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Title: Target material dependence of positron generation from high intensity laser-matter interactions

Abstract

Here, the effective scaling of positron-electron pair production by direct, ultraintense laser-matter interaction is investigated for a range of target materials and thicknesses. An axial magnetic field, acting as a focusing lens, was employed to measure positron signals for targets with atomic numbers as low as copper (Z – 29). The pair production yield was found to be consistent with the Bethe-Heitler mechanism, where the number of positrons emitted into a 1 steradian cone angle from the target rear was found to be proportional to Z2. The unexpectedly low scaling results from Coulomb collisions that act to stop or scatter positrons into high angles. Monte Carlo simulations support the experimental results, providing a comprehensive power-law scaling relationship for all elemental materials and densities.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [6];  [4];  [7]; ORCiD logo [4];  [4];  [6];  [4];  [6];  [2];  [4]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Rochester, Rochester, NY (United States)
  3. Univ. of Rochester, Rochester, NY (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  4. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  5. Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada)
  6. Univ. of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States)
  7. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1343026
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1420605
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-680072
Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X; TRN: US1701176
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-07NA27344; 13-LW-076
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physics of Plasmas
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 23; Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION

Citation Formats

Williams, G. J., Barnak, D., Fiksel, G., Hazi, A., Kerr, S., Krauland, C., Link, A., Manuel, M. J. -E., Nagel, S. R., Park, J., Peebles, J., Pollock, B. B., Beg, F. N., Betti, R., and Chen, Hui. Target material dependence of positron generation from high intensity laser-matter interactions. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4971235.
Williams, G. J., Barnak, D., Fiksel, G., Hazi, A., Kerr, S., Krauland, C., Link, A., Manuel, M. J. -E., Nagel, S. R., Park, J., Peebles, J., Pollock, B. B., Beg, F. N., Betti, R., & Chen, Hui. Target material dependence of positron generation from high intensity laser-matter interactions. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4971235
Williams, G. J., Barnak, D., Fiksel, G., Hazi, A., Kerr, S., Krauland, C., Link, A., Manuel, M. J. -E., Nagel, S. R., Park, J., Peebles, J., Pollock, B. B., Beg, F. N., Betti, R., and Chen, Hui. 2016. "Target material dependence of positron generation from high intensity laser-matter interactions". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4971235. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1343026.
@article{osti_1343026,
title = {Target material dependence of positron generation from high intensity laser-matter interactions},
author = {Williams, G. J. and Barnak, D. and Fiksel, G. and Hazi, A. and Kerr, S. and Krauland, C. and Link, A. and Manuel, M. J. -E. and Nagel, S. R. and Park, J. and Peebles, J. and Pollock, B. B. and Beg, F. N. and Betti, R. and Chen, Hui},
abstractNote = {Here, the effective scaling of positron-electron pair production by direct, ultraintense laser-matter interaction is investigated for a range of target materials and thicknesses. An axial magnetic field, acting as a focusing lens, was employed to measure positron signals for targets with atomic numbers as low as copper (Z – 29). The pair production yield was found to be consistent with the Bethe-Heitler mechanism, where the number of positrons emitted into a 1 steradian cone angle from the target rear was found to be proportional to Z2. The unexpectedly low scaling results from Coulomb collisions that act to stop or scatter positrons into high angles. Monte Carlo simulations support the experimental results, providing a comprehensive power-law scaling relationship for all elemental materials and densities.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4971235},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1343026}, journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
issn = {1070-664X},
number = 12,
volume = 23,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Dec 06 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Tue Dec 06 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}

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Cited by: 16 works
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Works referenced in this record:

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Increasing the magnetic-field capability of the magneto-inertial fusion electrical discharge system using an inductively coupled coil
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High-energy radiation and pair production by Coulomb processes in particle-in-cell simulations
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Enhanced electron acceleration in aligned nanowire arrays irradiated at highly relativistic intensities
journal, November 2019