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Title: Gamma-ray emission in near critical density plasmas at laser intensities of 10{sup 21 }W/cm{sup 2}

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4913991· OSTI ID:22408231
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Helmholtz Institute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena (Germany)
  2. Key Laboratory of HEDP of the Ministry of Education, CAPT, and State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)
  3. State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, and Key Lab of High Energy Density Physics Simulation, CAPT, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

We study synchrotron radiation emission from laser interaction with near critical density (NCD) plasmas at intensities of 10{sup 21 }W∕cm{sup 2} using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is found that the electron dynamics depend on the laser shaping process in NCD plasmas, and thus the angular distribution of the emitted photons changes as the laser pulse evolves in space and time. The final properties of the resulting synchrotron radiation, such as its overall energy, the critical photon energy, and the radiation angular distribution, are strongly affected by the laser polarization and plasma density. By using a 420 TW∕50 fs laser pulse at the optimal plasma density (∼1n{sub c}), about 10{sup 8} photons/0.1% bandwidth are produced at multi-MeV photon energies, providing a route to ultraintense, femtosecond gamma ray pulses.

OSTI ID:
22408231
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English