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Tebartz, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Tebartz, A..

Investigation on laser absorption and x-ray radiation in microstructured titanium targets heated by short-pulse relativistic laser pulses

The enhancement effect of a microstructured surface on laser absorption and characteristic K α emission has been investigated by measuring K-shell emission from titanium (Ti) targets irradiated with high-intensity ( ∼ 10 20 W cm − 2 ), subpicosecond (500 fs) laser pulses. The experimental results indicate a modest enhancement ( 1.6 × ) of K α emission from microstructured targets compared to flat foils, but with a similar intensity and profile of He α and Li-like satellites. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are implemented to further understand the underlying physical processes in the laser interaction with both targets, interpreting the mechanisms responsible for the K α enhancement. The reasons for the lower-than-expected enhancement of K α emission are discussed. The rapid heating of the bulk plasma might result in the premature shutdown of K α emission before the thermalization of hot electrons or even the end of laser pulses, suggesting that the use of K α emission as a diagnostic of the hot-electron yield or relaxation could lead to a misinterpretation. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Investigation on laser absorption and x-ray radiation in microstructured titanium targets heated by short-pulse relativistic laser pulses

The enhancement effect of a microstructured surface on laser absorption and characteristic Kα emission has been investigated by measuring K-shell emission from titanium (Ti) targets irradiated with high-intensity (~10 20 W cm -2 ), subpicosecond (500 fs) laser pulses. The experimental results indicate a modest enhancement (1.6×) of Kα emission from microstructured targets compared to flat foils, but with a similar intensity and profile of Heα and Li-like satellites. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are implemented to further understand the underlying physical processes in the laser interaction with both targets, interpreting the mechanisms responsible for the Kα enhancement. The reasons for the lower-than-expected enhancement of Kα emission are discussed. The rapid heating of the bulk plasma might result in the premature shutdown of Kα emission before the thermalization of hot electrons or even the end of laser pulses, suggesting that the use of Kα emission as a diagnostic of the hot-electron yield or relaxation could lead to a misinterpretation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Intense, directed neutron beams from a laser-driven neutron source at PHELIX

Laser-driven neutrons are generated by the conversion of laser-accelerated ions via nuclear reactions inside a converter material. Here, we present results from an experimental campaign at the PHELIX laser at GSI in Darmstadt where protons and deuterons were accelerated from thin deuterated plastic foils with thicknesses in the μm and sub-μm range. The neutrons were generated inside a sandwich-type beryllium converter, leading to reproducible neutron numbers around 10 11 neutrons per shot. The angular distribution was measured with a high level of detail using up to 30 bubble detectors simultaneously. It shows a laser forward directed component of up to 1.42 × 10 10 neutrons per steradian, corresponding to a dose of 43 mrem scaled to a distance of 1 m from the converter.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

High resolution Thomson Parabola Spectrometer for full spectral capture of multi-species ion beams

We report on the experimental characterisation of laser-driven ion beams using a Thomson Parabola Spectrometer (TPS) equipped with trapezoidally shaped electric plates, proposed by Gwynne et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 033304 (2014)]. While a pair of extended (30 cm long) electric plates was able to produce a significant increase in the separation between neighbouring ion species at high energies, deploying a trapezoidal design circumvented the spectral clipping at the low energy end of the ion spectra. The shape of the electric plate was chosen carefully considering, for the given spectrometer configuration, the range of detectable ion energies and species. Analytical tracing of the ion parabolas matches closely with the experimental data, which suggests a minimal effect of fringe fields on the escaping ions close to the wedged edge of the electrode. The analytical formulae were derived considering the relativistic correction required for the high energy ions to be characterised using such spectrometer.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗