Peer-Review Publications

One order of magnitude energy enhancement of the target surface electron beams with central energy at 11.5 MeV is achieved by using a 200 TW, 500 fs laser at an incident angle of 72° with a prepulse intensity ratio of 5×10−6. The experimental results demonstrate the scalability of the acceleration process to high electron energy with a longer (sub-picosecond) laser pulse duration and a higher laser energy (120 J). The total charge of the beam is 400±20  pC(E>2.7  MeV). Such a high orientation and mono-energetic electron jet would be a good method to solve the problem of the large beam divergence in fast ignition schemes and to increase the laser energy deposition on the target core.

We present experimental evidence of ultra-high energy density plasma states with the keV bulk electron temperatures and near-solid electron densities generated during the interaction of high contrast, relativistically intense laser pulses with planar metallic foils. Experiments were carried out with the Ti:Sapphire laser system where a picosecond pre-pulse was strongly reduced by the conversion of the fundamental laser frequency into 2ω. A complex diagnostics setup was used for evaluation of the electron energy distribution in a wide energy range. The bulk electron temperature and density have been measured using x-ray spectroscopy tools; the temperature of supra-thermal electrons traversing the target was determined from measured bremsstrahlung spectra; run-away electrons were detected using magnet spectrometers. Analysis of the bremsstrahlung spectra and results on measurements of the run-away electrons showed a suppression of the hot electron production in the case of the high laser contrast. Characteristic x-ray radiation has been used for evaluation of the bulk electron temperature and density. The measured Ti line radiation was simulated both in steady-state and transient approaches using the code FLYCHK that accounts for the atomic multi-level population kinetics. The best agreement between the measured and the synthetic spectrum of Ti was achieved at 1.8 keV electron temperature and 2 10^23 cm^−3 electron density. By application of Ti-foils covered with nm-thin Fe-layers, we have demonstrated that the thickness of the created keV hot dense plasma does not exceed 150 nm. Results of the pilot hydro-dynamic simulations that are based on a wide-range two-temperature Equation of States, wide-range description of all transport and optical properties, ionization, electron, and radiative heating, plasma expansion, and Maxwell equations (with a wide-range permittivity) for description of the laser absorption are in excellent agreement with experimental results. According to these simulations, the generation of keV-hot bulk electrons is caused by the collisional mechanism of the laser pulse absorption in plasmas with a near solid step-like electron density profile. The laser energy, first deposited into the nm-thin skin-layer, is then transported into 150 nm depth by the electron heat conductivity. This scenario is opposite to the volumetric character of the energy deposition produced by supra-thermal electrons.

The laser-induced fragmentation dynamics of this most fundamental polar molecule HeH+ are measured using an ion beam of helium hydride and an isotopologue at various wavelengths and intensities. In contrast to the prevailing interpretation of strong-field fragmentation, in which stretching of the molecule results primarily from laser-induced electronic excitation, experiment and theory for nonionizing dissociation, single ionization, and double ionization both show that the direct vibrational excitation plays the decisive role here. We are able to reconstruct fragmentation pathways and determine the times at which each ionization step occurs as well as the bond length evolution before the electron removal. The dynamics of this extremely asymmetric molecule contrast the well-known symmetric systems leading to a more general picture of strong-field molecular dynamics and facilitating interpolation to systems between the two extreme cases.

The thorium nucleus with a mass number A=229 has attracted much interest because its extremely low-lying first excited isomeric state at about 8 eV opens the possibility for the development of a nuclear clock. Both the energy of this state as well as the nuclear magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moment of the 229mTh isomer are subjects of intense research. The latter can be determined by investigating the hyperfine structure of thorium atoms or ions. Due to its electronic structure and the long lifetime of the nuclear isomeric state, Th2+ is especially suitable for such kinds of studies. In this Rapid Communication, we present a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the hyperfine structure of the 229Th^(2+) ion in the nuclear ground state, where a good agreement between theory and experiment is found. For the nuclear excited state we use our calculations in combination with recent measurements to obtain the nuclear dipole moment of the isomeric state μ_iso=−0.35 μN, which is in contradiction to the theoretically predicted value of μ_iso=−0.076 μN.

Due to unique properties, antiresonant hollow core fibers have found widespread use in various fields of science and application. Particular regarding applications that involve ultrashort pulses, precise knowledge of group velocity dispersion is essential to understand the underlying physics and to optimize device performance. Here we report on the successful measurement of the spectral distribution of the group velocity dispersion of the fundamental mode of an antiresonant hollow core fiber in close proximity to and away from a strong strand resonance. The results show the variations of the hundreds of fs^2/cm near the resonance region, whereas the dispersion is identical to that of a perfect cylindrical waveguide away from the resonance in accordance with a literature. An additional zero dispersion wavelength that is not present in the case of a capillary was experimentally verified. The possibility to tune dispersion via strand resonances opens up a novel pathway towards engineering pulse dispersion, with applications in fields such as nonlinear science and pulse propagation management.

Direct numerical simulation of intense laser–solid interactions is still of great challenges, because of the many coupled atomic and plasma processes, such as ionization dynamics, collision among charged particles and collective electromagnetic fields, to name just a few. Here, we develop a new particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation code, which enables us to calculate laser–solid interactions in a more realistic way. This code is able to cover almost ‘all’ the coupled physical processes. As an application of the new code, the generation and transport of energetic electrons in front of and within the solid target when irradiated by intense laser beams are studied. For the considered case, in which laser intensity is 10^20 W/cm2 and pre-plasma scale length in front of the solid is 10 μm, several quantitative conclusions are drawn: (i) the collisional damping (although it is very weak) can significantly affect the energetic electrons generation in front of the target, (ii) the Bremsstrahlung radiation will be enhanced by 2–3 times when the solid is dramatically heated and ionized, (iii) the ‘cut-off’ electron energy is lowered by an amount of 25% when both collision damping and Bremsstrahlung radiations are included, and (iv) the resistive electromagnetic fields due to Ohmic heating play nonignorable roles and must be taken into account in such interactions.

The recent development of ultra-high intensity laser facilities is finally opening up the possibility of studying high-field quantum electrodynamics in the laboratory. Arguably, one of the central phenomena in this area is that of quantum radiation reaction experienced by an ultra-relativistic electron beam as it propagates through the tight focus of a laser beam. In this paper, we discuss the major experimental challenges that are to be faced in order to extract meaningful and quantitative information from this class of experiments using existing and near-term laser facilities.

X-ray transition energies and isotope shifts in heavy atoms are evaluated. The energy levels with vacancies in the inner shells are calculated within the approximation of the average of a nonrelativistic configuration employing the Dirac-Fock-Sturm method. The obtained results are compared with other configuration-interaction theoretical calculations and with experimental data.

Separation of the high average power driving laser beam from the generated XUV to soft-X-ray radiation poses great challenges in collinear HHG setups due to the losses and the limited power handling capabilities of the typically used separating optics. This paper demonstrates the potential of driving HHG with annular beams, which allow for a straightforward and power scalable separation via a simple pinhole, resulting in a measured driving laser suppression of 5⋅10−3. The approach is characterized by an enormous flexibility as it can be applied to a broad range of input parameters and generated photon energies. Phase matching aspects are analyzed in detail and an HHG conversion efficiency that is only 27% lower than using a Gaussian beam under identical conditions is demonstrated, revealing the viability of the annular beam approach for high flux coherent short-wavelength sources and high

The description of the dynamics of an electron in an external electromagnetic field of arbitrary intensity is one of the most fundamental outstanding problems in electrodynamics. Remarkably, to date, there is no unanimously accepted theoretical solution for ultrahigh intensities and little or no experimental data. The basic challenge is the inclusion of the self-interaction of the electron with the field emitted by the electron itself—the so-called radiation reaction force. We report here on the experimental evidence of strong radiation reaction, in an all-optical experiment, during the propagation of highly relativistic electrons (maximum energy exceeding 2 GeV) through the field of an ultraintense laser (peak intensity of 4×10²⁰  W/cm²). In their own rest frame, the highest-energy electrons experience an electric field as high as one quarter of the critical field of quantum electrodynamics and are seen to lose up to 30% of their kinetic energy during the propagation through the laser field. The experimental data show signatures of quantum effects in the electron dynamics in the external laser field, potentially showing departures from the constant cross field approximation.

The interaction of high intensity short pulse laser beams with plasmas can accelerate electrons to energies in excess of a GeV. These electron beams can subsequently be used to generate short-lived particles such as positrons, muons, and pions. In recent experiments, we have made the first measurements of pion production using 'all optical' methods. In particular, we have demonstrated that the interaction of bremsstrahlung generated by laser driven electron beams with aluminum atoms can produce the long lived isotope of magnesium (²⁷Mg) which is a signature for pion (π⁺) production and subsequent muon decay. Using a 300 TW laser pulse, we have measured the generation of 150 ± 50 pions per shot. We also show that the energetic electron beam is a source of an intense, highly directional neutron beam resulting from (γ, n) reactions which contributes to the ²⁷Mg measurement as background via the (n, p) process.

Elliptical dichroism is known in atomic photoionization as the difference in the photoelectron angular distributions produced in nonlinear ionization of atoms by left- and right-handed elliptically polarized light. We theoretically demonstrate that the maximum dichroism |ΔED|=1 always appears in two-photon ionization of any atom if the photon energy is tuned in so that the electron emission is dominantly determined by two intermediate resonances. We propose the two-photon ionization of atomic helium in order to demonstrate this remarkable phenomenon. The maximum elliptical dichroism could be used as a sensitive tool for analyzing the polarization state of photon beams produced by free-electron lasers.

A phase shift between the modal interference pattern and the thermally-induced refractive index grating is most likely the ultimate trigger for the damaging effect of transverse mode instabilities (TMI) in high-power fiber laser systems. By using comprehensive simulations, the creation and evolution of a thermally-induced phase shift is explained and illustrated in detail. It is shown that such a phase shift can be induced by a variation of the pump power. The gained knowledge about the generation and evolution of the phase shift will allow for the development of new mitigation strategies for TMI.

Ultrashort laser pulses allow for in-volume processing of glass through non-linear absorption. This results in permanent material changes, largely independent of the processed glass, and it is of particular relevance for cleaving applications. In this paper, a laser with a wavelength of 1030 nm, pulse duration of 19 ps, repetition rate of 10 kHz, and burst regime consisting of either four or eight pulses, with an intra-burst pulse separation of 12.5 ns, is used. Subsequently, a Gaussian–Bessel focal line is generated in a fused silica substrate with the aid of an axicon configuration. We show how the structure of the modifications, including the length of material disruptions and affected zones, can be directly influenced by a reasonable choice of focus geometry, pulse energy, and burst regime. We achieve single-shot modifications with 2 μm in diameter and 7.6 mm in length, exceeding an aspect ratio of 1:3800. Furthermore, a maximum length of 10.8 mm could be achieved with a single shot.

We report on a method to generate extreme ultraviolet vortices from high-order harmonic generation with two-color counter-rotating Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams that carry a well-defined orbital angular momentum (OAM). Our calculations show that the OAM of each harmonic can be directly controlled by the OAM of the incident LG modes. Furthermore, we show how the incoming LG modes have to be tailored, in order to generate every possible value of OAM in the emitted harmonics. In addition, we analyze the emitted harmonics with respect to their divergence and find that it decreases with the harmonic order and increases with the OAM of the emitted harmonic.

A review is presented of the rescattering plateau in laser-induced above-threshold ionization and its various features as they were discovered over time. Several theoretical explanations are discussed, from simple momentum conservation to the quantum-mechanical improved strong-field approximation and the inherent quantum orbits or, alternatively, entirely classical methods. Applications of the plateau to the extraction of atomic or molecular potentials and to the characterization of the driving laser pulse are also surveyed.

Nonlinear refractive index and absorption coefficient are measured for common semiconductor material such as silicon and organic molecule such as lactose in the terahertz (THz) spectral regime extending from 0.1 to 3 THz. Terahertz pulses with field strengths in excess of 4.4 MV/cm have been employed. Transmittance and the transmitted spectrum were measured with Z-scan and single shot noncollinear electro-optic pump-probe techniques. The THz-induced change in the refractive index (Deltan) shows frequency-dependence and a maximum change of -0.128 at 1.37 THz in lactose and up to +0.169 at 0.15 THz in silicon was measured for a peak incident THz intensity of 26 GW/cm2. Furthermore, the refractive index variation shows a quadratic dependence on the incident THz field, implying the dominance of third-order nonlinearity.

Accurate spectroscopy of highly-charged high-Z ions in a storage ring is demonstrated to be feasible by the use of specially adapted crystal optics. The method has been applied for the measurement of the is Lamb shift in hydrogen-like gold (Au78+) in a storage ring through spectroscopy of the Lyman x-rays. This measurement represents the first result obtained for a high-Z element using high-resolution wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy in the hard x-ray regime, paving the way for sensitivity to higher-order QED effects.

We experimentally characterize the generation of high-power terahertz radiation (THz) at the rear surface of a target irradiated by multiple laser pulses. A detailed dependence of the THz yield as a function of laser pulse duration, energy, target material and thickness is presented. We studied the THz radiation emitted mainly in two directions from the target rear surface, namely target normal (acceptance angle 0.87 sr) and non-collinear direction (perpendicular to the target normal direction—acceptance angle 4.12 sr). Independent measurements based on electro-optic diagnostics and pyroelectric detector were employed to estimate the THz yield. Most of the energy is emitted at large angles relative to the target normal direction. THz yield increases with incident laser intensity and thinner targets are better emitters of THz radiation compared to thicker ones.

The paper at hand studies the heat engine provided by black holes in the presence of massive gravity. The main motivation is to investigate the effects of massive gravity on different properties of the heat engine. It will be shown that massive gravity parameters modify the efficiency of engine on a significant level. Furthermore, it will be pointed out that it is possible to have a heat engine for non-spherical black holes in massive gravity, and therefore, we will study the effects of horizon topology on the properties of heat engine. Surprisingly, it will be shown that the highest efficiency for the heat engine belongs to black holes with the hyperbolic horizon, while the lowest one belongs to the spherical black holes.

We investigate the influence of chirp on carrier-envelope-phase (CEP)-dependent strong-field few-cycle laser-induced photoelectron spectra of sodium, well within the multiphoton regime. Our measurements and analytical model of this process reveal a simple chirp-dependence, which has the potential to be utilized as an online monitor of laser chirp. Moreover, this effect could extend single-shot measurements of the CEP using above-threshold ionization to longer, chirped pulses, and significantly lower the required pulse energies. Specifically, at a wavelength of 775 nm and an intensity of 6.5 x 10^12 W/cm^2 the CEP- and energy-dependent left-right asymmetries of emitted electrons are measured in a time-of-flight spectrometer. In these asymmetry maps, inclined stripe-like structures emerge, where the inclination is tunable with the chirp of the pulse. We report a simple analytical model, explaining the effect as the interference of electrons with even and odd angular momenta, located at energies in between adjacent above-threshold ionization peaks. As we demonstrate, the analytical model is in good agreement with the measurement, as well as with solutions of the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Further, the analytical model, which can easily be extended to other atoms, allows us to derive an equation, describing the relation between the slope of the inclined stripes and the chirp of the laser.

The non-destructive measurement of charged particle beams with intensities below 1 μA represents still a challenge in current R&D efforts. Beam peak-intensities of modern high power accelerators are in the range of milli-amperes, but for a large number of experiments, the pulse lengths have to be increased by several orders of magnitude (slow extraction process) to avoid saturation in the detectors. At the same time, the intensities of exotic ion- or antiproton-beams – depending on the production yield – might be in the range of nano-amperes or even below. The solution of this measurement problem should moreover include the possibility to calibrate the electrical current with traceability to national standards.

The dispersive behavior of materials with atomic charge numbers varying from Z=4 (beryllium, Be) to Z=82 (lead, Pb) was investigated experimentally and theoretically at gamma-ray energies up to 2 MeV. The experiment was performed at the double-crystal gamma spectrometer GAMS6 of the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble. The experimental results were compared with theoretical calculations which account for all major elastic processes involved. Overall, we found a good agreement between theory and experiment. We find that, for the development of refractive optics at $\gamma$-ray energies beyond those currently in use, high-Z materials become increasingly attractive compared to the beryllium lens-stacks used at x-ray energies.

Today, coherent imaging techniques provide the highest resolution in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray regions. Fourier transform holography (FTH) is particularly unique, providing robust and straightforward image reconstruction at the same time. Here, we combine two important advances: First, our experiment is based on a table-top light source which is compact, scalable and highly accessible. Second, we demonstrate the highest resolution ever achieved with FTH at any light source (34 nm) by utilizing a high photon flux source and cutting-edge nanofabrication technology. The performance, versatility and reliability of our approach allows imaging of complex wavelength-scale structures, including wave guiding effects within these structures, and resolving embedded nanoscale features, which are invisible for electron microscopes. Our work represents an important step towards real-world applications and a broad use of XUV imaging in many areas of science and technology. Even nanoscale studies of ultra-fast dynamics are within reach.

The probabilities of bound-free electron-positron pair creation are calculated for head-on collisions of bare uranium nuclei beyond the monopole approximation. The calculations are based on the numerical solving of the time-dependent Dirac equation in the target reference frame with multipole expansion of the projectile potential. In addition, the energy dependence of the pair-creation cross section is studied in the monopole approximation.