Laser wakefield acceleration of high-quality electron beams to 300 MeV and efficient initiation of photonuclear reactions

S. A. Reed, N. Naumova, C. R. Vane, J. R. Beene, S. S. Bulanov, V. Chvykov, B. Hou, G. Kalintchenko, T. Matsuoka, P. Rousseau, D. R. Schultz, D. W. Stracener, V. Yanovsky, A. Maksimchuk

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

By focusing 40-TW, 30-fs laser pulses to the intensity of 1019 W/cm2 onto a supersonic He gas jet, we generated quasi-monoenergetic electron beams for plasma density in the narrow range of 1.5≤ ne ≤3×1019 cm3. We show that the energy, charge, divergence and pointing stability of the beam vary sensitively with n e within this range. The observed variations can be explained physically by the interplay among pump depletion and dephasing between accelerated electrons and plasma wave. An optimized quasi-monoenergetic beam of over 300 MeV and 10 mrad angular divergence is demonstrated at a plasma density of ne∼1.5×1019 cm3. The quasi-monoenergeic electron beams with energy of 100-150 MeV and charge of 0.5 nC have been used to perform γ-nuclear photofission of natural uranium targets. Through bremsstrahlung emission, such electron beams are well suited for the efficient generation of high energy (tens of MeV) γ-rays necessary to induce photofission reactions. Quantitative γ-ray spectroscopy of the irradiated U sample shows that more than ∼105 photonuclear reactions have been produced per Joule of laser energy, which is 10 to 50 times higher than in a previously reported experiments.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationADVANCED ACCELERATOR CONCEPTS
Subtitle of host publication12th Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop
Pages771-776
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006
EventADVANCED ACCELERATOR CONCEPTS: 12th Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop - Lake Geneva, WI, United States
Duration: Jul 10 2006Jul 15 2006

Publication series

NameAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume877
ISSN (Print)0094-243X
ISSN (Electronic)1551-7616

Conference

ConferenceADVANCED ACCELERATOR CONCEPTS: 12th Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityLake Geneva, WI
Period07/10/0607/15/06

Keywords

  • Acceleration
  • Electron
  • Laser
  • Relativistic plasmas

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