, that maximum surface fields of about 94 MV/m and 88 MV/m on the third and sixth drift tubes are reachable, respectively.

Charged beam dynamics, particle accelerators and free electron lasers

CERN Document Server

Dattoli, Giuseppe; Sabia, Elio; Artioli, Marcello

2017-01-01

Charged Beam Dynamics, Particle Accelerators and Free Electron Lasers summarises different topics in the field of accelerators and of Free Electron Laser (FEL) devices. It is intended as a reference manual for the different aspects of FEL devices, explaining how to design both a FEL device and the accelerator providing the driving beam. It covers both theoretical and experimental aspects, allowing researchers to attempt a first design of a FEL device in different operating conditions. It provides an analysis of what is already available, what is needed, and what the challenges are to determine new progress in this field. All chapters contain complements and exercises that are designed in such a way that the reader will gradually acquire self-confidence with the matter treated in the book.

Self-injection threshold in self-guided laser wakefield accelerators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. P. D. Mangles

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A laser pulse traveling through a plasma can excite large amplitude plasma waves that can be used to accelerate relativistic electron beams in a very short distance—a technique called laser wakefield acceleration. Many wakefield acceleration experiments rely on the process of wave breaking, or self-injection, to inject electrons into the wave, while other injection techniques rely on operation without self-injection. We present an experimental study into the parameters, including the pulse energy, focal spot quality, and pulse power, that determine whether or not a wakefield accelerator will self-inject. By taking into account the processes of self-focusing and pulse compression we are able to extend a previously described theoretical model, where the minimum bubble size k_{p}r_{b} required for trapping is not constant but varies slowly with density and find excellent agreement with this model.

Improvement of the quality of laser-wakefield accelerators: towards a compact free-electron laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehe, R.

2014-01-01

When an intense and short laser pulse propagates through an underdense gas, it can accelerate a fraction of the electrons of the gas, and thereby generate an electron bunch with an energy of a few hundreds of MeV. This phenomenon, which is referred to as laser-wakefield acceleration, has many potential applications, including the design of ultra-bright X-ray sources known as free electron lasers (FEL). However, these applications require the electron bunch to have an excellent quality (low divergence, emittance and energy spread). In this thesis, different solutions to improve the quality of the electron bunch are developed, both analytically and through the use of Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations. It is first shown however that PIC simulations tend to erroneously overestimate the emittance of the bunch, due to the numerical Cherenkov effect. Thus, in order to correctly estimate the emittance, a modified PIC algorithm is proposed, which is not subject to this unphysical Cherenkov effect. Using this algorithm, we have observed and studied a new mechanism to generate the electron bunch: optical transverse injection. This mechanism can produce bunches with a high charge, a low emittance and a low energy spread. In addition, we also proposed an experimental setup - the laser-plasma lens - which can strongly reduce the final divergence of the bunch. Finally, these results are put into context by discussing the properties required for the design of a compact FEL. It is shown in particular that laser-wakefield accelerator could be advantageously combined with innovative laser-plasma undulators, in order to produce bright X-rays sources. (author)

Research on heightening quality of free electron laser using superconducting linear accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minehara, Eisuke

1996-01-01

In this paper, the superconducting high frequency linear accelerator technology using low temperature superconductor is introduced, and its application to the heightening of quality of free electron laser is discussed. The high frequency application of superconductivity is a relatively new technology, and the first superconducting high frequency linear accelerator was made at the middle of 1960s. The invention of free electron laser and the development so far are described. In free electron laser, the variation of wavelength, high efficiency and high power output are possible as compared with conventional type lasers. The price and the size are two demerits of free electron laser that remain to the last. In Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, the adjustment experiment is carried out for the prototype free electron laser. About this prototype, injection system, superconducting accelerator, helium refrigerator, whole solid element high frequency power source, control system, electron beam transport system, undulator system and optical resonator are described. The application of high mean power output free electron laser and its future are discussed. (K.I.)

Simulations and experiments on external electron injection for laser wakefield acceleration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijk, van W.

2010-01-01

Laser wake field acceleration is a technique that can be used to accelerate electrons using electric fields that are several orders of magnitude higher than those available in conventional accelerators. With these higher fields, it is possible to drastically reduce the length of accelerator needed

Coulomb-driven energy boost of heavy ions for laser-plasma acceleration.

Science.gov (United States)

Braenzel, J; Andreev, A A; Platonov, K; Klingsporn, M; Ehrentraut, L; Sandner, W; Schnürer, M

2015-03-27

An unprecedented increase of kinetic energy of laser accelerated heavy ions is demonstrated. Ultrathin gold foils have been irradiated by an ultrashort laser pulse at a peak intensity of 8×10^{19}  W/  cm^{2}. Highly charged gold ions with kinetic energies up to >200  MeV and a bandwidth limited energy distribution have been reached by using 1.3 J laser energy on target. 1D and 2D particle in cell simulations show how a spatial dependence on the ion's ionization leads to an enhancement of the accelerating electrical field. Our theoretical model considers a spatial distribution of the ionization inside the thin target, leading to a field enhancement for the heavy ions by Coulomb explosion. It is capable of explaining the energy boost of highly charged ions, enabling a higher efficiency for the laser-driven heavy ion acceleration.

From laser-plasma accelerators to femtosecond X-ray sources: study, development and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corde, S.

2012-01-01

During the relativistic interaction between a short and intense laser pulse and an underdense plasma, electrons can be injected and accelerated up to hundreds of MeV in an accelerating structure formed in the wake of the pulse: this is the so-called laser-plasma accelerator. One of the major perspectives for laser-plasma accelerators resides in the realization of compact sources of femtosecond x-ray beams. In this thesis, two x-ray sources was studied and developed. The betatron radiation, intrinsic to laser-plasma accelerators, comes from the transverse oscillations of electrons during their acceleration. Its characterization by photon counting revealed an x-ray beam containing 10"9 photons, with energies extending above 10 keV. We also developed an all-optical Compton source producing photons with energies up to hundreds of keV, based on the collision between a photon beam and an electron beam. The potential of these x-ray sources was highlighted by the realization of single shot phase contrast imaging of a biological sample. Then, we showed that the betatron x-ray radiation can be a powerful tool to study the physics of laser-plasma acceleration. We demonstrated the possibility to map the x-ray emission region, which gives a unique insight into the interaction, permitting us for example to locate the region where electrons are injected. The x-ray angular and spectral properties allow us to gain information on the transverse dynamics of electrons during their acceleration. (author)

Electron acceleration by longitudinal electric field of a gaussian laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Satoshi; Sugihara, Ryo; Shimoda, Koichi.

1991-11-01

It is shown that the longitudinal electric field of a transverse magnetic mode of a Gaussian laser beam accelerates an electron to an ultra-relativistic energy. The electron is captured and accelerated in a length of the order of the Rayleigh range. The ultimate energy increment of the electron with a single laser beam is given by the product of transverse field intensity and the beam waist, and can be of the order of 100MeV. This fact implies that a multi-stage acceleration enables TeV-order-acceleration in a length of a few kilometers with the present state of the art. (author)

Cerenkov luminescence tomography based on preconditioning orthogonal matching pursuit

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Haixiao; Hu, Zhenhua; Wang, Kun; Tian, Jie; Yang, Xin

2015-03-01

Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is a novel optical imaging method and has been proved to be a potential substitute of the traditional radionuclide imaging such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). This imaging method inherits the high sensitivity of nuclear medicine and low cost of optical molecular imaging. To obtain the depth information of the radioactive isotope, Cerenkov luminescence tomography (CLT) is established and the 3D distribution of the isotope is reconstructed. However, because of the strong absorption and scatter, the reconstruction of the CLT sources is always converted to an ill-posed linear system which is hard to be solved. In this work, the sparse nature of the light source was taken into account and the preconditioning orthogonal matching pursuit (POMP) method was established to effectively reduce the ill-posedness and obtain better reconstruction accuracy. To prove the accuracy and speed of this algorithm, a heterogeneous numerical phantom experiment and an in vivo mouse experiment were conducted. Both the simulation result and the mouse experiment showed that our reconstruction method can provide more accurate reconstruction result compared with the traditional Tikhonov regularization method and the ordinary orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) method. Our reconstruction method will provide technical support for the biological application for Cerenkov luminescence.

Steady state ion acceleration by a circularly polarized laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xiaomei; Shen Baifei; Cang Yu; Li Xuemei; Jin Zhangying; Wang Fengchao

2007-01-01

The steady state ion acceleration at the front of a cold solid target by a circularly polarized flat-top laser pulse is studied with one-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. A model that ions are reflected by a steady laser-driven piston is used by comparing with the electrostatic shock acceleration. A stable profile with a double-flat-top structure in phase space forms after ions enter the undisturbed region of the target with a constant velocity

Externally Controlled Injection of Electrons by a Laser Pulse in a Laser Wakefield Electron Accelerator

CERN Document Server

Chen Szu Yuan; Chen Wei Ting; Chien, Ting-Yei; Lee, Chau-Hwang; Lin, Jiunn-Yuan; Wang, Jyhpyng

2005-01-01

Spatially and temporally localized injection of electrons is a key element for development of plasma-wave electron accelerator. Here we report the demonstration of two different schemes for electron injection in a self-modulated laser wakefield accelerator (SM-LWFA) by using a laser pulse. In the first scheme, by implementing a copropagating laser prepulse with proper timing, we are able to control the growth of Raman forward scattering and the production of accelerated electrons. We found that the stimulated Raman backward scattering of the prepulse plays the essential role of injecting hot electrons into the fast plasma wave driven by the pump pulse. In the second scheme, by using a transient density ramp we achieve self-injection of electrons in a SM-LWFA with spatial localization. The transient density ramp is produced by a prepulse propagating transversely to drill a density depression channel via ionization and expansion. The same mechanism of injection with comparable efficiency is also demonstrated wi...

POLYMERS CONTAINING Cu NANOPARTICLES IRRADIATED BY LASER TO ENHANCE THE ION ACCELERATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariapompea Cutroneo

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Target Normal Sheath Acceleration method was employed at PALS to accelerate ions from laser-generated plasma at intensities above 1015 W/cm2. Laser parameters, irradiation conditions and target geometry and composition control the plasma properties and the electric field driving the ion acceleration. Cu nanoparticles deposited on the polymer promote resonant absorption effects increasing the plasma electron density and enhancing the proton acceleration. Protons can be accelerated in forward direction at kinetic energies up to about 3.5 MeV. The optimal target thickness, the maximum acceleration energy and the angular distribution of emitted particles have been measured using ion collectors, X-ray CCD streak camera, SiC detectors and Thomson Parabola Spectrometer.

Parametric study of transport beam lines for electron beams accelerated by laser-plasma interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Scisciò, M.; Lancia, L.; Migliorati, M.; Mostacci, A.; Palumbo, L.; Papaphilippou, Y.; Antici, P.

2016-03-01

In the last decade, laser-plasma acceleration of high-energy electrons has attracted strong attention in different fields. Electrons with maximum energies in the GeV range can be laser-accelerated within a few cm using multi-hundreds terawatt (TW) lasers, yielding to very high beam currents at the source (electron bunches with up to tens-hundreds of pC in a few fs). While initially the challenge was to increase the maximum achievable electron energy, today strong effort is put in the control and usability of these laser-generated beams that still lack of some features in order to be used for applications where currently conventional, radio-frequency (RF) based, electron beam lines represent the most common and efficient solution. Several improvements have been suggested for this purpose, some of them acting directly on the plasma source, some using beam shaping tools located downstream. Concerning the latter, several studies have suggested the use of conventional accelerator magnetic devices (such as quadrupoles and solenoids) as an easy implementable solution when the laser-plasma accelerated beam requires optimization. In this paper, we report on a parametric study related to the transport of electron beams accelerated by laser-plasma interaction, using conventional accelerator elements and tools. We focus on both, high energy electron beams in the GeV range, as produced on petawatt (PW) class laser systems, and on lower energy electron beams in the hundreds of MeV range, as nowadays routinely obtained on commercially available multi-hundred TW laser systems. For both scenarios, our study allows understanding what are the crucial parameters that enable laser-plasma accelerators to compete with conventional ones and allow for a beam transport. We show that suitable working points require a tradeoff-combination between low beam divergence and narrow energy spread.

Classical-trajectory simulation of accelerating neutral atoms with polarized intense laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Q. Z.; Fu, L. B.; Liu, J.

2013-03-01

In the present paper, we perform the classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulation of the complex dynamics of accelerating neutral atoms with linearly or circularly polarized intense laser pulses. Our simulations involve the ion motion as well as the tunneling ionization and the scattering dynamics of valence electron in the combined Coulomb and electromagnetic fields, for both helium (He) and magnesium (Mg). We show that for He atoms, only linearly polarized lasers can effectively accelerate the atoms, while for Mg atoms, we find that both linearly and circularly polarized lasers can successively accelerate the atoms. The underlying mechanism is discussed and the subcycle dynamics of accelerating trajectories is investigated. We have compared our theoretical results with a recent experiment [Eichmann Nature (London)NATUAS0028-083610.1038/nature08481 461, 1261 (2009)].

Towards polarization measurements of laser-accelerated helium-3 ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engin, Ilhan

2015-08-28

In the framework of this thesis, preparatory investigations for the spin-polarization measurement of {sup 3}He ions from laser-induced plasmas have been performed. Therefore, experiments aiming at an efficient laser-induced ion acceleration out of a {sup 4}He gas target were carried out at two high-intensity laser facilities: the Arcturus laser at Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf as well as PHELIX at GSI Darmstadt. The scientific goal of both experiments was to investigate the ion-acceleration process in underdense plasmas by measuring the ion energy spectra and the angular distribution of the ion signal around the gas-jet target. Laser-accelerated MeV-He-ions could successfully be detected. The main acceleration direction at large angles with regard to the laser propagation direction was determined. In a second step, unpolarized {sup 3}He gas was attached in order to cross-check the experimental results with those of {sup 4}He. With the help of the achieved ion yield data, the expected rates of the fusion reaction D({sup 3}He,p){sup 4}He in the polarized case have been estimated: the information regarding the fusion proton yield from this nuclear reaction allows an experimentally based estimation for future experiments with pre-polarized {sup 3}He gas as plasma target. The experimental data is in line with supporting Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations performed on the Juelich supercomputers. For this purpose, the simulated target was defined as a neutral gas. The use of pre-polarized {sup 3}He gas demands a special preparation of a polarized {sup 3}He target for laser-acceleration experiments. This layout includes an (external) homogeneous magnetic holding field (field strength of ∝1.4 mT) for storing the pre-polarized gas for long time durations inside the PHELIX target chamber. For this purpose, a precise Halbach array consisting of horizontally arranged rings with built-in permanent magnets had to be designed, optimized, and constructed to deliver high

Transverse emittance growth in staged laser-wakefield acceleration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Mehrling

2012-11-01

Full Text Available We present a study on the emittance evolution of electron bunches, externally injected into laser-driven plasma waves using the three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC code OSIRIS. Results show order-of-magnitude transverse emittance growth during the injection process, if the electron bunch is not matched to its intrinsic betatron motion inside the wakefield. This behavior is supported by analytic theory reproducing the simulation data to a percent level. The length over which the full emittance growth develops is found to be less than or comparable to the typical dimension of a single plasma module in current multistage designs. In addition, the analytic theory enables the quantitative prediction of emittance degradation in two consecutive accelerators coupled by free-drift sections, excluding this as a scheme for effective emittance-growth suppression, and thus suggests the necessity of beam-matching sections between acceleration stages with fundamental implications on the overall design of staged laser-wakefield accelerators.

Collection and focusing of laser accelerated ion beams for therapy applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingo Hofmann

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Experimental results in laser acceleration of protons and ions and theoretical predictions that the currently achieved energies might be raised by factors 5–10 in the next few years have stimulated research exploring this new technology for oncology as a compact alternative to conventional synchrotron based accelerator technology. The emphasis of this paper is on collection and focusing of the laser produced particles by using simulation data from a specific laser acceleration model. We present a scaling law for the “chromatic emittance” of the collector—here assumed as a solenoid lens—and apply it to the particle energy and angular spectra of the simulation output. For a 10 Hz laser system we find that particle collection by a solenoid magnet well satisfies requirements of intensity and beam quality as needed for depth scanning irradiation. This includes a sufficiently large safety margin for intensity, whereas a scheme without collection—by using mere aperture collimation—hardly reaches the needed intensities.

Extending laser plasma accelerators into the mid-IR spectral domain with a next-generation ultra-fast CO2 laser

Science.gov (United States)

Pogorelsky, I. V.; Babzien, M.; Ben-Zvi, I.; Polyanskiy, M. N.; Skaritka, J.; Tresca, O.; Dover, N. P.; Najmudin, Z.; Lu, W.; Cook, N.; Ting, A.; Chen, Y.-H.

2016-03-01

Expanding the scope of relativistic plasma research to wavelengths longer than the λ/≈   0.8-1.1 μm range covered by conventional mode-locked solid-state lasers would offer attractive opportunities due to the quadratic scaling of the ponderomotive electron energy and critical plasma density with λ. Answering this quest, a next-generation mid-IR laser project is being advanced at the BNL ATF as a part of the user facility upgrade. We discuss the technical approach to this conceptually new 100 TW, 100 fs, λ  =   9-11 μm CO2 laser BESTIA (Brookhaven Experimental Supra-Terawatt Infrared at ATF) that encompasses several innovations applied for the first time to molecular gas lasers. BESTIA will enable new regimes of laser plasma accelerators. One example is shock-wave ion acceleration (SWA) from gas jets. We review ongoing efforts to achieve stable, monoenergetic proton acceleration by dynamically shaping the plasma density profile from a hydrogen gas target with laser-produced blast waves. At its full power, 100 TW BESTIA promises to achieve proton beams at an energy exceeding 200 MeV. In addition to ion acceleration in over-critical plasma, the ultra-intense mid-IR BESTIA will open up new opportunities in driving wakefields in tenuous plasmas, expanding the landscape of laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) studies into the unexplored long-wavelength spectral domain. Simple wavelength scaling suggests that a 100 TW CO2 laser beam will be capable of efficiently generating plasma ‘bubbles’ a thousand times greater in volume compared with a near-IR solid state laser of an equivalent power. Combined with a femtosecond electron linac available at the ATF, this wavelength scaling will facilitate the study of external seeding and staging of LWFAs.

Cerenkov Luminescence Tomography for In Vivo Radiopharmaceutical Imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianghong Zhong

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI is a cost-effective molecular imaging tool for biomedical applications of radiotracers. The introduction of Cerenkov luminescence tomography (CLT relative to planar CLI can be compared to the development of X-ray CT based on radiography. With CLT, quantitative and localized analysis of a radiopharmaceutical distribution becomes feasible. In this contribution, a feasibility study of in vivo radiopharmaceutical imaging in heterogeneous medium is presented. Coupled with a multimodal in vivo imaging system, this CLT reconstruction method allows precise anatomical registration of the positron probe in heterogeneous tissues and facilitates the more widespread application of radiotracers. Source distribution inside the small animal is obtained from CLT reconstruction. The experimental results demonstrated that CLT can be employed as an available in vivo tomographic imaging of charged particle emitters in a heterogeneous medium.

Atomic excitation and acceleration in strong laser fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmermann, H; Eichmann, U

2016-01-01

Atomic excitation in the tunneling regime of a strong-field laser–matter interaction has been recently observed. It is conveniently explained by the concept of frustrated tunneling ionization (FTI), which naturally evolves from the well-established tunneling picture followed by classical dynamics of the electron in the combined laser field and Coulomb field of the ionic core. Important predictions of the FTI model such as the n distribution of Rydberg states after strong-field excitation and the dependence on the laser polarization have been confirmed in experiments. The model also establishes a sound basis to understand strong-field acceleration of neutral atoms in strong laser fields. The experimental observation has become possible recently and initiated a variety of experiments such as atomic acceleration in an intense standing wave and the survival of Rydberg states in strong laser fields. Furthermore, the experimental investigations on strong-field dissociation of molecules, where neutral excited fragments after the Coulomb explosion of simple molecules have been observed, can be explained. In this review, we introduce the subject and give an overview over relevant experiments supplemented by new results. (paper)

Laser-driven Ion Acceleration using Nanodiamonds

Science.gov (United States)

D'Hauthuille, Luc; Nguyen, Tam; Dollar, Franklin

2016-10-01

Interactions of high-intensity lasers with mass-limited nanoparticles enable the generation of extremely high electric fields. These fields accelerate ions, which has applications in nuclear medicine, high brightness radiography, as well as fast ignition for inertial confinement fusion. Previous studies have been performed with ensembles of nanoparticles, but this obscures the physics of the interaction due to the wide array of variables in the interaction. The work presented here looks instead at the interactions of a high intensity short pulse laser with an isolated nanodiamond. Specifically, we studied the effect of nanoparticle size and intensity of the laser on the interaction. A novel target scheme was developed to isolate the nanodiamond. Particle-in-cell simulations were performed using the EPOCH framework to show the sheath fields and resulting energetic ion beams.

Diagnostics for studies of novel laser ion acceleration mechanisms

OpenAIRE

Senje, Lovisa; Yeung, Mark; Aurand, Bastian; Kuschel, Stephan; Rödel, Christian; Wagner, Florian; Li, Kun; Dromey, Brendan; Bagnoud, Vincent; Neumayer, Paul; Roth, Markus; Wahlström, Claes-Göran; Zepf, Matthew; Kuehl, Thomas; Jung, Daniel

2014-01-01

Diagnostic for investigating and distinguishing different laser ion acceleration mechanisms has been developed and successfully tested. An ion separation wide angle spectrometer can simultaneously investigate three important aspects of the laser plasma interaction: (1) acquire angularly resolved energy spectra for two ion species, (2) obtain ion energy spectra for multiple species, separated according to their charge to mass ratio, along selected axes, and (3) collect laser radiation reflecte...

Treatment of Cerenkov radiation from electric and magnetic charges in dispersive and dissipative media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saffouri, M.H.

1982-07-01

A rigorous treatment of the problem of Cerenkov radiation from fast moving electric and magnetic charges is presented. This is based on the rigorous solution of Maxwell's equations in a general dispersive medium possessing dielectric and magnetic properties and with, and without, dissipation. It is shown that the fields are completely determined by one scalar function. Expressions for the exact fields are obtained. From the asymptotic fields all the relevant properties of Cerenkov radiation are reproduced. In particular, it is shown that in the absence of dissipation the energy in each mode travels with the phase velocity of that mode. For a dissipative medium the electric field develops a longitudinal component and the energy propagates at an angle to the phase velocity. Application to the case of a Tachyon shows that it must emit Cerenkov radiation in vacuum. An estimate is given for the resulting linear density of emitted radiation. Finally, two suggestions are made for the experimental detection of magnetic charges and electric dipole moments of elementary particles based upon the Cerenkov radiation which they would emit in dispersive media. (author)

Laser-driven acceleration of protons from hydrogenated annealed silicon targets

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Picciotto, A.; Margarone, Daniele; Krása, Josef; Velyhan, Andriy; Serra, E.; Bellutti, P.; Scarduelli, G.; Calliari, L.; Krouský, Eduard; Rus, Bedřich; Dapor, M.

2010-01-01

Roč. 92, č. 3 (2010), 34008/1-34008/5 ISSN 0295-5075 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC528 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : laser-driven acceleration * laser ablation * plasma-material interactions * boundary layer effects Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 2.753, year: 2010

ELIMED, future hadrontherapy applications of laser-accelerated beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cirrone, Giuseppe A.P.; Carpinelli, Massimo; Cuttone, Giacomo; Gammino, Santo; Bijan Jia, S.; Korn, Georg; Maggiore, Mario; Manti, Lorenzo; Margarone, Daniele; Prokupek, Jan; Renis, Marcella; Romano, Francesco; Schillaci, Francesco; Tomasello, Barbara; Torrisi, Lorenzo; Tramontana, Antonella; Velyhan, Andriy

2013-01-01

Laser-ion acceleration has recently gained a great interest as an alternative to conventional and more expensive acceleration techniques. These ion beams have desirable qualities such as small source size, high luminosity and small emittance to be used in different fields as Nuclear Physics, Medical Physics, etc. This is very promising specially for the future perspective of a new concept of hadrontherapy based on laser-based devices could be developed, replacing traditional accelerating machines. Before delivering laser-driven beams for treatments they have to be handled, cleaned from unwanted particles and characterized in order to have the clinical requirements. In fact ion energy spectra have exponential trend, almost 100% energy spread and a wide angular divergence which is the biggest issue in the beam transport and, hence, in a wider use of this technology. In order to demonstrate the clinical applicability of laser-driven beams new collaboration between ELI-Beamlines project researchers from Prague (Cz) and a INFN-LNS group from Catania (I) has been already launched and scientists from different countries have already express their will in joining the project. This cooperation has been named ELIMED (MEDical application at ELIBeamlines) and will take place inside the ELI-Beamlines infrastructure located in Prague. This work describes the schedule of the ELIMED project and the design of the energy selector which will be realized at INFN-LNS. The device is an important part of the whole transport beam line which will be realised in order to make the ion beams suitable for medical applications. -- Highlights: •We simulated the energy selection system, in order to optimize the device. •We simulated the experimental setup for the run at the TARANIS laser system. •We studied the efficiency of the devise for a proton beam with an uniform energy spectrum

ELIMED, future hadrontherapy applications of laser-accelerated beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cirrone, Giuseppe A.P. [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Carpinelli, Massimo [INFN Sezione di Caglari, c/o Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy); Cuttone, Giacomo; Gammino, Santo [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Bijan Jia, S. [Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Korn, Georg [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Maggiore, Mario [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); INFN-LNL, Legnaro (Italy); Manti, Lorenzo [University Federico II of Naples, Dip.to di Scienze Fisiche, Naples (Italy); Margarone, Daniele; Prokupek, Jan [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Renis, Marcella [University of Catania, Catania (Italy); Romano, Francesco [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); Schillaci, Francesco, E-mail: francesco.schillaci@eli-beams.eu [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic); Tomasello, Barbara [University of Catania, Catania (Italy); Torrisi, Lorenzo [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Dip. to di Fisica, University of Messina, Messina (Italy); Tramontana, Antonella [INFN-LNS, Catania (Italy); Velyhan, Andriy [Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Prague (Czech Republic)

2013-12-01

Laser-ion acceleration has recently gained a great interest as an alternative to conventional and more expensive acceleration techniques. These ion beams have desirable qualities such as small source size, high luminosity and small emittance to be used in different fields as Nuclear Physics, Medical Physics, etc. This is very promising specially for the future perspective of a new concept of hadrontherapy based on laser-based devices could be developed, replacing traditional accelerating machines. Before delivering laser-driven beams for treatments they have to be handled, cleaned from unwanted particles and characterized in order to have the clinical requirements. In fact ion energy spectra have exponential trend, almost 100% energy spread and a wide angular divergence which is the biggest issue in the beam transport and, hence, in a wider use of this technology. In order to demonstrate the clinical applicability of laser-driven beams new collaboration between ELI-Beamlines project researchers from Prague (Cz) and a INFN-LNS group from Catania (I) has been already launched and scientists from different countries have already express their will in joining the project. This cooperation has been named ELIMED (MEDical application at ELIBeamlines) and will take place inside the ELI-Beamlines infrastructure located in Prague. This work describes the schedule of the ELIMED project and the design of the energy selector which will be realized at INFN-LNS. The device is an important part of the whole transport beam line which will be realised in order to make the ion beams suitable for medical applications. -- Highlights: •We simulated the energy selection system, in order to optimize the device. •We simulated the experimental setup for the run at the TARANIS laser system. •We studied the efficiency of the devise for a proton beam with an uniform energy spectrum.

Laser-plasma based electron acceleration studies planned at CAT, Indore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naik, P.A.; Gupta, P.D.

2005-01-01

The Laser Plasma Division at the Centre for Advanced Technology is engaged in a variety of R and D activities on laser-plasma interaction with special emphasis on laser-matter interaction at ultra-high intensities. An important aspect of our future work is studies in laser-plasma based acceleration using an elaborate infrastructural set-up of ultra-fast laser and plasma diagnostic systems and recently acquired 10 TW, 50 fs Ti: Sapphire laser system. This paper presents outline of the planned studies in this field. (author)

Energy Efficiency of an Intracavity Coupled, Laser-Driven Linear Accelerator Pumped by an External Laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neil Na, Y.C.; Siemann, R.H.; SLAC; Byer, R.L.; Stanford U., Phys. Dept.

2005-01-01

We calculate the optimum energy efficiency of a laser-driven linear accelerator by adopting a simple linear model. In the case of single bunch operation, the energy efficiency can be enhanced by incorporating the accelerator into a cavity that is pumped by an external laser. In the case of multiple bunch operation, the intracavity configuration is less advantageous because the strong wakefield generated by the electron beam is also recycled. Finally, the calculation indicates that the luminosity of a linear collider based on such a structure is comparably small if high efficiency is desired

Experimental studies of the laser-controlled collective ion accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Destler, W.W.; Rodgers, J.; Segalov, Z.

1989-01-01

Detailed experimental studies of a collective acceleration experiment in which a time-sequenced laser-generated ionization channel is used to control the propagation of an intense relativistic electron beamfront are presented. Ions trapped in the potential well at the beamfront are accelerated as the velocity of the beamfront is increased in a manner controlled by the time-dependent axial extent of the ionization channel. Beamfront propagation data for two different accelerating gradients are presented, together with results of ion acceleration studies for both gradients

Spot size dependence of laser accelerated protons in thin multi-ion foils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Tung-Chang; Shao, Xi; Liu, Chuan-Sheng; Eliasson, Bengt; Wang, Jyhpyng; Chen, Shih-Hung

2014-01-01

We present a numerical study of the effect of the laser spot size of a circularly polarized laser beam on the energy of quasi-monoenergetic protons in laser proton acceleration using a thin carbon-hydrogen foil. The used proton acceleration scheme is a combination of laser radiation pressure and shielded Coulomb repulsion due to the carbon ions. We observe that the spot size plays a crucial role in determining the net charge of the electron-shielded carbon ion foil and consequently the efficiency of proton acceleration. Using a laser pulse with fixed input energy and pulse length impinging on a carbon-hydrogen foil, a laser beam with smaller spot sizes can generate higher energy but fewer quasi-monoenergetic protons. We studied the scaling of the proton energy with respect to the laser spot size and obtained an optimal spot size for maximum proton energy flux. Using the optimal spot size, we can generate an 80 MeV quasi-monoenergetic proton beam containing more than 10 8 protons using a laser beam with power 250 TW and energy 10 J and a target of thickness 0.15 wavelength and 49 critical density made of 90% carbon and 10% hydrogen

Status of /hacek C/erenkov Ring Imaging systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leith, D.W.G.S.

1987-06-01

Cerenkov Ring Imaging is briefly introduced, and the problems or choices of designing such a counter are discussed. Recent results from the DELPHI and SLD prototype are presented and compared to the expected performances. 13 refs., 33 figs., 2 tabs

Status of /hacek C/erenkov Ring Imaging systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leith, D.W.G.S.

1987-06-01

Cerenkov Ring Imaging is briefly introduced, and the problems or choices of designing such a counter are discussed. Recent results from the DELPHI and SLD prototype are presented and compared to the expected performances. 13 refs., 33 figs., 2 tabs.

Laser Acceleration of Quasi-Monoenergetic Protons via Radiation Pressure Driven Thin Foil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Chuan S.; Shao Xi; Liu, T. C.; Dudnikova, Galina; Sagdeev, Roald Z.; Eliasson, Bengt

2011-01-01

We present a theoretical and simulation study of laser acceleration of quasi-monoenergetic protons in a thin foil irradiated by high intensity laser light. The underlying physics of radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) is discussed, including the importance of optimal thickness and circularly polarized light for efficient acceleration of ions to quasi-monoenergetic beams. Preliminary two-dimensional simulation studies show that certain parameter regimes allow for stabilization of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and possibility of acceleration of monoenergetic ions to an excess of 200 MeV, making them suitable for important applications such as medical cancer therapy and fast ignition.

Electromagnetic radiation from a laser wakefield accelerator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Khachatryan, A.G.; van Goor, F.A.; Boller, Klaus J.

2008-01-01

Coherent and incoherent electromagnetic radiation emitted from a laser wakefield accelerator is calculated based on Lienard-Wiechert potentials. It is found that at wavelengths longer than the bunch length, the radiation is coherent. The coherent radiation, which typically lies in the infrared

Brilliant radiation sources by laser-plasma accelerators and optical undulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Debus, Alexander

2012-09-06

This thesis investigates the use of high-power lasers for synchrotron radiation sources with high brilliance, from the EUV to the hard X-ray spectral range. Hereby lasers accelerate electrons by laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA), act as optical undulators, or both. Experimental evidence shows for the first time that LWFA electron bunches are shorter than the driving laser and have a length scale comparable to the plasma wavelength. Furthermore, a first proof of principle experiment demonstrates that LWFA electrons can be exploited to generate undulator radiation. Building upon these experimental findings, as well as extensive numerical simulations of Thomson scattering, the theoretical foundations of a novel interaction geometry for laser-matter interaction are developed. This new method is very general and when tailored towards relativistically moving targets not being limited by the focusability (Rayleigh length) of the laser, while it does not require a waveguide. In a theoretical investigation of Thomson scattering, the optical analogue of undulator radiation, the limits of Thomson sources in scaling towards higher peak brilliances are highlighted. This leads to a novel method for generating brilliant, highly tunable X-ray sources, which is highly energy efficient by circumventing the laser Rayleigh limit through a novel traveling-wave Thomson scattering (TWTS) geometry. This new method suggests increases in X-ray photon yields of 2-3 orders of magnitudes using existing lasers and a way towards efficient, optical undulators to drive a free-electron laser. The results presented here extend far beyond the scope of this work. The possibility to use lasers as particle accelerators, as well as optical undulators, leads to very compact and energy efficient synchrotron sources. The resulting monoenergetic radiation of high brilliance in a range from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to hard X-ray radiation is of fundamental importance for basic research, medical

Brilliant radiation sources by laser-plasma accelerators and optical undulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Debus, Alexander

2012-01-01

This thesis investigates the use of high-power lasers for synchrotron radiation sources with high brilliance, from the EUV to the hard X-ray spectral range. Hereby lasers accelerate electrons by laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA), act as optical undulators, or both. Experimental evidence shows for the first time that LWFA electron bunches are shorter than the driving laser and have a length scale comparable to the plasma wavelength. Furthermore, a first proof of principle experiment demonstrates that LWFA electrons can be exploited to generate undulator radiation. Building upon these experimental findings, as well as extensive numerical simulations of Thomson scattering, the theoretical foundations of a novel interaction geometry for laser-matter interaction are developed. This new method is very general and when tailored towards relativistically moving targets not being limited by the focusability (Rayleigh length) of the laser, while it does not require a waveguide. In a theoretical investigation of Thomson scattering, the optical analogue of undulator radiation, the limits of Thomson sources in scaling towards higher peak brilliances are highlighted. This leads to a novel method for generating brilliant, highly tunable X-ray sources, which is highly energy efficient by circumventing the laser Rayleigh limit through a novel traveling-wave Thomson scattering (TWTS) geometry. This new method suggests increases in X-ray photon yields of 2-3 orders of magnitudes using existing lasers and a way towards efficient, optical undulators to drive a free-electron laser. The results presented here extend far beyond the scope of this work. The possibility to use lasers as particle accelerators, as well as optical undulators, leads to very compact and energy efficient synchrotron sources. The resulting monoenergetic radiation of high brilliance in a range from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to hard X-ray radiation is of fundamental importance for basic research, medical

Reaching for highest ion beam intensities through laser ion acceleration and beam compression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, Dennis; Brabetz, Christian; Blazevic, Abel; Bagnoud, Vincent; Weih, Simon [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung (Germany); Jahn, Diana; Ding, Johannes; Roth, Markus [TU Darmstadt (Germany); Kroll, Florian; Schramm, Ulrich; Cowan, Tom [Helmholtzzentrum Dresden Rossendorf (Germany); Collaboration: LIGHT-Collaboration

2016-07-01

Laser ion acceleration provides access to ion sources with unique properties. To use these capabilities the LIGHT collaboration (Laser Ion Generation Handling and Transport) was founded. The aim of this collaboration is the beam transport and manipulation of laser accelerated ions with conventional accelerator structures. Therefor a dedicated beam line has been build up at GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung. With this beam line the manipulation of the transversal and also the longitudinal beam parameters has been achieved. It has been shown that laser generated ion beams can be transported over more than 6 meters and pulses shorter than 300 ps can be generated at this distance. This Talk will give an overview over the recent developments and plans of the LIGHT collaboration.

Preliminary results on tests of a Cerenkov ring imaging device employing a photoionizing PWC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durkin, S.; Honma, A.; Leith, D.W.G.S.

1978-08-01

A brief description of techniques and problems of ring imaging Cerenkov detectors employing photoionizing PWC's is discussed. Preliminary results on a one dimensional ring imaging device tested at SLAC in May and June of 1978 are then presented. These results include rough measurements of the Cerenkov ring in nitrogen, argon, neon, and helium produced by a collimated positron beam.

Measurement of {sup 40}K by Cerenkov Effect in foods; Medicion de {sup 40}K por Efecto Cerenkov en alimentos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davila R, J. I.; Cancino T, F.; Lopez del R, H.; Mireles G, F., E-mail: idavilara@gmail.com [Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Unidad Academica de Estudios Nucleares, Cipres No. 10, Fracc. La Penuela, 98060 Zacatecas (Mexico)

2013-10-15

The {sup 40}K is a natural radioactive isotope of the potassium element that decays mainly by beta and gamma radiation emission. Although the gamma spectrometry is generally used for its measuring, the energy of the beta radiation is enough to produce Cerenkov radiation in water. Taking advantage of the high efficiency of the liquid scintillation counting, a procedure to measure {sup 40}K was developed through the Cerenkov radiation using a liquid scintillation counter. The methodology was applied in foods with high content of potassium like tomato, banana, and in olive. The efficiency and sensibility of the counting were superior to those reported for gamma spectrometry and the chemical recovery of potassium was of 82.3%. The activity of {sup 40}K varied between 2.9 and 8.4 Bq/kg in banana, between 12.3 and 19 Bq/kg in tomato, and in olive was minor to the detectable minimum activity of the method. (Author)

Proton beam transport experiments with pulsed high-field magnets at the Dresden laser acceleration source Draco

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kroll, Florian; Schramm, Ulrich [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany); Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden (Germany); Kraft, Stephan; Metzkes, Josefine; Schlenvoigt, Hans-Peter; Zeil, Karl [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany)

2016-07-01

Compact laser-driven ion accelerators are a potential alternative to large and expensive conventional accelerators. High-power short-pulse lasers, impinging on e.g. thin metal foils, enable multi-MeV ion acceleration on μm length and fs to ps time scale. The generated ion bunches (typically protons) show unique beam properties, like ultra-high pulse dose. Nevertheless, laser accelerators still require substantial development in reliable beam generation and transport. Recently developed pulsed magnets meet the demands of laser acceleration and open up new research opportunities: We present a pulsed solenoid for effective collection and focusing of laser-accelerated protons that acts as link between fundamental research and application. The solenoid is powered by a capacitor-based pulse generator and can reach a maximum magnetic field of 20 T. It was installed in the target chamber of the Draco laser at HZDR. The transported beam was detected by means of radiochromic film, scintillator and Thomson parabola spectrometer. We present the characterization of the solenoid with regard to future application in radiobiological irradiation studies. Furthermore, a detailed comparison to previous experiments with a similar magnet at the PHELIX laser at GSI, Darmstadt is provided.

Beam collimation and transport of laser-accelerated protons by a solenoid field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harres, K; Alber, I; Guenther, M; Nuernberg, F; Otten, A; Schuetrumpf, J; Roth, M [Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Institut fuer Kernphysik, Schlossgartenstrasse 9, 64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Tauschwitz, A; Bagnoud, V [GSI - Hemholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Plasmaphysik and PHELIX, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Daido, H; Tampo, M [Photo Medical Research Center, JAEA, 8-1 Umemidai, Kizugawa-city, Kyoto, 619-0215 (Japan); Schollmeier, M, E-mail: k.harres@gsi.d [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque NM 87185 (United States)

2010-08-01

A pulsed high field solenoid was used in a laser-proton acceleration experiment to collimate and transport the proton beam that was generated at the irradiation of a flat foil by a high intensity laser pulse. 10{sup 12} particles at an energy of 2.3 MeV could be caught and transported over a distance of more than 240 mm. Strong space charge effects occur, induced by the high field of the solenoid that forces all co-moving electrons down the the solenoid's axis, building up a strong negative space charge that interacts with the proton beam. This leads to an aggregation of the proton beam around the solenoid's axis and therefore to a stronger focusing effect. The collimation and transport of laser-accelerated protons is the first step to provide these unique beams for further applications like post-acceleration by conventional accelerator structures.

Beam collimation and transport of laser-accelerated protons by a solenoid field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harres, K; Alber, I; Guenther, M; Nuernberg, F; Otten, A; Schuetrumpf, J; Roth, M; Tauschwitz, A; Bagnoud, V; Daido, H; Tampo, M; Schollmeier, M

2010-01-01

A pulsed high field solenoid was used in a laser-proton acceleration experiment to collimate and transport the proton beam that was generated at the irradiation of a flat foil by a high intensity laser pulse. 10 12 particles at an energy of 2.3 MeV could be caught and transported over a distance of more than 240 mm. Strong space charge effects occur, induced by the high field of the solenoid that forces all co-moving electrons down the the solenoid's axis, building up a strong negative space charge that interacts with the proton beam. This leads to an aggregation of the proton beam around the solenoid's axis and therefore to a stronger focusing effect. The collimation and transport of laser-accelerated protons is the first step to provide these unique beams for further applications like post-acceleration by conventional accelerator structures.

Photonic Crystal Laser-Driven Accelerator Structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowan, Benjamin M.

2007-01-01

Laser-driven acceleration holds great promise for significantly improving accelerating gradient. However, scaling the conventional process of structure-based acceleration in vacuum down to optical wavelengths requires a substantially different kind of structure. We require an optical waveguide that (1) is constructed out of dielectric materials, (2) has transverse size on the order of a wavelength, and (3) supports a mode with speed-of-light phase velocity in vacuum. Photonic crystals---structures whose electromagnetic properties are spatially periodic---can meet these requirements. We discuss simulated photonic crystal accelerator structures and describe their properties. We begin with a class of two-dimensional structures which serves to illustrate the design considerations and trade-offs involved. We then present a three-dimensional structure, and describe its performance in terms of accelerating gradient and efficiency. We discuss particle beam dynamics in this structure, demonstrating a method for keeping a beam confined to the waveguide. We also discuss material and fabrication considerations. Since accelerating gradient is limited by optical damage to the structure, the damage threshold of the dielectric is a critical parameter. We experimentally measure the damage threshold of silicon for picosecond pulses in the infrared, and determine that our structure is capable of sustaining an accelerating gradient of 300 MV/m at 1550 nm. Finally, we discuss possibilities for manufacturing these structures using common microfabrication techniques

Experimental control of the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amin, Munib

2008-12-15

The laser generation of energetic high quality beams of protons and heavier ions has opened up the door to a plethora of applications. These beams are usually generated by the interaction of a short pulse high power laser with a thin metal foil target. They could already be applied to probe transient phenomena in plasmas and to produce warm dense matter by isochoric heating. Other applications such as the production of radioisotopes and tumour radiotherapy need further research to be put into practice. To meet the requirements of each application, the properties of the laser-accelerated particle beams have to be controlled precisely. In this thesis, experimental means to control the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions are investigated. The production and control of proton and carbon ion beams is studied using advanced ion source designs: Experiments concerning mass-limited (i.e. small and isolated) targets are conducted. These targets have the potential to increase both the number and the energy of laser-accelerated protons. Therefore, the influence of the size of a plane foil target on proton beam properties is measured. Furthermore, carbon ion sources are investigated. Carbon ions are of particular interest in the production of warm dense matter and in cancer radiotherapy. The possibility to focus carbon ion beams is investigated and a simple method for the production of quasi-monoenergetic carbon ion beams is presented. This thesis also provides an insight into the physical processes connected to the production and the control of laser-accelerated ions. For this purpose, laser-accelerated protons are employed to probe plasma phenomena on laser-irradiated targets. Electric fields evolving on the surface of laser-irradiated metal foils and hollow metal foil cylinders are investigated. Since these fields can be used to displace, collimate or focus proton beams, understanding their temporal and spatial evolution is crucial for the design of

Experimental control of the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amin, Munib

2008-12-01

The laser generation of energetic high quality beams of protons and heavier ions has opened up the door to a plethora of applications. These beams are usually generated by the interaction of a short pulse high power laser with a thin metal foil target. They could already be applied to probe transient phenomena in plasmas and to produce warm dense matter by isochoric heating. Other applications such as the production of radioisotopes and tumour radiotherapy need further research to be put into practice. To meet the requirements of each application, the properties of the laser-accelerated particle beams have to be controlled precisely. In this thesis, experimental means to control the beam properties of laser-accelerated protons and carbon ions are investigated. The production and control of proton and carbon ion beams is studied using advanced ion source designs: Experiments concerning mass-limited (i.e. small and isolated) targets are conducted. These targets have the potential to increase both the number and the energy of laser-accelerated protons. Therefore, the influence of the size of a plane foil target on proton beam properties is measured. Furthermore, carbon ion sources are investigated. Carbon ions are of particular interest in the production of warm dense matter and in cancer radiotherapy. The possibility to focus carbon ion beams is investigated and a simple method for the production of quasi-monoenergetic carbon ion beams is presented. This thesis also provides an insight into the physical processes connected to the production and the control of laser-accelerated ions. For this purpose, laser-accelerated protons are employed to probe plasma phenomena on laser-irradiated targets. Electric fields evolving on the surface of laser-irradiated metal foils and hollow metal foil cylinders are investigated. Since these fields can be used to displace, collimate or focus proton beams, understanding their temporal and spatial evolution is crucial for the design of

Laser-accelerated proton beams as a new particle source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuernberg, Frank

2010-11-15

The framework of this thesis is the investigation of the generation of proton beams using high-intensity laser pulses. In this work, an experimental method to fully reconstruct laser-accelerated proton beam parameters, called radiochromic film imaging spectroscopy (RIS), was developed. Since the proton beam expansion is a plasma expansion with accompanying electrons, a low-energy electron spectrometer was developed, built and tested to study the electron distribution matching to the proton beam energy distribution. Two experiments were carried out at the VULCAN Petawatt laser with the aim of showing dynamic control and enhancement of proton acceleration using multiple or defocused laser pulses. Irradiating the target with a long pulse, low-intensity laser (10{sup 12} W/cm{sup 2}) prior to the main pulse ({proportional_to}ns), an optimum pre-plasma density scale length of 60 {mu}m is generated leading to an enhancement of the maximum proton energy ({proportional_to}25%), the proton flux (factor of 3) and the beam uniformity. Proton beams were generated more efficiently than previously by driving thinner target foils at a lower intensity over a large area. The optimum condition was a 2 {mu}m foil irradiated with an intensity of 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2} onto a 60 {mu}m spot. Laser to proton beam efficiencies of 7.8% have been achieved (2.2% before) - one of the highest conversion efficiencies ever achieved. In the frame of this work, two separate experiments at the TRIDENT laser system have shown that these laser-accelerated proton beams, with their high number of particles in a short pulse duration, are well-suited for creating isochorically heated matter in extreme conditions. Besides the manipulation of the proton beam parameters directly during the generation, the primary aim of this thesis was the capture, control and transport of laser-accelerated proton beams by a solenoidal magnetic field lense for further purpose. In a joint project proposal, the laser and

Laser-accelerated proton beams as a new particle source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuernberg, Frank

2010-01-01

The framework of this thesis is the investigation of the generation of proton beams using high-intensity laser pulses. In this work, an experimental method to fully reconstruct laser-accelerated proton beam parameters, called radiochromic film imaging spectroscopy (RIS), was developed. Since the proton beam expansion is a plasma expansion with accompanying electrons, a low-energy electron spectrometer was developed, built and tested to study the electron distribution matching to the proton beam energy distribution. Two experiments were carried out at the VULCAN Petawatt laser with the aim of showing dynamic control and enhancement of proton acceleration using multiple or defocused laser pulses. Irradiating the target with a long pulse, low-intensity laser (10 12 W/cm 2 ) prior to the main pulse (∝ns), an optimum pre-plasma density scale length of 60 μm is generated leading to an enhancement of the maximum proton energy (∝25%), the proton flux (factor of 3) and the beam uniformity. Proton beams were generated more efficiently than previously by driving thinner target foils at a lower intensity over a large area. The optimum condition was a 2 μm foil irradiated with an intensity of 10 19 W/cm 2 onto a 60 μm spot. Laser to proton beam efficiencies of 7.8% have been achieved (2.2% before) - one of the highest conversion efficiencies ever achieved. In the frame of this work, two separate experiments at the TRIDENT laser system have shown that these laser-accelerated proton beams, with their high number of particles in a short pulse duration, are well-suited for creating isochorically heated matter in extreme conditions. Besides the manipulation of the proton beam parameters directly during the generation, the primary aim of this thesis was the capture, control and transport of laser-accelerated proton beams by a solenoidal magnetic field lense for further purpose. In a joint project proposal, the laser and plasma physics group of the Technische Universitat

First observations of acceleration of injected electrons in a laser plasma beatwave experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebrahim, N.A.; Martin, F.; Bordeur, P.; Heighway, E.A.; Matte, J.P.; Pepin, H.; Lavigne, P.

1986-01-01

The first experimental observations of acceleration of injected electrons in a laser driven plasma beatwave are presented. The plasma waves were excited in an ionized gas jet, using a short pulse high intensity CO 2 laser with two collinearly propagating beams (at λ = 9.6 μm and 10.6 μm) to excite a fast wave (v/sub p/ = c). The source of electrons was a laser plasma produced on an aluminum slab target by a third, synchronized CO 2 laser beam. A double-focusing dipole magnet was used to energy select and inject electrons into the beatwave, and a second magnetic spectrograph was used to analyze the accelerated electrons. Electron acceleration was only observed when the appropriate resonant plasma density was produced (∼ 10 17 cm -3 ), the two laser lines were incident on the plasma, and electrons were injected into this plasma from an external source

Optimized operation of dielectric laser accelerators: Single bunch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adi Hanuka

2018-05-01

Full Text Available We introduce a general approach to determine the optimal charge, efficiency and gradient for laser driven accelerators in a self-consistent way. We propose a way to enhance the operational gradient of dielectric laser accelerators by leverage of beam-loading effect. While the latter may be detrimental from the perspective of the effective gradient experienced by the particles, it can be beneficial as the effective field experienced by the accelerating structure, is weaker. As a result, the constraint imposed by the damage threshold fluence is accordingly weakened and our self-consistent approach predicts permissible gradients of ∼10  GV/m, one order of magnitude higher than previously reported experimental results—with unbunched pulse of electrons. Our approach leads to maximum efficiency to occur for higher gradients as compared with a scenario in which the beam-loading effect on the material is ignored. In any case, maximum gradient does not occur for the same conditions that maximum efficiency does—a trade-off set of parameters is suggested.

Acceleration of electrons using an inverse free electron laser auto- accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wernick, I.K.; Marshall, T.C.

1992-07-01

We present data from our study of a device known as the inverse free electron laser. First, numerical simulations were performed to optimize the design parameters for an experiment that accelerates electrons in the presence of an undulator by stimulated absorption of radiation. The Columbia free electron laser (FEL) was configured as an auto-accelerator (IFELA) system; high power (MW's) FEL radiation at ∼1.65 mm is developed along the first section of an undulator inside a quasi-optical resonator. The electron beam then traverses a second section of undulator where a fraction of the electrons is accelerated by stimulated absorption of the 1.65 mm wavelength power developed in the first undulator section. The second undulator section has very low gain and does not generate power on its own. We have found that as much as 60% of the power generated in the first section can be absorbed in the second section, providing that the initial electron energy is chosen correctly with respect to the parameters chosen for the first and second undulators. An electron momentum spectrometer is used to monitor the distribution of electron energies as the electrons exit the IFELA. We have found; using our experimental parameters, that roughly 10% of the electrons are accelerated to energies as high as 1100 keV, in accordance with predictions from the numerical model. The appearance of high energy electrons is correlated with the abrupt absorption of millimeter power. The autoaccelerator configuration is used because there is no intense source of coherent power at the 1.65 mm design wavelength other than the FEL

Novel aspects of direct laser acceleration of relativistic electrons

Science.gov (United States)

Arefiev, Alexey

2015-11-01

Production of energetic electrons is a keystone aspect of ultraintense laser-plasma interactions that underpins a variety of topics and applications, including fast ignition inertial confinement fusion and compact particle and radiation sources. There is a wide range of electron acceleration regimes that depend on the duration of the laser pulse and the plasma density. This talk focuses on the regime in which the plasma is significantly underdense and the laser pulse duration is longer than the electron response time, so that, in contrast to the wakefield acceleration regime, the pulse creates a quasi-static channel in the electron density. Such a regime is of particular interest, since it can naturally arise in experiments with solid density targets where the pre-pulse of an ultraintense laser produces an extended sub-critical pre-plasma. This talk examines the impact of several key factors on electron acceleration by the laser pulse and the resulting electron energy gain. A detailed consideration is given to the role played by: (1) the static longitudinal electric field, (2) the static transverse electric field, (3) the electron injection into the laser pulse, (4) the electromagnetic dispersion, and (5) the static longitudinal magnetic field. It is shown that all of these factors lead, under conditions outlined in the talk, to a considerable electron energy gain that greatly exceeds the ponderomotive limit. The static fields do not directly transfer substantial energy to electrons. Instead, they alter the longitudinal dephasing between the electrons and the laser pulse, which then allows the electrons to gain extra energy from the pulse. The talk will also outline a time-resolution criterion that must be satisfied in order to correctly reproduce these effects in particle-in-cell simulations. Supported by AFOSR Contract No. FA9550-14-1-0045, National Nuclear Security Administration Contract No. DE-FC52-08NA28512, and US Department of Energy Contract No. DE-FG02

An inverse free electron laser accelerator experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wernick, I.; Marshall, T.C.

1992-01-01

A free electron laser was configured as an autoaccelerator to test the principle of accelerating electrons by stimulated absorption of radiation (λ = 1.65mm) by an electron beam (750kV) traversing an undulator. Radiation is produced in the first section of a constant period undulator (1 w1 = 1.43cm) and then absorbed (∼ 40%) in a second undulator, having a tapered period (1 w2 = 1.8 - 2.25cm), which results in the acceleration of a subgroup (∼ 9%) of electrons to ∼ 1MeV

Cerenkov Detectors for Fission Product Monitoring in Reactor Coolant Water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strindehag, O

1967-09-15

The expected properties of Cerenkov detectors when used for fission product monitoring in water cooled reactors and test loops are discussed from the point of view of the knowledge of the sensitivity of these detectors to some beta emitting isotopes. The basic theory for calculation of the detector response is presented, taking the optical transmission in the sample container and the properties of the photomultiplier tube into account. Special attention is paid to the energy resolution of this type of Cerenkov detector. For the design of practical detectors the results from several investigations of various window and reflector materials are given, and the selection of photomultiplier tubes is briefly discussed. In the case of optical reflectors and photomultiplier tubes reference is made to two previous reports by the author. The influence of the size and geometry of the sample container on the energy resolution follows from a separate investigation, as well as the relative merits of sample containers with transparent inner walls. Provided that the energy resolution of the Cerenkov detector is sufficiently high, there are several reasons for using this detector type for failed-fuel-element detection. It seems possible to attain the desired energy resolution by careful detector design.

First results with the novel petawatt laser acceleration facility in Dresden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, U; Bussmann, M; Irman, A; Siebold, M; Zeil, K; Albach, D; Bernert, C; Bock, S; Brack, F; Branco, J; Couperus, JP; Cowan, TE; Debus, A; Eisenmann, C; Garten, M; Gebhardt, R; Grams, S; Helbig, U; Huebl, A; Kluge, T

2017-01-01

We report on first commissioning results of the DRACO Petawatt ultra-short pulse laser system implemented at the ELBE center for high power radiation sources of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Key parameters of the laser system essential for efficient and reproducible performance of plasma accelerators are presented and discussed with the demonstration of 40 MeV proton acceleration under TNSA conditions as well as peaked electron spectra with unprecedented bunch charge in the 0.5 nC range. (paper)

Quasi-monoenergetic proton acceleration from cryogenic hydrogen microjet by ultrashort ultraintense laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, A.; Tibai, Z.; Hebling, J.; Fülöp, J. A.

2018-03-01

Laser-driven proton acceleration from a micron-sized cryogenic hydrogen microjet target is investigated using multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. With few-cycle (20-fs) ultraintense (2-PW) laser pulses, high-energy quasi-monoenergetic proton acceleration is predicted in a new regime. A collisionless shock-wave acceleration mechanism influenced by Weibel instability results in a maximum proton energy as high as 160 MeV and a quasi-monoenergetic peak at 80 MeV for 1022 W/cm2 laser intensity with controlled prepulses. A self-generated strong quasi-static magnetic field is also observed in the plasma, which modifies the spatial distribution of the proton beam.

0.56 GeV laser electron acceleration in ablative-capillary-discharge plasma channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kameshima, Takashi; Kurokawa, Shin-ichi; Nakajima, Kazuhisa; Hong Wei; Wen Xianlun; Wu Yuchi; Tang Chuanming; Zhu Qihua; Gu Yuqiu; Zhang Baohan; Peng Hansheng; Sugiyama, Kiyohiro; Chen, Liming; Tajima, Toshiki; Kumita, Tetsuro

2008-01-01

A high-quality electron beam with a central energy of 0.56 GeV, an energy spread of 1.2% rms, and a divergence of 0.59 mrad rms was produced by means of a 4 cm ablative-capillary-discharge plasma channel driven by a 3.8 J27 fs laser pulse. This is the first demonstration of electron acceleration with an ablative capillary discharge wherein the capillary is stably operated in vacuum with a simple system triggered by a laser pulse. This result of the generation of a high-quality beam provides the prospects to realize a practical accelerator based on laser-plasma acceleration. (author)

Development of High-Gradient Dielectric Laser-Driven Particle Accelerator Structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byer, Robert L. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Edward L. Ginzton Lab.

2013-11-07

The thrust of Stanford's program is to conduct research on high-gradient dielectric accelerator structures driven with high repetition-rate, tabletop infrared lasers. The close collaboration between Stanford and SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) is critical to the success of this project, because it provides a unique environment where prototype dielectric accelerator structures can be rapidly fabricated and tested with a relativistic electron beam.

Intra-pulse transition between ion acceleration mechanisms in intense laser-foil interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Padda, H.; King, M.; Gray, R. J.; Powell, H. W.; Gonzalez-Izquierdo, B.; Wilson, R.; Dance, R. J.; MacLellan, D. A.; Butler, N. M. H.; Capdessus, R.; McKenna, P., E-mail: paul.mckenna@strath.ac.uk [SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom); Stockhausen, L. C. [Centro de Laseres Pulsados (CLPU), Parque Cientifico, Calle del Adaja s/n. 37185 Villamayor, Salamanca (Spain); Carroll, D. C. [Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX (United Kingdom); Yuan, X. H. [Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA (CICIFSA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Borghesi, M. [Centre for Plasma Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Neely, D. [SUPA Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom); Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)

2016-06-15

Multiple ion acceleration mechanisms can occur when an ultrathin foil is irradiated with an intense laser pulse, with the dominant mechanism changing over the course of the interaction. Measurement of the spatial-intensity distribution of the beam of energetic protons is used to investigate the transition from radiation pressure acceleration to transparency-driven processes. It is shown numerically that radiation pressure drives an increased expansion of the target ions within the spatial extent of the laser focal spot, which induces a radial deflection of relatively low energy sheath-accelerated protons to form an annular distribution. Through variation of the target foil thickness, the opening angle of the ring is shown to be correlated to the point in time transparency occurs during the interaction and is maximized when it occurs at the peak of the laser intensity profile. Corresponding experimental measurements of the ring size variation with target thickness exhibit the same trends and provide insight into the intra-pulse laser-plasma evolution.

Electron acceleration by a radially polarized laser pulse during ionization of low density gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kunwar Pal Singh

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The acceleration of electrons by a radially polarized intense laser pulse has been studied. The axial electric field of the laser is responsible for electron acceleration. The axial electric field increases with decreasing laser spot size; however, the laser pulse gets defocused sooner for smaller values and the electrons do not experience high electric field for long, reducing the energy they can reach. The electron remains confined in the electric field of the laser for longer and the electron energy peaks for the normalized laser spot size nearly equal to the normalized laser intensity parameter. Electron energy peaks for initial laser phase ϕ_{0}=π due to accelerating laser phase and decreases with transverse initial position of the electrons. The energy and angle of the emittance spectrum of the electrons generated during ionization of krypton and argon at low densities have been obtained and a right choice of laser parameters has been suggested to obtain high energy quasimonoenergetic collimated electron beams. It has been found that argon is more suitable than krypton to obtain high energy electron beams due to higher ionization potential of inner shells for the former.

Supersonic micro-jets and their application to few-cycle laser-driven electron acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmid, Karl

2009-01-01

This thesis covers the few-cycle laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a laser-generated plasma. The laser system employed in this work is a new development based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification and is the only multi-TW few-cycle laser in the world. In the experiment, the laser beam is focused onto a supersonic helium gas jet which leads to the formation of a plasma channel. The laser pulse, having an intensity of 10 19 W/cm 2 propagates through the plasma with an electron density of 2 x 10 19 cm -3 and forms via a highly nonlinear interaction a strongly anharmonic plasma wave. The amplitude of the wave is so large that the wave breaks, thereby injecting electrons from the background plasma into the accelerating phase. The energy transfer from the laser pulse to the plasma is so strong that the maximum propagation distance is limited to the 100 m range. Therefore, gas jets specifically tuned to these requirements have to be employed. The properties of microscopic supersonic gas jets are thoroughly analyzed in this work. Based on numeric flow simulation, this study encompasses several extensive parameter studies that illuminate all relevant features of supersonic flows in microscopic gas nozzles. This allowed the optimized design of de Laval nozzles with exit diameters ranging from 150 μm to 3 mm. The employment of these nozzles in the experiment greatly improved the electron beam quality. After these optimizations, the laser-driven electron accelerator now yields monoenergetic electron pulses with energies up to 50 MeV and charges between one and ten pC. The electron beam has a typical divergence of 5 mrad and comprises an energy spectrum that is virtually free from low energetic background. The electron pulse duration could not yet be determined experimentally but simulations point towards values in the range of 1 fs. The acceleration gradient is estimated from simulation and experiment to be approximately 0.5 TV/m. The electron accelerator

Supersonic micro-jets and their application to few-cycle laser-driven electron acceleration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmid, Karl

2009-07-23

This thesis covers the few-cycle laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a laser-generated plasma. The laser system employed in this work is a new development based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification and is the only multi-TW few-cycle laser in the world. In the experiment, the laser beam is focused onto a supersonic helium gas jet which leads to the formation of a plasma channel. The laser pulse, having an intensity of 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2} propagates through the plasma with an electron density of 2 x 10{sup 19} cm{sup -3} and forms via a highly nonlinear interaction a strongly anharmonic plasma wave. The amplitude of the wave is so large that the wave breaks, thereby injecting electrons from the background plasma into the accelerating phase. The energy transfer from the laser pulse to the plasma is so strong that the maximum propagation distance is limited to the 100 m range. Therefore, gas jets specifically tuned to these requirements have to be employed. The properties of microscopic supersonic gas jets are thoroughly analyzed in this work. Based on numeric flow simulation, this study encompasses several extensive parameter studies that illuminate all relevant features of supersonic flows in microscopic gas nozzles. This allowed the optimized design of de Laval nozzles with exit diameters ranging from 150 {mu}m to 3 mm. The employment of these nozzles in the experiment greatly improved the electron beam quality. After these optimizations, the laser-driven electron accelerator now yields monoenergetic electron pulses with energies up to 50 MeV and charges between one and ten pC. The electron beam has a typical divergence of 5 mrad and comprises an energy spectrum that is virtually free from low energetic background. The electron pulse duration could not yet be determined experimentally but simulations point towards values in the range of 1 fs. The acceleration gradient is estimated from simulation and experiment to be approximately 0.5 TV/m. The

Calibration of a liquid scintillation counter for alpha, beta and Cerenkov counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarpitta, S.C.; Fisenne, I.M.

1996-07-01

Calibration data are presented for 25 radionuclides that were individually measured in a Packard Tri-Carb 2250CA liquid scintillation (LS) counter by both conventional and Cerenkov detection techniques. The relationships and regression data between the quench indicating parameters and the LS counting efficiencies were determined using microliter amounts of tracer added to low 40 K borosilicate glass vials containing 15 mL of Insta-Gel XF scintillation cocktail. Using 40 K, the detection efficiencies were linear over a three order of magnitude range (10 - 10,000 mBq) in beta activity for both LS and Cerenkov counting. The Cerenkov counting efficiency (CCE) increased linearly (42% per MeV) from 0.30 to 2.0 MeV, whereas the LS efficiency was >90% for betas with energy in excess of 0.30 MeV. The CCE was 20 - 50% less than the LS counting efficiency for beta particles with maximum energies in excess of 1 MeV. Based on replicate background measurements, the lower limit of detection (LLD) for a 1-h count at the 95% confidence level, using water as a solvent, was 0.024 counts sec- -1 and 0.028 counts sec-1 for plastic and glass vials, respectively. The LLD for a 1-h-count ranged from 46 to 56 mBq (2.8 - 3.4 dpm) for both Cerenkov and conventional LS counting. This assumes: (1) a 100% counting efficiency, (2) a 50% yield of the nuclide of interest, (3) a 1-h measurement time using low background plastic vials, and (4) a 0-50 keV region of interest. The LLD is reduced an order of magnitude when the yield recovery exceeds 90% and a lower background region is used (i.e., 100 - 500 keV alpha region of interest). Examples and applications of both Cerenkov and LS counting techniques are given in the text and appendices

Measurement of Cerenkov Radiation Induced by the Gamma-Rays of Co-60 Therapy Units Using Wavelength Shifting Fiber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoung Won Jang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, a wavelength shifting fiber that shifts ultra-violet and blue light to green light was employed as a sensor probe of a fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensor. In order to characterize Cerenkov radiation generated in the developed wavelength shifting fiber and a plastic optical fiber, spectra and intensities of Cerenkov radiation were measured with a spectrometer. The spectral peaks of light outputs from the wavelength shifting fiber and the plastic optical fiber were measured at wavelengths of 500 and 510 nm, respectively, and the intensity of transmitted light output of the wavelength shifting fiber was 22.2 times higher than that of the plastic optical fiber. Also, electron fluxes and total energy depositions of gamma-ray beams generated from a Co-60 therapy unit were calculated according to water depths using the Monte Carlo N-particle transport code. The relationship between the fluxes of electrons over the Cerenkov threshold energy and the energy depositions of gamma-ray beams from the Co-60 unit is a near-identity function. Finally, percentage depth doses for the gamma-ray beams were obtained using the fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensor, and the results were compared with those obtained by an ionization chamber. The average dose difference between the results of the fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensor and those of the ionization chamber was about 2.09%.

Stripline magnetic modulators for lasers and accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunnally, W.C.

1981-01-01

The basics of magnetic modulators including magnetic element and circuit considerations as applied to accelerators and lasers requiring repetitive (1 to 10 kHz), high voltage (50 to 500 kV), short pulse (50 to 100 ns) are discussed. The scaling of energy losses and switching parameters with material are included

Cerenkov radiation imaging as a method for quantitative measurements of beta particles in a microfluidic chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Jennifer S; Taschereau, Richard; Olma, Sebastian; Liu Kan; Chen Yichun; Shen, Clifton K-F; Van Dam, R Michael; Chatziioannou, Arion F

2009-01-01

It has been observed that microfluidic chips used for synthesizing 18 F-labeled compounds demonstrate visible light emission without nearby scintillators or fluorescent materials. The origin of the light was investigated and found to be consistent with the emission characteristics from Cerenkov radiation. Since 18 F decays through the emission of high-energy positrons, the energy threshold for beta particles, i.e. electrons or positrons, to generate Cerenkov radiation was calculated for water and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), the most commonly used polymer-based material for microfluidic chips. Beta particles emitted from 18 F have a continuous energy spectrum, with a maximum energy that exceeds this energy threshold for both water and PDMS. In addition, the spectral characteristics of the emitted light from 18 F in distilled water were also measured, yielding a broad distribution from 300 nm to 700 nm, with higher intensity at shorter wavelengths. A photograph of the 18 F solution showed a bluish-white light emitted from the solution, further suggesting Cerenkov radiation. In this study, the feasibility of using this Cerenkov light emission as a method for quantitative measurements of the radioactivity within the microfluidic chip in situ was evaluated. A detector previously developed for imaging microfluidic platforms was used. The detector consisted of a charge-coupled device (CCD) optically coupled to a lens. The system spatial resolution, minimum detectable activity and dynamic range were evaluated. In addition, the calibration of a Cerenkov signal versus activity concentration in the microfluidic chip was determined. This novel method of Cerenkov radiation measurements will provide researchers with a simple yet robust quantitative imaging tool for microfluidic applications utilizing beta particles.

Prospects of target nanostructuring for laser proton acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Lübcke, Andrea; Andreev, Alexander A.; Höhm, Sandra; Grunwald, Ruediger; Ehrentraut, Lutz; Schnürer, Matthias

2017-03-01

In laser-based proton acceleration, nanostructured targets hold the promise to allow for significantly boosted proton energies due to strong increase of laser absorption. We used laser-induced periodic surface structures generated in-situ as a very fast and economic way to produce nanostructured targets capable of high-repetition rate applications. Both in experiment and theory, we investigate the impact of nanostructuring on the proton spectrum for different laser-plasma conditions. Our experimental data show that the nanostructures lead to a significant enhancement of absorption over the entire range of laser plasma conditions investigated. At conditions that do not allow for efficient laser absorption by plane targets, i.e. too steep plasma gradients, nanostructuring is found to significantly enhance the proton cutoff energy and conversion efficiency. In contrast, if the plasma gradient is optimized for laser absorption of the plane target, the nanostructure-induced absorption increase is not reflected in higher cutoff energies. Both, simulation and experiment point towards the energy transfer from the laser to the hot electrons as bottleneck.

Selective deuterium ion acceleration using the Vulcan petawatt laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krygier, A. G. [Laboratoire pour l' Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palasiseau (France); Physics Department, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (United States); Morrison, J. T. [Propulsion Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Lab, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433 (United States); Kar, S., E-mail: s.kar@qub.ac.uk; Ahmed, H.; Alejo, A.; Green, A.; Jung, D. [Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Clarke, R.; Notley, M. [Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX (United Kingdom); Fuchs, J.; Vassura, L. [Laboratoire pour l' Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palasiseau (France); Kleinschmidt, A.; Roth, M. [Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schloßgartenstrasse 9, D-64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Najmudin, Z.; Nakamura, H. [The John Adams Institute, Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Norreys, P. [Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX (United Kingdom); Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Oliver, M. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Zepf, M. [Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Helmholtz Institute Jena, D-07743 Jena (Germany); Borghesi, M. [Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Na Slovance 2, 18221 Prague (Czech Republic); Freeman, R. R. [Physics Department, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (United States)

2015-05-15

We report on the successful demonstration of selective acceleration of deuterium ions by target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) with a high-energy petawatt laser. TNSA typically produces a multi-species ion beam that originates from the intrinsic hydrocarbon and water vapor contaminants on the target surface. Using the method first developed by Morrison et al. [Phys. Plasmas 19, 030707 (2012)], an ion beam with >99% deuterium ions and peak energy 14 MeV/nucleon is produced with a 200 J, 700 fs, >10{sup 20}W/cm{sup 2} laser pulse by cryogenically freezing heavy water (D{sub 2}O) vapor onto the rear surface of the target prior to the shot. Within the range of our detectors (0°–8.5°), we find laser-to-deuterium-ion energy conversion efficiency of 4.3% above 0.7 MeV/nucleon while a conservative estimate of the total beam gives a conversion efficiency of 9.4%.

Selective deuterium ion acceleration using the Vulcan petawatt laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krygier, A. G.; Morrison, J. T.; Kar, S.; Ahmed, H.; Alejo, A.; Green, A.; Jung, D.; Clarke, R.; Notley, M.; Fuchs, J.; Vassura, L.; Kleinschmidt, A.; Roth, M.; Najmudin, Z.; Nakamura, H.; Norreys, P.; Oliver, M.; Zepf, M.; Borghesi, M.; Freeman, R. R.

2015-01-01

We report on the successful demonstration of selective acceleration of deuterium ions by target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) with a high-energy petawatt laser. TNSA typically produces a multi-species ion beam that originates from the intrinsic hydrocarbon and water vapor contaminants on the target surface. Using the method first developed by Morrison et al. [Phys. Plasmas 19, 030707 (2012)], an ion beam with >99% deuterium ions and peak energy 14 MeV/nucleon is produced with a 200 J, 700 fs, >10 20 W/cm 2 laser pulse by cryogenically freezing heavy water (D 2 O) vapor onto the rear surface of the target prior to the shot. Within the range of our detectors (0°–8.5°), we find laser-to-deuterium-ion energy conversion efficiency of 4.3% above 0.7 MeV/nucleon while a conservative estimate of the total beam gives a conversion efficiency of 9.4%

Selective deuterium ion acceleration using the Vulcan petawatt laser

Science.gov (United States)

Krygier, A. G.; Morrison, J. T.; Kar, S.; Ahmed, H.; Alejo, A.; Clarke, R.; Fuchs, J.; Green, A.; Jung, D.; Kleinschmidt, A.; Najmudin, Z.; Nakamura, H.; Norreys, P.; Notley, M.; Oliver, M.; Roth, M.; Vassura, L.; Zepf, M.; Borghesi, M.; Freeman, R. R.

2015-05-01

We report on the successful demonstration of selective acceleration of deuterium ions by target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) with a high-energy petawatt laser. TNSA typically produces a multi-species ion beam that originates from the intrinsic hydrocarbon and water vapor contaminants on the target surface. Using the method first developed by Morrison et al. [Phys. Plasmas 19, 030707 (2012)], an ion beam with >99% deuterium ions and peak energy 14 MeV/nucleon is produced with a 200 J, 700 fs, > 10 20 W / cm 2 laser pulse by cryogenically freezing heavy water (D2O) vapor onto the rear surface of the target prior to the shot. Within the range of our detectors (0°-8.5°), we find laser-to-deuterium-ion energy conversion efficiency of 4.3% above 0.7 MeV/nucleon while a conservative estimate of the total beam gives a conversion efficiency of 9.4%.

Advanced beam dynamics and diagnostics concepts for laser-plasma accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dornmair, Irene

2017-05-01

Laser-Plasma Accelerators (LPAs) combine a multitude of unique features, which makes them very attractive as drivers for next generation brilliant light sources including compact X-ray free-electron lasers. They provide high accelerating gradients, thereby drastically shrinking the accelerator size, while at the same time the produced electron bunches are intrinsically as short as a few femtoseconds and carry high peak currents. LPA are subject of very active research, yet, the field currently faces the challenge of improving the beam quality, and achieving stable and well-controlled injection and acceleration. This thesis tackles this issue from three different sides. A novellongitudinal phase space diagnostics is proposed that employs the strong fields present in plasma wakefields to streak ultrashort electron bunches. This allows for a temporal resolution down to the attosecond range, enabling direct determination to the current profile and the slice energy spread, both crucial quantities for the performance of free-electron lasers. Furthermore, adiabatic matching sections at the plasma-vacuum boundary are investigated. These can drastically reduce the beam divergence and thereby relax the constraints on the subsequent beam optics. For externally injected beams, the matching sections could even provide the key technology that permits emittance conservation by increasing the matched beam size to a level achievable with currently available magnetic optics. Finally, a new method is studied that allows to modify the wakefield shape. To this end, the plasma density is periodically modulated. One possible application can be to remove the linearly correlated energy spread, or chirp, from the accelerated bunch, which is suspected of being responsible for the main part of the often large energy spread of plasma accelerated beams.

Advanced beam dynamics and diagnostics concepts for laser-plasma accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dornmair, Irene

2017-05-15

Laser-Plasma Accelerators (LPAs) combine a multitude of unique features, which makes them very attractive as drivers for next generation brilliant light sources including compact X-ray free-electron lasers. They provide high accelerating gradients, thereby drastically shrinking the accelerator size, while at the same time the produced electron bunches are intrinsically as short as a few femtoseconds and carry high peak currents. LPA are subject of very active research, yet, the field currently faces the challenge of improving the beam quality, and achieving stable and well-controlled injection and acceleration. This thesis tackles this issue from three different sides. A novellongitudinal phase space diagnostics is proposed that employs the strong fields present in plasma wakefields to streak ultrashort electron bunches. This allows for a temporal resolution down to the attosecond range, enabling direct determination to the current profile and the slice energy spread, both crucial quantities for the performance of free-electron lasers. Furthermore, adiabatic matching sections at the plasma-vacuum boundary are investigated. These can drastically reduce the beam divergence and thereby relax the constraints on the subsequent beam optics. For externally injected beams, the matching sections could even provide the key technology that permits emittance conservation by increasing the matched beam size to a level achievable with currently available magnetic optics. Finally, a new method is studied that allows to modify the wakefield shape. To this end, the plasma density is periodically modulated. One possible application can be to remove the linearly correlated energy spread, or chirp, from the accelerated bunch, which is suspected of being responsible for the main part of the often large energy spread of plasma accelerated beams.

Production and applications of quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches in laser-plasma based accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glinec, Y.; Faure, J.; Ewald, F.; Lifschitz, A.; Malka, V.

2006-01-01

Plasmas are attractive media for the next generation of compact particle accelerators because they can sustain electric fields larger than those in conventional accelerators by three orders of magnitude. However, until now, plasma-based accelerators have produced relatively poor quality electron beams even though for most practical applications, high quality beams are required. In particular, beams from laser plasma-based accelerators tend to have a large divergence and very large energy spreads, meaning that different particles travel at different speeds. The combination of these two problems makes it difficult to utilize these beams. Here, we demonstrate the production of high quality and high energy electron beams from laser-plasma interaction: in a distance of 3 mm, a very collimated and quasi-monoenergetic electron beam is emitted with a 0.5 nanocoulomb charge at 170 ± 20 MeV. In this regime, we have observed very nonlinear phenomena, such as self-focusing and temporal self-shortenning down to 10 fs durations. Both phenomena increase the excitation of the wakefield. The laser pulse drives a highly nonlinear wakefield, able to trap and accelerate plasma background electrons to a single energy. We will review the different regimes of electron acceleration and we will show how enhanced performances can be reached with state-of-the-art ultrashort laser systems. Applications such as gamma radiography of such electron beams will also be discussed

Laser Wakefield Acceleration Driven by a CO2 Laser (STELLA-LW) - Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kimura, Wayne D

2008-06-27

The original goals of the Staged Electron Laser Acceleration – Laser Wakefield (STELLA-LW) program were to investigate two new methods for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). In pseudo-resonant LWFA (PR-LWFA), a laser pulse experiences nonlinear pulse steepening while traveling through the plasma. This steepening allows the laser pulse to generate wakefields even though the laser pulse length is too long for resonant LWFA to occur. For the conditions of this program, PR-LWFA requires a minimum laser peak power of 3 TW and a low plasma density (10^16 cm^-3). Seeded self-modulated LWFA (seeded SM-LWFA) combines LWFA with plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA). An ultrashort (~100 fs) electron beam bunch acts as a seed in a plasma to form a wakefield via PWFA. This wakefield is subsequently amplified by the laser pulse through a self-modulated LWFA process. At least 1 TW laser power and, for a ~100-fs bunch, a plasma density ~10^17 cm^-3 are required. STELLA-LW was located on Beamline #1 at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Accelerator Test Facility (ATF). The ATF TW CO2 laser served as the driving laser beam for both methods. For PR-LWFA, a single bunch was to probe the wakefield produced by the laser beam. For seeded SM-LWFA, the ATF linac would produce two bunches, where the first would be the seed and the second would be the witness. A chicane would compress the first bunch to enable it to generate wakefields via PWFA. The plasma source was a short-length, gas-filled capillary discharge with the laser beam tightly focused in the center of the capillary, i.e., no laser guiding was used, in order to obtain the needed laser intensity. During the course of the program, several major changes had to be made. First, the ATF could not complete the upgrade of the CO2 laser to the 3 TW peak power needed for the PR-LWFA experiment. Therefore, the PR-LWFA experiment had to be abandoned leaving only the seeded SM-LWFA experiment. Second, the ATF discovered that the

On the quasi-monoenergetic electron beam generation in the laser wakefield acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulanov, S.V.; Tajima, Toshiki

2005-01-01

A new phase of laser acceleration research has entered, as signified by the recent reports in Nature 9/30/05 of the generation of quasi-monoenergetic electron beam by laser wakefield acceleration in three experiments. We survey the current status of experiments and offer their theoretical interpretation. We understand why the choice of parameters is of such importance and why the earlier experiments showed energy spectra far from monoenergy. (author)

Enhanced proton acceleration by ultrashort laser pulse interaction with nanostructured thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mondal, Angana; Dalui, Malay; Tata, Sheroy; Sarkar, Subhrangshu; Jha, Jagannath; Lad, Amit; Krishnamurthy, M.; Ayyub, P.; Wang, W m; Sheng, Z m

2015-01-01

Enhancement of local electromagnetic field in nanostructured targets as opposed to plain polished targets has been experimentally observed and studied. This increase in field strength leads to enhanced hot electron generation, which gives rise to highly energetic ions through Target Normal Sheath Acceleration. As the laser energy coupled to the electrons increases, the sheath magnitude is expected to increase, leading to an enhancement in ion acceleration. We investigate energy enhancements in ions generated as a result of intense femtosecond laser interaction with nanostructured thin film targets, comprising 2 μm Ta foil coated with 100-200 nm diameter Ta clusters. The optimum nanoparticle size of 100 nm corresponding to maximum laser energy absorption has been predetermined through PIC simulations. The accelerated ions have been studied using Thompson parabola spectrometer at a laser intensity of 15 x 10 19 W/cm 2 at the TIFR high contrast 100 TW Ti:Sapphire laser facility. The proton cut-off energy is observed to increase rapidly with increasing cluster density till a saturation is reached. The enhancement in the proton cut-off energy is observed to be three-fold as compared to the proton cut-off energy for unstructured foils. (author)

Self-guiding of high-intensity laser pulses for laser wake field acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umstader, D.; Liu, X.

1992-01-01

A means of self-guiding an ultrashort and high-intensity laser pulse is demonstrated both experimentally and numerically. Its relevance to the laser wake field accelerator concept is discussed. Self-focusing and multiple foci formation are observed when a high peak power (P>100 GW), 1 μm, subpicosecond laser is focused onto various gases (air or hydrogen). It appears to result from the combined effects of self-focusing by the gas, and de-focusing both by diffraction and the plasma formed in the central high-intensity region. Quasi-stationary computer simulations show the same multiple foci behavior as the experiments. The results suggest much larger nonlinear electronic susceptibilities of a gas near or undergoing ionization in the high field of the laser pulse. Although self-guiding of a laser beam by this mechanism appears to significantly extend its high-intensity focal region, small-scale self-focusing due to beam non-uniformity is currently a limitation

Ion response to relativistic electron bunches in the blowout regime of laser-plasma accelerators.

Science.gov (United States)

Popov, K I; Rozmus, W; Bychenkov, V Yu; Naseri, N; Capjack, C E; Brantov, A V

2010-11-05

The ion response to relativistic electron bunches in the so called bubble or blowout regime of a laser-plasma accelerator is discussed. In response to the strong fields of the accelerated electrons the ions form a central filament along the laser axis that can be compressed to densities 2 orders of magnitude higher than the initial particle density. A theory of the filament formation and a model of ion self-compression are proposed. It is also shown that in the case of a sharp rear plasma-vacuum interface the ions can be accelerated by a combination of three basic mechanisms. The long time ion evolution that results from the strong electrostatic fields of an electron bunch provides a unique diagnostic of laser-plasma accelerators.

Operation regimes of a dielectric laser accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Hanuka, Adi; Schächter, Levi

2018-04-01

We investigate three operation regimes in dielectric laser driven accelerators: maximum efficiency, maximum charge, and maximum loaded gradient. We demonstrate, using a self-consistent approach, that loaded gradients of the order of 1 to 6 [GV/m], efficiencies of 20% to 80%, and electrons flux of 1014 [el/s] are feasible, without significant concerns regarding damage threshold fluence. The latter imposes that the total charge per squared wavelength is constant (a total of 106 per μm2). We conceive this configuration as a zero-order design that should be considered for the road map of future accelerators.

Weight Multispectral Reconstruction Strategy for Enhanced Reconstruction Accuracy and Stability With Cerenkov Luminescence Tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Hongbo Guo; Xiaowei He; Muhan Liu; Zeyu Zhang; Zhenhua Hu; Jie Tian

2017-06-01

Cerenkov luminescence tomography (CLT) provides a novel technique for 3-D noninvasive detection of radiopharmaceuticals in living subjects. However, because of the severe scattering of Cerenkov light, the reconstruction accuracy and stability of CLT is still unsatisfied. In this paper, a modified weight multispectral CLT (wmCLT) reconstruction strategy was developed which split the Cerenkov radiation spectrum into several sub-spectral bands and weighted the sub-spectral results to obtain the final result. To better evaluate the property of the wmCLT reconstruction strategy in terms of accuracy, stability and practicability, several numerical simulation experiments and in vivo experiments were conducted and the results obtained were compared with the traditional multispectral CLT (mCLT) and hybrid-spectral CLT (hCLT) reconstruction strategies. The numerical simulation results indicated that wmCLT strategy significantly improved the accuracy of Cerenkov source localization and intensity quantitation and exhibited good stability in suppressing noise in numerical simulation experiments. And the comparison of the results achieved from different in vivo experiments further indicated significant improvement of the wmCLT strategy in terms of the shape recovery of the bladder and the spatial resolution of imaging xenograft tumors. Overall the strategy reported here will facilitate the development of nuclear and optical molecular tomography in theoretical study.

Kr II laser-induced fluorescence for measuring plasma acceleration.

Science.gov (United States)

Hargus, W A; Azarnia, G M; Nakles, M R

2012-10-01

We present the application of laser-induced fluorescence of singly ionized krypton as a diagnostic technique for quantifying the electrostatic acceleration within the discharge of a laboratory cross-field plasma accelerator also known as a Hall effect thruster, which has heritage as spacecraft propulsion. The 728.98 nm Kr II transition from the metastable 5d(4)D(7/2) to the 5p(4)P(5/2)(∘) state was used for the measurement of laser-induced fluorescence within the plasma discharge. From these measurements, it is possible to measure velocity as krypton ions are accelerated from near rest to approximately 21 km/s (190 eV). Ion temperature and the ion velocity distributions may also be extracted from the fluorescence data since available hyperfine splitting data allow for the Kr II 5d(4)D(7/2)-5p(4)P(5/2)(∘) transition lineshape to be modeled. From the analysis, the fluorescence lineshape appears to be a reasonable estimate for the relatively broad ion velocity distributions. However, due to an apparent overlap of the ion creation and acceleration regions within the discharge, the distributed velocity distributions increase ion temperature determination uncertainty significantly. Using the most probable ion velocity as a representative, or characteristic, measure of the ion acceleration, overall propellant energy deposition, and effective electric fields may be calculated. With this diagnostic technique, it is possible to nonintrusively characterize the ion acceleration both within the discharge and in the plume.

JASA: A prototype water-Cerenkov air-shower detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berley, D.; Dion, C.; Goodman, J.A.; Haines, T.J.; Kwok, P.W.; Stark, M.J.; Svoboda, R.C.; Ferguson, H.; Hoffman, C.M.; Horch, E.; Ellsworth, R.W.; Delay, R.S.; Lu, X.; Yodh, G.B.

1991-01-01

A small pilot experiment to examine the use of the water-Cerenkov technique for air shower detection was installed near the center of the CYGNUS air shower array. Preliminary results showing general agreement with simulations are presented. Thus, the technique promises to offer significant advances for VHE-UHE γ-ray astronomy

Post-acceleration of laser driven protons with a compact high field linac

Science.gov (United States)

Sinigardi, Stefano; Londrillo, Pasquale; Rossi, Francesco; Turchetti, Giorgio; Bolton, Paul R.

2013-05-01

We present a start-to-end 3D numerical simulation of a hybrid scheme for the acceleration of protons. The scheme is based on a first stage laser acceleration, followed by a transport line with a solenoid or a multiplet of quadrupoles, and then a post-acceleration section in a compact linac. Our simulations show that from a laser accelerated proton bunch with energy selection at ~ 30MeV, it is possible to obtain a high quality monochromatic beam of 60MeV with intensity at the threshold of interest for medical use. In the present day experiments using solid targets, the TNSA mechanism describes accelerated bunches with an exponential energy spectrum up to a cut-off value typically below ~ 60MeV and wide angular distribution. At the cut-off energy, the number of protons to be collimated and post-accelerated in a hybrid scheme are still too low. We investigate laser-plasma acceleration to improve the quality and number of the injected protons at ~ 30MeV in order to assure efficient post-acceleration in the hybrid scheme. The results are obtained with 3D PIC simulations using a code where optical acceleration with over-dense targets, transport and post-acceleration in a linac can all be investigated in an integrated framework. The high intensity experiments at Nara are taken as a reference benchmarks for our virtual laboratory. If experimentally confirmed, a hybrid scheme could be the core of a medium sized infrastructure for medical research, capable of producing protons for therapy and x-rays for diagnosis, which complements the development of all optical systems.

Medical research and multidisciplinary applications with laser-accelerated beams: the ELIMED netwotk at ELI-Beamlines

Science.gov (United States)

Tramontana, A.; Anzalone, A.; Candiano, G.; Carpinelli, M.; Cirrone, G. A. P.; Cuttone, G.; Korn, G.; Licciardello, T.; Maggiore, M.; Manti, L.; Margarone, D.; Musumarra, A.; Perozziello, F.; Pisciotta, P.; Raffaele, L.; Romano, F.; Romano, F. P.; Stancampiano, C.; Schillaci, F.; Scuderi, V.; Torrisi, L.; Tudisco, S.

2014-04-01

Laser accelerated proton beams represent nowadays an attractive alternative to the conventional ones and they have been proposed in different research fields. In particular, the interest has been focused in the possibility of replacing conventional accelerating machines with laser-based accelerators in order to develop a new concept of hadrontherapy facilities, which could result more compact and less expensive. With this background the ELIMED (ELIMED: ELI-Beamlines MEDical applications) research project has been launched by LNS-INFN researchers (Laboratori Nazionali del Sud-Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Catania, IT) and ASCR-FZU researchers (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic-Fyzikální ústar, Prague, Cz), within the pan-European ELI-Beamlines facility framework. Its main purposes are the demonstration of future applications in hadrontherapy of optically accelerated protons and the realization of a laser-accelerated ion transport beamline for multidisciplinary applications. Several challenges, starting from laser-target interaction and beam transport development, up to dosimetric and radiobiological issues, need to be overcome in order to reach the final goals. The design and the realization of a preliminary beam handling and dosimetric system and of an advanced spectrometer for high energy (multi-MeV) laser-accelerated ion beams will be shortly presented in this work.

The high pressure gas Cerenkov counter at the Omega Facility.

CERN Multimedia

1975-01-01

The high-pressure gas Cerenkov was used to measure reactions as pion (or kaon)- hydrogen --> forward proton - X. It was built by the Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseu). Here Peter Sonderegger and Patrick Fleury,

Concept of infrared laser particle accelerators with oversized DBR and HFB waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnesson, J.; Gnepf, S.; Nessi, M.; Woelfli, W.; Kneubuehl, F.K.

1986-01-01

We present an infrared-laser accelerator scheme which makes use of hollow oversized linear periodic and helical waveguide structures originally designed for distributed feedback (DFB) and helical feedback (HFB) lasers

Supersonic jets of hydrogen and helium for laser wakefield acceleration

CERN Document Server

Svensson, K.; Wojda, F.; Senje, L.; Burza, M.; Aurand, B.; Genoud, G.; Persson, A.; Wahlström, C.-G.; Lundh, O.

2016-01-01

The properties of laser wakefield accelerated electrons in supersonic gas flows of hydrogen and helium are investigated. At identical backing pressure, we find that electron beams emerging from helium show large variations in their spectral and spatial distributions, whereas electron beams accelerated in hydrogen plasmas show a higher degree of reproducibility. In an experimental investigation of the relation between neutral gas density and backing pressure, it is found that the resulting number density for helium is ∼30% higher than for hydrogen at the same backing pressure. The observed differences in electron beam properties between the two gases can thus be explained by differences in plasma electron density. This interpretation is verified by repeating the laser wakefield acceleration experiment using similar plasma electron densities for the two gases, which then yielded electron beams with similar properties.

Supersonic jets of hydrogen and helium for laser wakefield acceleration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Svensson

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The properties of laser wakefield accelerated electrons in supersonic gas flows of hydrogen and helium are investigated. At identical backing pressure, we find that electron beams emerging from helium show large variations in their spectral and spatial distributions, whereas electron beams accelerated in hydrogen plasmas show a higher degree of reproducibility. In an experimental investigation of the relation between neutral gas density and backing pressure, it is found that the resulting number density for helium is ∼30% higher than for hydrogen at the same backing pressure. The observed differences in electron beam properties between the two gases can thus be explained by differences in plasma electron density. This interpretation is verified by repeating the laser wakefield acceleration experiment using similar plasma electron densities for the two gases, which then yielded electron beams with similar properties.

Electron acceleration in a plane laser beam

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Petržílka, Václav; Krlín, Ladislav; Tataronis, J. A.

2002-01-01

Roč. 52, supplement D (2002), s. 279-282 ISSN 0011-4626. [Symposium on Plasma Physics and Technology/20th./. Prague, 10.06.2002-13.06.2002] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z2043910 Keywords : electron acceleration, laser beam Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 0.311, year: 2002

Precise Charge Measurement For Laser Plasma Accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Kei; Gonsalves, Anthony; Lin, Chen; Sokollik, Thomas; Shiraishi, Satomi; van Tilborg, Jeroen; Osterhoff, Jens; Donahue, Rich; Rodgers, David; Smith, Alan; Byrne, Warren; Leemans, Wim

2011-01-01

Cross-calibrations of charge diagnostics are conducted to verify their validity for measuring electron beams produced by laser plasma accelerators (LPAs). Employed diagnostics are a scintillating screen, activation based measurement, and integrating current transformer. The diagnostics agreed within ±8 %, showing that they can provide accurate charge measurements for LPAs provided they are used properly.

Monoenergetic and GeV ion acceleration from the laser breakout afterburner using ultrathin targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin, L.; Albright, B. J.; Hegelich, B. M.; Bowers, K. J.; Flippo, K. A.; Kwan, T. J. T.; Fernandez, J. C.

2007-01-01

A new laser-driven ion acceleration mechanism using ultrathin targets has been identified from particle-in-cell simulations. After a brief period of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) [S. P. Hatchett et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 2076 (2000)], two distinct stages follow: first, a period of enhanced TNSA during which the cold electron background converts entirely to hot electrons, and second, the ''laser breakout afterburner'' (BOA) when the laser penetrates to the rear of the target where a localized longitudinal electric field is generated with the location of the peak field co-moving with the ions. During this process, a relativistic electron beam is produced by the ponderomotive drive of the laser. This beam is unstable to a relativistic Buneman instability, which rapidly converts the electron energy into ion energy. This mechanism accelerates ions to much higher energies using laser intensities comparable to earlier TNSA experiments. At a laser intensity of 10 21 W/cm 2 , the carbon ions accelerate as a quasimonoenergetic bunch to 100 s of MeV in the early stages of the BOA with conversion efficiency of order a few percent. Both are an order of magnitude higher than those realized from TNSA in recent experiments [Hegelich et al., Nature 441, 439 (2006)]. The laser-plasma interaction then evolves to produce a quasithermal energy distribution with maximum energy of ∼2 GeV

Cerenkov luminescence imaging of medical isotopes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggiero, Alessandro; Holland, Jason P; Lewis, Jason S; Grimm, Jan

2010-07-01

The development of novel multimodality imaging agents and techniques represents the current frontier of research in the field of medical imaging science. However, the combination of nuclear tomography with optical techniques has yet to be established. Here, we report the use of the inherent optical emissions from the decay of radiopharmaceuticals for Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) of tumors in vivo and correlate the results with those obtained from concordant immuno-PET studies. In vitro phantom studies were used to validate the visible light emission observed from a range of radionuclides including the positron emitters (18)F, (64)Cu, (89)Zr, and (124)I; beta-emitter (131)I; and alpha-particle emitter (225)Ac for potential use in CLI. The novel radiolabeled monoclonal antibody (89)Zr-desferrioxamine B [DFO]-J591 for immuno-PET of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression was used to coregister and correlate the CLI signal observed with the immuno-PET images and biodistribution studies. Phantom studies confirmed that Cerenkov radiation can be observed from a range of positron-, beta-, and alpha-emitting radionuclides using standard optical imaging devices. The change in light emission intensity versus time was concordant with radionuclide decay and was also found to correlate linearly with both the activity concentration and the measured PET signal (percentage injected dose per gram). In vivo studies conducted in male severe combined immune deficient mice bearing PSMA-positive, subcutaneous LNCaP tumors demonstrated that tumor-specific uptake of (89)Zr-DFO-J591 could be visualized by both immuno-PET and CLI. Optical and immuno-PET signal intensities were found to increase over time from 24 to 96 h, and biodistribution studies were found to correlate well with both imaging modalities. These studies represent the first, to our knowledge, quantitative assessment of CLI for measuring radiotracer uptake in vivo. Many radionuclides common to both nuclear

Laser Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Monoenergetic Protons in an Ultra-Thin Foil

Science.gov (United States)

Eliasson, Bengt; Liu, Chuan S.; Shao, Xi; Sagdeev, Roald Z.; Shukla, Padma K.

2009-11-01

We present theoretical and numerical studies of the acceleration of monoenergetic protons in a double layer formed by the laser irradiation of an ultra-thin film. The stability of the foil is investigated by direct Vlasov-Maxwell simulations for different sets of laser-plasma parameters. It is found that the foil is stable, due to the trapping of both electrons and ions in the thin laser-plasma interaction region, where the electrons are trapped in a potential well composed of the ponderomo-tive potential of the laser light and the electrostatic potential due to the ions, and the ions are trapped in a potential well composed of the inertial potential in an accelerated frame and the electrostatic potential due to the electrons. The result is a stable double layer, where the trapped ions are accelerated to monoenergetic energies up to 100 MeV and beyond, which makes them suitable for medical applications cancer treatment. The underlying physics of trapped and untapped ions in a double layer is also investigated theoretically and numerically.

Computer simulations of a single-laser double-gas-jet wakefield accelerator concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. G. Hemker

2002-04-01

Full Text Available We report in this paper on full scale 2D particle-in-cell simulations investigating laser wakefield acceleration. First we describe our findings of electron beam generation by a laser propagating through a single gas jet. Using realistic parameters which are relevant for the experimental setup in our laboratory we find that the electron beam resulting after the propagation of a 0.8 μm, 50 fs laser through a 1.5 mm gas jet has properties that would make it useful for further acceleration. Our simulations show that the electron beam is generated when the laser exits the gas jet, and the properties of the generated beam, especially its energy, depend only weakly on most properties of the gas jet. We therefore propose to use the first gas jet as a plasma cathode and then use a second gas jet placed immediately behind the first to provide additional acceleration. Our simulations of this proposed setup indicate the feasibility of this idea and also suggest ways to optimize the quality of the resulting beam.

A review of 4π Cerenkov ring imaging detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leith, D.W.G.S

1989-06-01

The design choices for 4π ring imaging Cerenkov counters -- both those of principle and those of practice -- are reviewed. The progress in construction and the performance of the devices being built for DELPHI and SLD are discussed. 13 refs., 22 figs

Reduction of angular divergence of laser-driven ion beams during their acceleration and transport

Science.gov (United States)

Zakova, M.; Pšikal, Jan; Margarone, Daniele; Maggiore, Mario; Korn, G.

2015-05-01

Laser plasma physics is a field of big interest because of its implications in basic science, fast ignition, medicine (i.e. hadrontherapy), astrophysics, material science, particle acceleration etc. 100-MeV class protons accelerated from the interaction of a short laser pulse with a thin target have been demonstrated. With continuing development of laser technology, greater and greater energies are expected, therefore projects focusing on various applications are being formed, e.g. ELIMAIA (ELI Multidisciplinary Applications of laser-Ion Acceleration). One of the main characteristic and crucial disadvantage of ion beams accelerated by ultra-short intense laser pulses is their large divergence, not suitable for the most of applications. In this paper two ways how to decrease beam divergence are proposed. Firstly, impact of different design of targets on beam divergence is studied by using 2D Particlein-cell simulations (PIC). Namely, various types of targets include at foils, curved foil and foils with diverse microstructures. Obtained results show that well-designed microstructures, i.e. a hole in the center of the target, can produce proton beam with the lowest divergence. Moreover, the particle beam accelerated from a curved foil has lower divergence compared to the beam from a flat foil. Secondly, another proposed method for the divergence reduction is using of a magnetic solenoid. The trajectories of the laser accelerated particles passing through the solenoid are modeled in a simple Matlab program. Results from PIC simulations are used as input in the program. The divergence is controlled by optimizing the magnetic field inside the solenoid and installing an aperture in front of the device.

The Cerenkov ring-imaging detector recent progress and future development

CERN Document Server

Ekelöf, T J C; Tocqueville, J; Ypsilantis, Thomas

1981-01-01

Results are reported on measurements of Cerenkov ring images using a multistage MWPC with an argon-TEA gas mixture. A specific detector response of N/sub 0/=56 cm/sup -1/ was obtained. It is shown that with some minor modifications to the detector, this value can be raised to N/sub 0/=90 cm/sup -1/. Using an argon-methane-TEA mixture in the MWPC, it is shown that efficient single-photoelectron detection can be achieved with proportional wire amplification without preamplification. A design of a new type of drift chamber (TPC) detector for two-dimensional measurement of the ring image is described. The use of the Cerenkov ring-imaging technique in high- energy physics experimentation is discussed, and in particular a full solid-angle detector for LEP is suggested. (10 refs).

Small-scale laser based electron accelerators for biology and medicine: a comparative study of the biological effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Labate, Luca; Andreassi, Maria Grazia; Baffigi, Federica; Basta, Giuseppina; Bizzarri, Ranieri; Borghini, Andrea; Candiano, Giuliana C.; Casarino, Carlo; Cresci, Monica; Di Martino, Fabio; Fulgentini, Lorenzo; Ghetti, Francesco; Gilardi, Maria Carla; Giulietti, Antonio; Köster, Petra; Lenci, Francesco; Levato, Tadzio; Oishi, Yuji; Russo, Giorgio; Sgarbossa, Antonella; Traino, Claudio; Gizzi, Leonida A.

2013-05-01

Laser-driven electron accelerators based on the Laser Wakefield Acceleration process has entered a mature phase to be considered as alternative devices to conventional radiofrequency linear accelerators used in medical applications. Before entering the medical practice, however, deep studies of the radiobiological effects of such short bunches as the ones produced by laser-driven accelerators have to be performed. Here we report on the setup, characterization and first test of a small-scale laser accelerator for radiobiology experiments. A brief description of the experimental setup will be given at first, followed by an overview of the electron bunch characterization, in particular in terms of dose delivered to the samples. Finally, the first results from the irradiation of biological samples will be briefly discussed.

Simulation study of the sub-terawatt laser wakefield acceleration operated in self-modulated regime

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, C.-Y.; Lin, M.-W.; Chen, S.-H.

2018-02-01

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) can be accomplished by introducing a sub-terawatt (TW) laser pulse into a thin, high-density gas target. In this way, the self-focusing effect and the self-modulation that happened on the laser pulse produce a greatly enhanced laser peak intensity that can drive a nonlinear plasma wave to accelerate electrons. A particle-in-cell model is developed to study sub-TW LWFA when a 0.6-TW laser pulse interacts with a dense hydrogen plasma. Gas targets having a Gaussian density profile or a flat-top distribution are defined for investigating the properties of sub-TW LWFA when conducting with a gas jet or a gas cell. In addition to using 800-nm laser pulses, simulations are performed with 1030-nm laser pulses, as they represent a viable approach to realize the sub-TW LWFA driven by high-frequency, diode-pumped laser systems. The peak density which allows the laser peak power PL˜2 Pc r of self-focusing critical power is favourable for conducting sub-TW LWFA. Otherwise, an excessively high peak density can induce an undesired filament effect which rapidly disintegrates the laser field envelope and violates the process of plasma wave excitation. The plateau region of a flat-top density distribution allows the self-focusing and the self-modulation of the laser pulse to develop, from which well-established plasma bubbles can be produced to accelerate electrons. The process of electron injection is complicated in such high-density plasma conditions; however, increasing the length of the plateau region represents a straightforward method to realize the injection and acceleration of electrons within the first bubble, such that an improved LWFA performance can be accomplished.

Modification of semiconductor materials using laser-produced ion streams additionally accelerated in the electric fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosinski, M.; Badziak, B.; Parys, P.; Wolowski, J.; Pisarek, M.

2009-01-01

The laser-produced ion stream may be attractive for direct ultra-low-energy ion implantation in thin layer of semiconductor for modification of electrical and optical properties of semiconductor devices. Application of electrostatic fields for acceleration and formation of laser-generated ion stream enables to control the ion stream parameters in broad energy and current density ranges. It also permits to remove the useless laser-produced ions from the ion stream designed for implantation. For acceleration of ions produced with the use of a low fluence repetitive laser system (Nd:glass: 2 Hz, pulse duration: 3.5 ns, pulse energy:∼0.5 J, power density: 10 10 W/cm 2 ) in IPPLM the special electrostatic system has been prepared. The laser-produced ions passing through the diaphragm (a ring-shaped slit in the HV box) have been accelerated in the system of electrodes. The accelerating voltage up to 40 kV, the distance of the diaphragm from the target, the diaphragm diameter and the gap width were changed for choosing the desired parameters (namely the energy band of the implanted ions) of the ion stream. The characteristics of laser-produced Ge ion streams were determined with the use of precise ion diagnostic methods, namely: electrostatic ion energy analyser and various ion collectors. The laser-produced and post-accelerated Ge ions have been used for implantation into semiconductor materials for nanocrystal fabrication. The characteristics of implanted samples were measured using AES

Observation of 690 MV m^-1 Electron Accelerating Gradient with a Laser-Driven Dielectric Microstructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wootton, K.P.; Wu, Z.; /SLAC; Cowan, B.M.; /Tech-X, Boulder; Hanuka, A.; /SLAC /Technion; Makasyuk, I.V.; /SLAC; Peralta, E.A.; Soong, K.; Byer, R.L.; /Stanford U.; England, R.J.; /SLAC

2016-06-27

Acceleration of electrons using laser-driven dielectric microstructures is a promising technology for the miniaturization of particle accelerators. In this work, experimental results are presented of relativistic electron acceleration with 690±100 MVm^-1 gradient. This is a record-high accelerating gradient for a dielectric microstructure accelerator, nearly doubling the previous record gradient. To reach higher acceleration gradients the present experiment employs 90 fs duration laser pulses.

ELIMED, future hadrontherapy applications of laser-accelerated beams

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Cirrone, Giuseppe A.P.; Carpinelli, M.; Cuttone, G.; Gammino, S.; Jia, S.B.; Korn, Georg; Maggiore, Mario; Manti, L.; Margarone, Daniele; Prokůpek, Jan; Renis, M.; Romano, F.; Schillaci, Francesco; Tomasello, B.; Torrisi, L.; Tramontana, A.; Velyhan, Andriy

2013-01-01

Roč. 730, Dec (2013), s. 174-177 ISSN 0168-9002. [International Conference on Radiation Effects on Semiconductor Materials, Detectors and Devices /9./(RESMDD). Florence, 09.10.2012-12.10.2012] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP205/11/1165; GA MŠk ED1.1.00/02.0061; GA MŠk EE.2.3.20.0087 Grant - others:ELI Beamlines(XE) CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0061; OP VK 2 LaserGen(XE) CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0087 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : laser acceleration * cancer treatment * particle selection * Monte Carlo simulation * beam handling Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.316, year: 2013

Some properties of Cerenkov radiation due to the finite thickness of the radiator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobzev, A.P.; Frank, I.M.

1981-01-01

The properties of Cerenkov radiation are analyzed for a small radiator thickness. It is shown that the directionality of the radiation, its threshold properties, and also the dependence on the electron energy and radiator thickness differ substantially from the well known characteristics of Cerenkov radiation corresponding to the case of an unlimited particle trajectory in an extended medium. We have experimentally studied the directionality and energy characteristics of radiation excited by electrons in a mica target of thickness 12 400 A at wavelength 4000 A. The experimental results are in good agreement with the calculations

Ponderomotive ion acceleration in dense magnetized laser-irradiated thick target plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Ujjwal; Kaw, Predhiman

2012-03-01

When a circularly polarized laser pulse falls on an overdense plasma, it displaces the electrons via ponderomotive force creating a double layer. The double layer constitutes of an ion and electron sheath with in which the electrostatic field present is responsible for ion acceleration. In this paper, we have analyzed the effect a static longitudinal magnetic field has over the ion acceleration mechanism. The longitudinal magnetic field changes the plasma dielectric constant due to cyclotron effects which in turn enhances or reduces the ponderomotive force exerted by the laser depending on whether the laser is left or right circularly polarized. Also, the analysis of the ion space charge region present behind the ion sheath of the laser piston that undergoes coulomb explosion has been explored for the first time. We have studied the interaction of an incoming ion beam with the laser piston and the ion space charge. It has been found that the exploding ion space charge has the ability to act as an energy amplifier for incoming ion beams.

Production of a monoenergetic electron bunch in a self-injected laser-wakefield accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, C.-L.; Hsieh, C.-T.; Ho, Y.-C.; Chen, Y.-S.; Lin, J.-Y.; Wang, J.; Chen, S.-Y.

2007-01-01

Production of a monoenergetic electron bunch in a self-injected laser-wakefield accelerator is investigated with a tomographic method which resolves the electron injection and acceleration processes. It is found that all the electrons in the monoenergetic electron bunch are injected at the same location in the plasma column and then accelerated with an acceleration gradient exceeding 2 GeV/cm. The injection position shifts with the position of pump-pulse focus, and no significant deceleration is observed for the monoenergetic electron bunch after it reaches the maximum energy. The results are consistent with the model of transverse wave breaking and beam loading for the injection of monoenergetic electrons. The tomographic method adds a crucial dimension to the whole array of existing diagnostics for laser beams, plasma waves, and electron beams. With this method the details of the underlying physical processes in laser-plasma interactions can be resolved and compared directly to particle-in-cell simulations

Numerical investigation on complex target geometries in the context of laser-accelerated proton beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deppert, O.; Harres, K.; Busold, S.; Schaumann, G.; Roth, M. [IKP, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt (Germany); Brabetz, C. [IAP, Goethe Universitaet Frankfurt (Germany); Schollmeier, M.; Geissel, M. [Sandia National Laboratories, NM (United States); Bagnoud, V. [GSI - Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt (Germany); Neely, D. [Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (United Kingdom); McKenna, P. [University of Strathclyde (United Kingdom)

2012-07-01

The irradiation of thin metal foils by an ultra-intense laser pulse leads to the generation of a highly laminar, intense proton beam accelerated from the target rear side by a mechanism called TNSA. This acceleration mechanism strongly depends on the geometry of the target. The acceleration originates from the formation of a Gaussian-like electron sheath leading to an electric field in the order of TV/m. This sheath field-ionizes the target rear side and is able to accelerate protons from a hydrogen contamination layer. The Gaussian-like sheath adds an energy dependent divergence to the spatial proton beam profile. For future applications it is essential to reduce the divergence already from the source of the acceleration process. Therefore different target geometries were studied numerically with the help of Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations. Both, the influence of the target geometry as well as the influence of the laser beam profile onto the proton trajectories are discussed. Furthermore, the first experimental results of a dedicated target geometry for laser-ion acceleration are presented.

Charged-particle acceleration through laser irradiation of thin foils at Prague Asterix Laser System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torrisi, Lorenzo; Cutroneo, Maria; Cavallaro, Salvatore; Musumeci, Paolo; Calcagno, Lucia; Wolowski, Jerzy; Rosinski, Marcin; Zaras-Szydlowska, Agnieszka; Ullschmied, Jiri; Krousky, Eduard; Pfeifer, Miroslav; Skala, Jiri; Velyhan, Andreiy

2014-01-01

Thin foils, 0.5–50 μm in thickness, have been irradiated in vacuum at Prague Asterix Laser System in Prague using 10 15–16  W cm −2 laser intensity, 1315 nm wavelength, 300 ps pulse duration and different focal positions. Produced plasmas from metals and polymers films have been monitored in the forward and backward directions. Ion and electron accelerations have been investigated by using Thomson parabola spectrometer, x-ray streak camera, ion collectors and SiC semiconductor detectors, the latter employed in time-of-flight configuration. Ion acceleration up to about 3 MeV per charge state was measured in the forward direction. Ion and electron emissions were detected at different angles as a function of the irradiation conditions. (paper)

High power electron beam accelerators for gas laser excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.G.; Martin, T.H.; Halbleib, J.A.

1976-06-01

A preliminary parameter investigation has been used to determine a possible design of a high-power, relativistic electron beam, transversely excited laser. Based on considerations of present and developing pulsed power technology, broad area diode physics and projected laser requirements, an exciter is proposed consisting of a Marx generator, pulse shaping transmission lines, radially converging ring diodes and a laser chamber. The accelerator should be able to deliver approximately 20 kJ of electron energy at 1 MeV to the 10 4 cm 2 cylindrical surface of a laser chamber 1 m long and 0.3 m in diameter in 24 ns with very small azimuthal asymmetry and uniform radial deposition

Laser-Driven Ion Acceleration from Plasma Micro-Channel Targets

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, D. B.; Pukhov, A.; Yi, L. Q.; Zhou, H. B.; Yu, T. P.; Yin, Y.; Shao, F. Q.

2017-02-01

Efficient energy boost of the laser-accelerated ions is critical for their applications in biomedical and hadron research. Achiev-able energies continue to rise, with currently highest energies, allowing access to medical therapy energy windows. Here, a new regime of simultaneous acceleration of ~100 MeV protons and multi-100 MeV carbon-ions from plasma micro-channel targets is proposed by using a ~1020 W/cm2 modest intensity laser pulse. It is found that two trains of overdense electron bunches are dragged out from the micro-channel and effectively accelerated by the longitudinal electric-field excited in the plasma channel. With the optimized channel size, these “superponderomotive” energetic electrons can be focused on the front surface of the attached plastic substrate. The much intense sheath electric-field is formed on the rear side, leading to up to ~10-fold ionic energy increase compared to the simple planar geometry. The analytical prediction of the optimal channel size and ion maximum energies is derived, which shows good agreement with the particle-in-cell simulations.

Effects of dimensionality and laser polarization on kinetic simulations of laser-ion acceleration in the transparency regime

Science.gov (United States)

Stark, David; Yin, Lin; Albright, Brian; Guo, Fan

2017-10-01

The often cost-prohibitive nature of three-dimensional (3D) kinetic simulations of laser-plasma interactions has resulted in heavy use of two-dimensional (2D) simulations to extract physics. However, depending on whether the polarization is modeled as 2D-S or 2D-P (laser polarization in and out of the simulation plane, respectively), different results arise. In laser-ion acceleration in the transparency regime, VPIC particle-in-cell simulations show that 2D-S and 2D-P capture different physics that appears in 3D simulations. The electron momentum distribution is virtually two-dimensional in 2D-P, unlike the more isotropic distributions in 2D-S and 3D, leading to greater heating in the simulation plane. As a result, target expansion time scales and density thresholds for the onset of relativistic transparency differ dramatically between 2D-S and 2D-P. The artificial electron heating in 2D-P exaggerates the effectiveness of target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) into its dominant acceleration mechanism, whereas 2D-S and 3D both have populations accelerated preferentially during transparency to higher energies than those of TNSA. Funded by the LANL Directed Research and Development Program.

Optimization and application of electron acceleration in relativistic laser plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koenigstein, Thomas

2013-01-01

This thesis describes experiments and simulations of the acceleration of electrons to relativistic energies (toward γ e ∼ 10 3 ) by structures in plasmas which are generated by ultrashort (pulse length < 10 -14 s) laser pulses. The first part of this work discusses experiments in a parameter space where quasimonoenergetic electron bunches are generated in subcritical (gaseous) plasmas and compares them to analytical scalings. A primary concern in this work is to optimize the stability of the energy and the pointing of the electrons. The second part deals with acceleration of electrons along the surface of solid substrates by laser-plasma interaction. The measurements show good agreement with existing analytical scalings and dedicated numerical simulations. In the third part, two new concepts for multi-stage acceleration will be presented and parameterised by analytical considerations and numerical simulations. The first method uses electron pairs, as produced in the first part, to transfer energy from the first bunch to the second by means of a plasma wave. The second method utilizes a low intensity laser pulse in order to inject electrons from a neutral gas into the accelerating phase of a plasma wave. The final chapter proposes and demonstrates a first application that has been developed in collaboration with ESA. The use of electron beams with exponential energy distribution, as in the second part of this work, offers the potential to investigate the resistance of electronic components against space radiation exposure.

Ion acceleration with ultra intense and ultra short laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Floquet, V.

2012-01-01

Accelerating ions/protons can be done using short laser pulse (few femto-seconds) focused on few micrometers area on solid target (carbon, aluminum, plastic...). The electromagnetic field intensity reached on target (≥10 18 W.cm -2 ) allows us to turn the solid into a hot dense plasma. The dynamic motion of the electrons is responsible for the creation of intense static electric field at the plasma boundaries. These electric fields accelerate organic pollutants (including protons) located at the boundaries. This acceleration mechanism known as the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) has been the topic of the research presented in this thesis.The goal of this work has been to study the acceleration mechanism and to increase the maximal ion energy achievable. Indeed, societal application such as proton therapy requires proton energy up to few hundreds of MeV. To proceed, we have studied different target configurations allowing us to increase the laser plasma coupling and to transfer as much energy as possible to ions (target with microspheres deposit, foam target, grating). Different experiments have also dealt with generating a pre-plasma on the target surface thanks to a pre-pulse. On the application side, fluorescent material such as CdWO 4 has been studied under high flux rate of protons. These high flux rates have been, up to now, beyond the conventional accelerators capabilities. (author) [fr

Electron Acceleration in Wakefield and Supra-Bubble Regimes by Ultraintense Laser with Asymmetric Pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maimaitiaili, Bake; Sayipjamal, Dulat; Aimierding, Aimidula; Xie Baisong

2011-01-01

Electron acceleration in plasma driven by circular polarized ultraintense laser with asymmetric pulse are investigated analytically and numerically in terms of oscillation-center Hamiltonian formalism. Studies include wakefield acceleration, which dominates in blow-out or bubble regime and snow-plow acceleration which dominates in supra-bubble regime. By a comparison with each other it is found that snow-plow acceleration has lower acceleration capability. In wakefield acceleration, there exists an obvious optimum pulse asymmetry or/and pulse lengths that leads to the high net energy gain while in snow-plow acceleration it is insensitive to the pulse lengths. Power and linear scaling laws for wakefield and snow-plow acceleration respetively are observed from the net energy gain depending on laser field amplitude. Moreover, there exists also an upper and lower limit on plasma density for an effective acceleration in both of regimes. (physics of gases, plasmas, and electric discharges)

Design of an electron injector for multi-stages laser wakefield acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audet, T.

2016-01-01

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is a particle acceleration process relying on the interaction between high intensity laser pulses, of the order of 10 18 W/cm 2 and a plasma. The plasma wave generated in the laser wake sustain high amplitude electric fields (1- 100 GV/m). Those electric fields are 3 orders of magnitude higher than maximum electric fields in radio frequency cavities and represent the main benefit of LWFA, allowing more compact acceleration. However improvements of the LWFA-produced electron bunches properties, stability and repetition rate are mandatory for LWFA to be usable for applications. A scheme to improve electron bunches properties and to potentially increase the repetition rate is multi-stage LWFA. The laser plasma electron source, called the injector, has to produce relatively low energy (50 - 100 MeV), but high charge, small size and low divergence electron bunches. Produced electron bunches then have to be transported and injected into a second stage to increase electron kinetic energy. The subject of this thesis is to study and design a laser wakefield electron injector for multistage LWFA. In the frame of CILEX and the two-stages LWFA program, a prototype of the injector was built : ELISA consisting in a variable length gas cell. The plasma electronic density, which is a critical parameter for the control of the electron bunches properties, was characterized both experimentally and numerically. ELISA was used at 2 different laser facilities and physical mechanisms linked to electron bunches properties were studied in function of experimental parameters. A range of experimental parameters suitable for a laser wakefield injector was determined. A magnetic transport and diagnostic line was also built, implemented and tested at the UHI100 laser facility of the CEA Saclay. It allowed a more precise characterization of electron bunches generated with ELISA as well as an estimation of the quality of transported electron bunches for their

Particle physicist's dreams about PetaelectronVolt laser plasma accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vesztergombi, G.

2012-01-01

Present day accelerators are working well in the multi TeV energy scale and one is expecting exciting results in the coming years. Conventional technologies, however, can offer only incremental (factor 2 or 3) increase in beam energies which does not follow the usual speed of progress in the frontiers of high energy physics. Laser plasma accelerators theoretically provide unique possibilities to achieve orders of magnitude increases entering the PetaelectronVolt (PeV) energy range. It will be discussed what kind of new perspectives could be opened for the physics at this new energy scale. What type of accelerators would be required?.

Charge Diagnostics for Laser Plasma Accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, K.; Gonsalves, A.J.; Lin, C.; Sokollik, T.; Smith, A.; Rodgers, D.; Donahue, R.; Bryne, W.; Leemans, W.P.

2010-01-01

The electron energy dependence of a scintillating screen (Lanex Fast) was studied with sub-nanosecond electron beams ranging from 106 MeV to 1522 MeV at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Advanced Light Source (ALS) synchrotron booster accelerator. The sensitivity of the Lanex Fast decreased by 1percent per 100 MeV increase of the energy. The linear response of the screen against the charge was verified with charge density and intensity up to 160 pC/mm2 and 0.4 pC/ps/mm2, respectively. For electron beams from the laser plasma accelerator, a comprehensive study of charge diagnostics has been performed using a Lanex screen, an integrating current transformer, and an activation based measurement. The charge measured by each diagnostic was found to be within +/-10 percent.

Charge Diagnostics for Laser Plasma Accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, K.; Gonsalves, A. J.; Lin, C.; Sokollik, T.; Smith, A.; Rodgers, D.; Donahue, R.; Bryne, W.; Leemans, W. P.

2010-01-01

The electron energy dependence of a scintillating screen (Lanex Fast) was studied with sub-nanosecond electron beams ranging from 106 MeV to 1522 MeV at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Advanced Light Source (ALS) synchrotron booster accelerator. The sensitivity of the Lanex Fast decreased by 1% per 100 MeV increase of the energy. The linear response of the screen against the charge was verified with charge density and intensity up to 160 pC/mm 2 and 0.4 pC/ps/mm 2 , respectively. For electron beams from the laser plasma accelerator, a comprehensive study of charge diagnostics has been performed using a Lanex screen, an integrating current transformer, and an activation based measurement. The charge measured by each diagnostic was found to be within ±10%.

Ion Acceleration from the Interaction of Ultra-Intense Lasers with Solid Foils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, M

2004-01-01

The discovery that ultra-intense laser pulses (I > 10 18 W/cm 2 ) can produce short pulse, high energy proton beams has renewed interest in the fundamental mechanisms that govern particle acceleration from laser-solid interactions. Experiments have shown that protons present as hydrocarbon contaminants on laser targets can be accelerated up to energies > 50 MeV. Different theoretical models that explain the observed results have been proposed. One model describes a front-surface acceleration mechanism based on the ponderomotive potential of the laser pulse. At high intensities (I > 10 18 W/cm 2 ), the quiver energy of an electron oscillating in the electric field of the laser pulse exceeds the electron rest mass, requiring the consideration of relativistic effects. The relativistically correct ponderomotive potential is given by U p = ([1 + Iλ 2 /1.3 x 10 18 ] 1/2 - 1) m o c 2 , where Iλ 2 is the irradiance in W (micro)m 2 /cm 2 and m o c 2 is the electron rest mass. At laser irradiance of Iλ 2 ∼ 10 20 W (micro)m 2 /cm 2 , the ponderomotive potential can be of order several MeV. A few recent experiments--discussed in Chapter 3 of this thesis--consider this ponderomotive potential sufficiently strong to accelerate protons from the front surface of the target to energies up to tens of MeV. Another model, known as Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA), describes the mechanism as an electrostatic sheath on the back surface of the laser target. According to the TNSA model, relativistic hot electrons created at the laser-solid interaction penetrate the foil where a few escape to infinity. The remaining hot electrons are retained by the target potential and establish an electrostatic sheath on the back surface of the target. In this thesis we present several experiments that study the accelerated ions by affecting the contamination layer from which they originate. Radiative heating was employed as a method of removing contamination from palladium targets doped

Relativistic electron acceleration in focused laser fields after above-threshold ionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodin, I.Y.; Fisch, N.J.

2003-01-01

Electrons produced as a result of above-threshold ionization of high-Z atoms can be accelerated by currently producible laser pulses up to GeV energies, as shown recently by Hu and Starace [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 245003 (2002)]. To describe electron acceleration by general focused laser fields, we employ an analytical model based on a Hamiltonian, fully relativistic, ponderomotive approach. Though the above-threshold ionization represents an abrupt process compared to laser oscillations, the ponderomotive approach can still adequately predict the resulting energy gain if the proper initial conditions are introduced for the particle drift following the ionization event. Analytical expressions for electron energy gain are derived and the applicability conditions of the ponderomotive formulation are studied both analytically and numerically. The theoretical predictions are supported by numerical computations

Study of a total reflection Cerenkov counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Didelez, J.P.

1979-01-01

A Monte Carlo program simulates the emission and collection of Cerenkov light due to P and π (0.6 to 1.4 GeV/c) going through a rectangular parallelepiped of plexiglas. Without taking into account the knocked out electrons (delta) a good theoretical separation is obtained between P and π. The contribution of delta electrons has been calculated separately. Experimental tests are under way using cosmic rays [fr

High quality proton beams from hybrid integrated laser-driven ion acceleration systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinigardi, Stefano, E-mail: sinigardi@bo.infn.it [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna and INFN Sezione di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna (Italy); Turchetti, Giorgio; Rossi, Francesco; Londrillo, Pasquale [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna and INFN Sezione di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna (Italy); Giove, Dario; De Martinis, Carlo [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Milano and INFN Sezione di Milano, Via F.lli Cervi 201, I-20090 Segrate (Italy); Bolton, Paul R. [Kansai Photon Science Institute (JAEA), Umemidai 8-1-7, Kizugawa-shi, Kyoto 619-0215 (Japan)

2014-03-11

We consider a hybrid acceleration scheme for protons where the laser generated beam is selected in energy and angle and injected into a compact linac, which raises the energy from 30 to 60 MeV. The laser acceleration regime is TNSA and the energy spectrum is determined by the cutoff energy and proton temperature. The dependence of the spectrum on the target properties and the incidence angle is investigated with 2D PIC simulations. We base our work on widely available technologies and on laser with a short pulse, having in mind a facility whose cost is approximately 15M€. Using a recent experiment as the reference, we choose the laser pulse and target so that the energy spectrum obtained from the 3D PIC simulation is close to the one observed, whose cutoff energy was estimated to be over 50 MeV. Laser accelerated protons in the TNSA regime have wide energy spectrum and broad divergence. In this paper we compare three transport lines, designed to perform energy selection and beam collimation. They are based on a solenoid, a quadruplet of permanent magnetic quadrupoles and a chicane. To increase the maximum available energy, which is actually seen as an upper limit due to laser properties and available targets, we propose to inject protons into a small linac for post-acceleration. The number of selected and injected protons is the highest with the solenoid and lower by one and two orders of magnitude with the quadrupoles and the chicane respectively. Even though only the solenoid enables achieving to reach a final intensity at the threshold required for therapy with the highest beam quality, the other systems will be very likely used in the first experiments. Realistic start-to-end simulations, as the ones reported here, are relevant for the design of such experiments.

High quality proton beams from hybrid integrated laser-driven ion acceleration systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sinigardi, Stefano; Turchetti, Giorgio; Rossi, Francesco; Londrillo, Pasquale; Giove, Dario; De Martinis, Carlo; Bolton, Paul R.

2014-03-01

We consider a hybrid acceleration scheme for protons where the laser generated beam is selected in energy and angle and injected into a compact linac, which raises the energy from 30 to 60 MeV. The laser acceleration regime is TNSA and the energy spectrum is determined by the cutoff energy and proton temperature. The dependence of the spectrum on the target properties and the incidence angle is investigated with 2D PIC simulations. We base our work on widely available technologies and on laser with a short pulse, having in mind a facility whose cost is approximately 15 M €. Using a recent experiment as the reference, we choose the laser pulse and target so that the energy spectrum obtained from the 3D PIC simulation is close to the one observed, whose cutoff energy was estimated to be over 50 MeV. Laser accelerated protons in the TNSA regime have wide energy spectrum and broad divergence. In this paper we compare three transport lines, designed to perform energy selection and beam collimation. They are based on a solenoid, a quadruplet of permanent magnetic quadrupoles and a chicane. To increase the maximum available energy, which is actually seen as an upper limit due to laser properties and available targets, we propose to inject protons into a small linac for post-acceleration. The number of selected and injected protons is the highest with the solenoid and lower by one and two orders of magnitude with the quadrupoles and the chicane respectively. Even though only the solenoid enables achieving to reach a final intensity at the threshold required for therapy with the highest beam quality, the other systems will be very likely used in the first experiments. Realistic start-to-end simulations, as the ones reported here, are relevant for the design of such experiments.

High quality proton beams from hybrid integrated laser-driven ion acceleration systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinigardi, Stefano; Turchetti, Giorgio; Rossi, Francesco; Londrillo, Pasquale; Giove, Dario; De Martinis, Carlo; Bolton, Paul R.

2014-01-01

We consider a hybrid acceleration scheme for protons where the laser generated beam is selected in energy and angle and injected into a compact linac, which raises the energy from 30 to 60 MeV. The laser acceleration regime is TNSA and the energy spectrum is determined by the cutoff energy and proton temperature. The dependence of the spectrum on the target properties and the incidence angle is investigated with 2D PIC simulations. We base our work on widely available technologies and on laser with a short pulse, having in mind a facility whose cost is approximately 15M€. Using a recent experiment as the reference, we choose the laser pulse and target so that the energy spectrum obtained from the 3D PIC simulation is close to the one observed, whose cutoff energy was estimated to be over 50 MeV. Laser accelerated protons in the TNSA regime have wide energy spectrum and broad divergence. In this paper we compare three transport lines, designed to perform energy selection and beam collimation. They are based on a solenoid, a quadruplet of permanent magnetic quadrupoles and a chicane. To increase the maximum available energy, which is actually seen as an upper limit due to laser properties and available targets, we propose to inject protons into a small linac for post-acceleration. The number of selected and injected protons is the highest with the solenoid and lower by one and two orders of magnitude with the quadrupoles and the chicane respectively. Even though only the solenoid enables achieving to reach a final intensity at the threshold required for therapy with the highest beam quality, the other systems will be very likely used in the first experiments. Realistic start-to-end simulations, as the ones reported here, are relevant for the design of such experiments

Cerenkov Radiator Driven by a Superconducting RF Electron Gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poole, B.R.; Harris, J.R.

2011-01-01

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Niowave, Inc., and Boeing have recently demonstrated operation of the first superconducting RF electron gun based on a quarter wave resonator structure. In preliminary tests, this gun has produced 10 ps long bunches with charge in excess of 78 pC, and with beam energy up to 396 keV. Initial testing occurred at Niowave's Lansing, MI facility, but the gun and diagnostic beam line are planned for installation in California in the near future. The design of the diagnostic beam line is conducive to the addition of a Cerenkov radiator without interfering with other beam line operations. Design and simulations of a Cerenkov radiator, consisting of a dielectric lined waveguide will be presented. The dispersion relation for the structure is determined and the beam interaction is studied using numerical simulations. The characteristics of the microwave radiation produced in both the short and long bunch regimes will be presented.

Measurement of 40K by Cerenkov Effect in foods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davila R, J. I.; Cancino T, F.; Lopez del R, H.; Mireles G, F.

2013-10-01

The 40 K is a natural radioactive isotope of the potassium element that decays mainly by beta and gamma radiation emission. Although the gamma spectrometry is generally used for its measuring, the energy of the beta radiation is enough to produce Cerenkov radiation in water. Taking advantage of the high efficiency of the liquid scintillation counting, a procedure to measure 40 K was developed through the Cerenkov radiation using a liquid scintillation counter. The methodology was applied in foods with high content of potassium like tomato, banana, and in olive. The efficiency and sensibility of the counting were superior to those reported for gamma spectrometry and the chemical recovery of potassium was of 82.3%. The activity of 40 K varied between 2.9 and 8.4 Bq/kg in banana, between 12.3 and 19 Bq/kg in tomato, and in olive was minor to the detectable minimum activity of the method. (Author)

Design considerations for the use of laser-plasma accelerators for advanced space radiation studies

Science.gov (United States)

Königstein, T.; Karger, O.; Pretzler, G.; Rosenzweig, J. B.; Hidding, B.; Hidding

2012-08-01

We present design considerations for the use of laser-plasma accelerators for mimicking space radiation and testing space-grade electronics. This novel application takes advantage of the inherent ability of laser-plasma accelerators to produce particle beams with exponential energy distribution, which is a characteristic shared with the hazardous relativistic electron flux present in the radiation belts of planets such as Earth, Saturn and Jupiter. Fundamental issues regarding laser-plasma interaction parameters, beam propagation, flux development, and experimental setup are discussed.

High power radiation guiding systems for laser driven accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cutolo, A.

1985-01-01

This paper reviews the main problems encountered in the design of an optical system for transmitting high fluence radiation in a laser driven accelerator. Particular attention is devoted to the analysis of mirror and waveguide systems. (orig.)

Proposal for a study of laser acceleration of electrons using micrograting structures at ATF (Phase 1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, W.; Claus, J.; Fernow, R.C.

1989-01-01

We propose to investigate new methods of particle acceleration using a short-pulse CO 2 laser as the power source and grating-like structures as accelerator ''cavities''. Phase I of this program is intended to demonstrate the principle of the method. We will focus the laser light to a 3 mm line on the surface of the microstructure. The structure is used to transform the electric field pattern of the incoming transversely polarized laser beam to a mode which has a component along the electron beam direction in the vicinity of the surface. With 6 mJ of laser energy and a 6 ps pulse length, the electric field in the spot will be around 1 GV/m. The electron beam from the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) will be focused transversely within the few micron transverse dimension of the microstructure. The maximum expected acceleration for a 1 GV/m field and a 3 mm acceleration length is 3 MeV. 17 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs

Peculiarities of laser phase behavior associated with the accelerated electron in a chirped laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Q.; Wu, X. Y.; Wang, J. X.; Kawata, S.; Wang, P. X.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we qualitatively analyzed peculiarities of laser phase behavior associated with the accelerated electron in a chirped laser pulse. We unveiled the relationship between the changes in the orientation of the electron trajectory and the cusps in magnitude of the phase velocity of the optical field along the electron trajectory in a chirped laser pulse. We also explained how the chirp effect induced the singular point of the phase velocity. Finally, we discussed the phase velocity and phase witnessed by the electron in the particle's moving instantaneous frame

Helium-3 and helium-4 acceleration by high power laser pulses for hadron therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. S. Bulanov

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The laser driven acceleration of ions is considered a promising candidate for an ion source for hadron therapy of oncological diseases. Though proton and carbon ion sources are conventionally used for therapy, other light ions can also be utilized. Whereas carbon ions require 400 MeV per nucleon to reach the same penetration depth as 250 MeV protons, helium ions require only 250 MeV per nucleon, which is the lowest energy per nucleon among the light ions (heavier than protons. This fact along with the larger biological damage to cancer cells achieved by helium ions, than that by protons, makes this species an interesting candidate for the laser driven ion source. Two mechanisms (magnetic vortex acceleration and hole-boring radiation pressure acceleration of PW-class laser driven ion acceleration from liquid and gaseous helium targets are studied with the goal of producing 250 MeV per nucleon helium ion beams that meet the hadron therapy requirements. We show that He^{3} ions, having almost the same penetration depth as He^{4} with the same energy per nucleon, require less laser power to be accelerated to the required energy for the hadron therapy.

Experiments on laser driven beatwave acceleration in a ponderomotively formed plasma channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tochitsky, S.Ya.; Narang, R.; Filip, C.V.; Clayton, C.E.; Marsh, K.A.; Joshi, C.; Musumeci, P.; Yoder, R.B.; Rosenzweig, J.B.; Pellegrini, C.

2004-01-01

A 10 ps long beam of 12 MeV electrons is externally injected into a ∼3-cm long plasma beatwave excited in a laser ionized hydrogen gas. The electrons have been accelerated to 50 MeV with a gradient of ∼1.3 GeV/m. It is shown that when the effective plasma wave amplitude-length product is limited by ionization-induced defocusing (IID), acceleration of electrons is significantly enhanced by using a laser pulse with a duration longer than the time required for ions to move across the laser spot size. Both experiments and two-dimensional simulations reveal that, in this case, self-guiding of the laser pulse in a ponderomotively formed plasma channel occurs. This compensates for IID and drives the beatwave over the longer length compared to when such a channel is not present

Development of a high repetition rate laser-plasma accelerator for ultra-fast electron diffraction experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaurepaire, B.

2009-01-01

Electronic microscopy and electron diffraction allowed the understanding of the organization of atoms in matter. Using a temporally short source, one can measure atomic displacements or modifications of the electronic distribution in matter. To date, the best temporal resolution for time resolved diffraction experiments is of the order of a hundred femto-seconds (fs). Laser accelerators are good candidates to reach the femtosecond temporal resolution in electron diffraction experiments. Such accelerators used to work at a low repetition rate, so that it was necessary to develop a new one operating at a high repetition rate in order to accumulate a large amount of data. In this thesis, a laser-plasma accelerator operating at the kHz repetition rate was developed and built. This source generates electron bunches at 100 keV from 3 mJ and 25 fs laser pulses. The physics of the acceleration has been studied, and the effect of the laser wavefront on the electron transverse distribution has been demonstrated. (author)

Radiation reaction effect on laser driven auto-resonant particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagar, Vikram; Sengupta, Sudip; Kaw, P. K.

2015-01-01

The effects of radiation reaction force on laser driven auto-resonant particle acceleration scheme are studied using Landau-Lifshitz equation of motion. These studies are carried out for both linear and circularly polarized laser fields in the presence of static axial magnetic field. From the parametric study, a radiation reaction dominated region has been identified in which the particle dynamics is greatly effected by this force. In the radiation reaction dominated region, the two significant effects on particle dynamics are seen, viz., (1) saturation in energy gain by the initially resonant particle and (2) net energy gain by an initially non-resonant particle which is caused due to resonance broadening. It has been further shown that with the relaxation of resonance condition and with optimum choice of parameters, this scheme may become competitive with the other present-day laser driven particle acceleration schemes. The quantum corrections to the Landau-Lifshitz equation of motion have also been taken into account. The difference in the energy gain estimates of the particle by the quantum corrected and classical Landau-Lifshitz equation is found to be insignificant for the present day as well as upcoming laser facilities

Approach to compact terawatt CO2 laser system for particle acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pogorelsky, I.V.; Kimura, W.D.; Fisher, C.H.; Kannari, F.

1994-01-01

A compact table-top 20-GW 50-ps CO 2 laser system is in operation for strong-field physics studies at the ATF. We propose scaling up of the picosecond CO 2 laser to a terawatt peak power level to meet the requirements of advanced laser accelerators. Computer modeling shows that a relatively compact single-beam picosecond CO 2 laser system with a high-pressure x-ray picosecond amplifier of a 10-cm aperture is potentially scalable to the ∼1-TW peak power level

Injection and laser acceleration of ions based on the resonant surface photoionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antsiferov, V.V.; Smirnov, G.I.; Telegin, G.G.

1993-01-01

The collective effects have been investigated of the injection and acceleration of the ion beams due to the resonant surface photoionization. The considered scheme of the laser accelerator allows to obtain positive ions with relativistic velocities. 11 refs., 2 figs

Novel gas target for laser wakefield accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

Aniculaesei, C.; Kim, Hyung Taek; Yoo, Byung Ju; Oh, Kyung Hwan; Nam, Chang Hee

2018-02-01

A novel gas target for interactions between high power lasers and gaseous medium, especially for laser wakefield accelerators, has been designed, manufactured, and characterized. The gas target has been designed to provide a uniform density profile along the central gas cell axis by combining a gas cell and slit nozzle. The gas density has been tuned from ˜1017 atoms/cm3 to ˜1019 atoms/cm3 and the gas target length can be varied from 0 to 10 cm; both changes can be made simultaneously while keeping the uniform gas profile. The gas density profile inside the gas cell has been measured using interferometry and validated using computational fluid dynamics.

Looking for anomalons with a segmented Cerenkov detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, D.L.

1984-10-01

An experiment performed at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Bevalac, Expt. 676H, to study the anomalon effect with a segmented total-internal-reflection Cerenkov detector is reported. Radiators of 3mm thick BK7W optical glass and 2mm thick fused silica and a beam of 40 Ca at 2.1 GeV/nucleon were used. Results are presented and discussed

Excitation of accelerating plasma waves by counter-propagating laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shvets, Gennady; Fisch, Nathaniel J.; Pukhov, Alexander

2002-01-01

The conventional approach to exciting high phase velocity waves in plasmas is to employ a laser pulse moving in the direction of the desired particle acceleration. Photon downshifting then causes momentum transfer to the plasma and wave excitation. Novel approaches to plasma wake excitation, colliding-beam accelerator (CBA), which involve photon exchange between the long and short counter-propagating laser beams, are described. Depending on the frequency detuning Δω between beams and duration τ L of the short pulse, there are two approaches to CBA. First approach assumes (τ L ≅2/ω p ). Photons exchanged between the beams deposit their recoil momentum in the plasma driving the plasma wake. Frequency detuning between the beams determines the direction of the photon exchange, thereby controlling the phase of the plasma wake. This phase control can be used for reversing the slippage of the accelerated particles with respect to the wake. A variation on the same theme, super-beatwave accelerator, is also described. In the second approach, a short pulse with τ L >>ω p -1 detuned by Δω∼2ω p from the counter-propagating beam is employed. While parametric excitation of plasma waves by the electromagnetic beatwave at 2ω p of two co-propagating lasers was first predicted by Rosenbluth and Liu [M. N. Rosenbluth and C. S. Liu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 701 (1972)], it is demonstrated that the two excitation beams can be counter-propagating. The advantages of using this geometry (higher instability growth rate, insensitivity to plasma inhomogeneity) are explained, and supporting numerical simulations presented

Cerenkov maser operation at lower-mm wavelengths

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garate, E.; Cook, R.; Heim, P.; Layman, R.; Walsh, J.

1985-01-01

The basic operating principles of Cerenkov maser oscillators are briefly reviewed and the experimental performance of a 3-mm device is discussed. A power level of approximately 100 kW was achieved at 88 GHz and voltage tuning from 84 to 128 GHz on the fundamental TM 01 mode was observed. Operation on higher-order modes at frequencies up to 300--320 GHz was demonstrated, and a two-stage buncher-amplifier configuration was investigated

Conceptual design of a laser-plasma accelerator driven free-electron laser demonstration experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seggebrock, Thorben

2015-07-08

Up to now, short-wavelength free-electron lasers (FEL) have been systems on the scale of hundreds of meters up to multiple kilometers. Due to the advancements in laser-plasma acceleration in the recent years, these accelerators have become a promising candidate for driving a fifth-generation synchrotron light source - a lab-scale free-electron laser. So far, demonstration experiments have been hindered by the broad energy spread typical for this type of accelerator. This thesis addresses the most important challenges of the conceptual design for a first lab-scale FEL demonstration experiment using analytical considerations as well as simulations. The broad energy spread reduces the FEL performance directly by weakening the microbunching and indirectly via chromatic emittance growth, caused by the focusing system. Both issues can be mitigated by decompressing the electron bunch in a magnetic chicane, resulting in a sorting by energies. This reduces the local energy spread as well as the local chromatic emittance growth and also lowers performance degradations caused by the short bunch length. Moreover, the energy dependent focus position leads to a focus motion within the bunch, which can be synchronized with the radiation pulse, maximizing the current density in the interaction region. This concept is termed chromatic focus matching. A comparison shows the advantages of the longitudinal decompression concept compared to the alternative approach of transverse dispersion. When using typical laser-plasma based electron bunches, coherent synchrotron radiation and space-charge contribute in equal measure to the emittance growth during decompression. It is shown that a chicane for this purpose must not be as weak and long as affordable to reduce coherent synchrotron radiation, but that an intermediate length is required. Furthermore, the interplay of the individual concepts and components is assessed in a start-to-end simulation, confirming the feasibility of the

Conceptual design of a laser-plasma accelerator driven free-electron laser demonstration experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seggebrock, Thorben

2015-01-01

Up to now, short-wavelength free-electron lasers (FEL) have been systems on the scale of hundreds of meters up to multiple kilometers. Due to the advancements in laser-plasma acceleration in the recent years, these accelerators have become a promising candidate for driving a fifth-generation synchrotron light source - a lab-scale free-electron laser. So far, demonstration experiments have been hindered by the broad energy spread typical for this type of accelerator. This thesis addresses the most important challenges of the conceptual design for a first lab-scale FEL demonstration experiment using analytical considerations as well as simulations. The broad energy spread reduces the FEL performance directly by weakening the microbunching and indirectly via chromatic emittance growth, caused by the focusing system. Both issues can be mitigated by decompressing the electron bunch in a magnetic chicane, resulting in a sorting by energies. This reduces the local energy spread as well as the local chromatic emittance growth and also lowers performance degradations caused by the short bunch length. Moreover, the energy dependent focus position leads to a focus motion within the bunch, which can be synchronized with the radiation pulse, maximizing the current density in the interaction region. This concept is termed chromatic focus matching. A comparison shows the advantages of the longitudinal decompression concept compared to the alternative approach of transverse dispersion. When using typical laser-plasma based electron bunches, coherent synchrotron radiation and space-charge contribute in equal measure to the emittance growth during decompression. It is shown that a chicane for this purpose must not be as weak and long as affordable to reduce coherent synchrotron radiation, but that an intermediate length is required. Furthermore, the interplay of the individual concepts and components is assessed in a start-to-end simulation, confirming the feasibility of the

Direct acceleration of ions to low and medium energies by a crossed-laser-beam configuration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yousef I. Salamin

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Calculations show that 10 keV helium and carbon ions, injected midway between two identical 1 TW-power crossed laser beams of radial polarization, can be accelerated in vacuum to energies of utility in ion lithography. As examples, identical laser beams, crossed at 10° and focused to waist radii of 7.42  μm, accelerate He^{2+} and C^{6+} ions to average kinetic energies near 75 and 165 keV over distances averaging less than 7 and 6 mm, respectively. The spread in kinetic energy in both cases is less than 1% and the particle average angular deflection is less than 7 mrad. More energy-demanding industrial applications require higher-power laser beams for their direct ion laser acceleration.

A single-particle calculation of the FEL-Cerenkov gain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dattoli, G.; Doria, A.; Gallerano, G.P.; Renieri, A.; Schettini, G.; Torre, A.

1988-01-01

In this work it is shown that the basic FEL-Cerenkov dynamics can be modelled using a pendulumlike equation in close analogy with FEL undulator case. The analysis, including the inhomogeneous broadening effects, is worked out in the hypothesis of single-slab geometry. Two-dimensional motion dynamics effects are also included

Development of Z-pinch optical guiding for laser-plasma accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosokai, Tomonao; Kando, Masaki; Dewa, Hideki; Kotaki, Hideyuki; Kondo, Shuji; Kanazawa, Shuhei; Nakajima, Kazuhisa; Horioka, Kazuhiko

2000-01-01

We have proposed optical guiding of intense laser pulse by fast Z-pinch for channel guided laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). It has been developed based on capillary discharge-pumped X-ray laser technique. The discharge driven by current of 4.8 kA with a rise time of 15 ns through preionized helium gas could produce an uniform guiding channel with good reproducibility. With this new guiding method an intense Ti-Sapphire laser pulse (λ=790 nm, 2.2 TW, 90 fs, 1 x 10 17 W/cm 2 ) was transported through the channel over a distance of 2 cm corresponding to 12.5 times the Rayleigh length. (author)

Direct acceleration of electrons by a CO2 laser in a curved plasma waveguide

CERN Document Server

Yi, Longqing; Shen, Baifei

2016-01-01

Laser plasma interaction with micro-engineered targets at relativistic intensities has been greatly promoted by recent progress in the high contrast lasers and the manufacture of advanced micro- and nano-structures. This opens new possibilities for the physics of laser-matter interaction. Here we propose a novel approach that leverages the advantages of high-pressure CO 2 laser, laser-waveguide interaction, as well as micro-engineered plasma structure to accelerate electrons to peak energy greater than 1 GeV with narrow slice energy spread (~1%) and high overall efficiency. The acceleration gradient is 26 GV/m for a 1.3 TW CO2 laser system. The micro-bunching of a long electron beam leads to the generation of a chain of ultrashort electron bunches with the duration roughly equal to half-laser-cycle. These results open a way for developing a compact and economic electron source for diverse applications.

New method for laser driven ion acceleration with isolated, mass-limited targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paasch-Colberg, T.; Sokollik, T.; Gorling, K.; Eichmann, U.; Steinke, S.; Schnuerer, M.; Nickles, P.V.; Andreev, A.; Sandner, W.

2011-01-01

A new technique to investigate laser driven ion acceleration with fully isolated, mass-limited glass spheres with a diameter down to 8μm is presented. A Paul trap was used to prepare a levitating glass sphere for the interaction with a laser pulse of relativistic intensity. Narrow-bandwidth energy spectra of protons and oxygen ions have been observed and were attributed to specific acceleration field dynamics in case of the spherical target geometry. A general limiting mechanism has been found that explains the experimentally observed ion energies for the mass-limited target.

2D electron density profile measurement in tokamak by laser-accelerated ion-beam probe.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y H; Yang, X Y; Lin, C; Wang, L; Xu, M; Wang, X G; Xiao, C J

2014-11-01

A new concept of Heavy Ion Beam Probe (HIBP) diagnostic has been proposed, of which the key is to replace the electrostatic accelerator of traditional HIBP by a laser-driven ion accelerator. Due to the large energy spread of ions, the laser-accelerated HIBP can measure the two-dimensional (2D) electron density profile of tokamak plasma. In a preliminary simulation, a 2D density profile was reconstructed with a spatial resolution of about 2 cm, and with the error below 15% in the core region. Diagnostics of 2D density fluctuation is also discussed.

Investigation of ion acceleration mechanism through laser-matter interaction in femtosecond domain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Altana, C., E-mail: altana@lns.infn.it [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Catania, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Muoio, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale F.S. D’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina (Italy); Lanzalone, G. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Università degli Studi di Enna “Kore”, Via delle Olimpiadi, 94100 Enna (Italy); Tudisco, S. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Brandi, F. [CNR, Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy); Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova (Italy); Cirrone, G.A.P. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Cristoforetti, G. [CNR, Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy); Fazzi, A. [Energy Department, Polytechnic of Milan and INFN, Milan (Italy); Ferrara, P.; Fulgentini, L. [CNR, Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy); Giove, D. [Energy Department, Polytechnic of Milan and INFN, Milan (Italy); Koester, P. [CNR, Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy); Labate, L. [CNR, Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa (Italy); and others

2016-09-01

An experimental campaign aiming to investigate the ion acceleration mechanisms through laser-matter interaction in the femtosecond domain has been carried out at the ILIL facility at a laser intensity of up to 2×10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}. A Thomson Parabola Spectrometer was used to identify different ion species and measure the energy spectra and the corresponding temperature parameters. We discuss the dependence of the protons spectra upon the structural characteristics of the targets (thickness and atomic mass) and the role of surface versus target bulk during acceleration process. - Highlights: • Ion acceleration mechanism in TNSA regime was investigated. • The energy spectra and the corresponding temperature parameters were measured. • Dependence of the spectra upon the target structural characteristics was discussed.

All-Optical Quasi-Phase Matching for Laser Electron Acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

center wavelength of 800 nm and FWHM bandwidth of ∼30 nm. The laser beam was split into three by two beam splitters ; the first reflected beam served...Figure 4.6(e) shows a small parabolic phase which is due to small chirp caused by a beam splitter in the system. Figures 4.6(d) and 4.6(f) show curves...basis for implementation of this laser acceleration technique. A deterministic test particle simulation has been developed to facilitate the design of the

The Omega Ring Imaging Cerenkov Detector readout system user's guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallewell, G.

1984-11-01

The manual describes the electronic readout system of the Ring Imaging Cerenkov Detector at the CERN Omega Spectrometer. The system is described in its configuration of September 1984 after the Rich readout system had been used in two Omega experiments. (U.K.)

Multiple quasi-monoenergetic electron beams from laser-wakefield acceleration with spatially structured laser pulse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Y.; Li, M. H.; Li, Y. F.; Wang, J. G.; Tao, M. Z.; Han, Y. J.; Zhao, J. R.; Huang, K.; Yan, W. C.; Ma, J. L.; Li, Y. T. [Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100080 (China); Chen, L. M., E-mail: lmchen@iphy.ac.cn [Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, CAS, Beijing 100080 (China); Department of Physics and Astronomy and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Li, D. Z. [Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS, Beijing 100049 (China); Chen, Z. Y. [Institute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, Sichuan 621999 (China); Sheng, Z. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Department of Physics, Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom); Zhang, J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2015-08-15

By adjusting the focus geometry of a spatially structured laser pulse, single, double, and treble quasi-monoenergetic electron beams were generated, respectively, in laser-wakefield acceleration. Single electron beam was produced as focusing the laser pulse to a single spot. While focusing the laser pulse to two spots that are approximately equal in energy and size and intense enough to form their own filaments, two electron beams were produced. Moreover, with a proper distance between those two focal spots, three electron beams emerged with a certain probability owing to the superposition of the diffractions of those two spots. The energy spectra of the multiple electron beams are quasi-monoenergetic, which are different from that of the large energy spread beams produced due to the longitudinal multiple-injection in the single bubble.

Cerenkov Counter for In-Situ Groundwater Monitoring of 90Sr

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindsay C. Todd

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Groundwater contamination from 90Sr is an environmental challenge posed topresent and former nuclear weapons related sites. Traditional methods of extractinggroundwater samples and performing laboratory analyses are expensive, time-consumingand induce significant disposal challenges. The authors present here a prototype countercapable of measuring 90Sr groundwater concentrations in-situ at or below the drinking waterlimit of 8 pCi/liter. The 90Y daughter of 90Sr produces high-energy electrons, which cancreate Cerenkov light. Photomultiplier tubes convert the Cerenkov light into an electronicpulse, which then undergoes signal processing with standard electronics. Strontium-90concentrations near the drinking water limit can be measured in a matter of hours if it is insecular equilibrium with the 90Y daughter. The prototype counter is compact, can bedeployed in an American Standard 6-inch, well while operated by a single person, andtransmits the results to a central monitoring location.

Gamma-neutron activation experiments using laser wakefield accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leemans, W.P.; Rodgers, D.; Catravas, P.E.; Geddes, C.G.R.; Fubiani, G.; Esarey, E.; Shadwick, B.A.; Donahue, R.; Smith, A.

2001-01-01

Gamma-neutron activation experiments have been performed with relativistic electron beams produced by a laser wakefield accelerator. The electron beams were produced by tightly focusing (spot diameter ≅6 μm) a high power (up to 10 TW), ultra-short (≥50 fs) laser beam from a high repetition rate (10 Hz) Ti:sapphire (0.8 μm) laser system, onto a high density (>10 19 cm -3 ) pulsed gasjet of length ≅1.5 mm. Nuclear activation measurements in lead and copper targets indicate the production of electrons with energy in excess of 25 MeV. This result was confirmed by electron distribution measurements using a bending magnet spectrometer. Measured γ-ray and neutron yields are also found to be in reasonable agreement with simulations using a Monte Carlo transport code

Temporal dynamics of the longitudinal bunch profile in a laser wakefield accelerator