Observation of ultrafast solid-density plasma dynamics using femtosecond X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser
| Autor: | Ulrich Schramm, Melanie Rödel, Jörg Grenzer, Artur Erbe, Alejandro Laso Garcia, Hae Ja Lee, N. J. Hartley, Christian Rödel, Josefine Metzkes-Ng, Tommy Schönherr, Martin Rehwald, Eric Galtier, Emma McBride, Yordan M. Georgiev, Motoaki Nakatsutsumi, Christian Gutt, Irene Prencipe, Thomas E. Cowan, Thomas Kluge, Alexander Pelka, Karl Zeil, Uwe Hübner, Malte Zacharias, Michael Bussmann, Marco Garten, Siegfried Glenzer, Inhyuk Nam |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Solid density QC1-999 Dynamics (mechanics) Free-electron laser X-ray FOS: Physical sciences General Physics and Astronomy Physics::Optics Plasma 01 natural sciences Physics - Plasma Physics 010305 fluids & plasmas Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph) 0103 physical sciences Femtosecond Atomic physics 010306 general physics Ultrashort pulse |
| Zdroj: | Physical Review X 8(2018), 031068 59th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, 23.-27.10.2017, Milwaukee, USA Physical Review X Physical Review X, Vol 8, Iss 3, p 031068 (2018) |
| Popis: | The complex physics of the interaction between short-pulse ultrahigh-intensity lasers and solids is so far difficult to access experimentally, and the development of compact laser-based next-generation secondary radiation sources, e.g., for tumor therapy, laboratory astrophysics, and fusion, is hindered by the lack of diagnostic capabilities to probe the complex electron dynamics and competing instabilities. At present, the fundamental plasma dynamics that occur at the nanometer and femtosecond scales during the laser-solid interaction can only be elucidated by simulations. Here we show experimentally that small-angle x-ray scattering of femtosecond x-ray free-electron laser pulses facilitates new capabilities for direct in situ characterization of intense short-pulse laser-plasma interactions at solid density that allows simultaneous nanometer spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution, directly verifying numerical simulations of the electron density dynamics during the short-pulse high-intensity laser irradiation of a solid density target. For laser-driven grating targets, we measure the solid density plasma expansion and observe the generation of a transient grating structure in front of the preinscribed grating, due to plasma expansion. The density maxima are interleaved, forming a double frequency grating in x-ray free-electron laser projection for a short time, which is a hitherto unknown effect. We expect that our results will pave the way for novel time-resolved studies, guiding the development of future laser-driven particle and photon sources from solid targets. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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