MeV x-ray production from a petawatt laser in the regime of a relativistically transparent preplasma, with applications to radiography

Bright sources of mega-electron volt (MeV) x-rays have many unique applications, including nuclear physics, radiation oncology, and imaging high areal density systems. High intensity lasers (&gt;1018 W cm−2) incident on mm-thick metal targets can deliver MeV x-rays via the bremsstrahlung process, providing sources with ultrashort duration (∼ps) and small source size (∼100 μm). Here, we report on a reproducible regime of laser-driven MeV x-ray sources, where the x-ray dose can be further increased by 60% by coating the metal target with micrometers of plastic. High fidelity numerical simulations indicate that the interaction is a result of relativistic transparency in the preplasma. Though relativistic transparency is present in both cases, the greater sound speed and smaller ion inertia of the plastic target allow the laser to more deeply penetrate and couple more efficiently to electrons. Radiography with this system demonstrates a resolving power &lt; 300 μm, important for imaging applications.

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Metrics

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References

Details

Published: Dec 01, 2024
Vol/Issue: 31(12)
License: View

Authors

J

J. Strehlow

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

L

L. Yin

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

C

C.-S. Wong

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

S

S. V. Luedtke

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

S

S. Palaniyappan

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

D

D. J. Stark

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

C

C.-K. Huang

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

A

A. Bogale

Center for Energy Research, University of California - San Diego 2 , La Jolla, California 92093,

B

B. Cage

Physics and Astronomy Department, Rice University 3 , Houston, Texas 77005,

T

T. A. Coffman

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

A

A. Figueroa Bengoa

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

R

R. Fitzgarrald

Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan 4 , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109,

L

L. T. Mix

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

R

R. Nedbailo

Center for High Energy Density Science, University of Texas at Austin 5 , Austin, Texas 78712,

D

D. R. Rusby

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 6 , Livermore, California 94550,

J

J. L. Schmidt

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

J

J. Twardowski

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University 7 , Columbus, Ohio 43210,

A

A. van Pelt

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

T

T. H. Day

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

B

B. J. Jones

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

S

S. A. Bruce

Center for High Energy Density Science, University of Texas at Austin 5 , Austin, Texas 78712,

A

A. Helal

Center for High Energy Density Science, University of Texas at Austin 5 , Austin, Texas 78712,

M

M. M. Spinks

Center for High Energy Density Science, University of Texas at Austin 5 , Austin, Texas 78712,

H

H. J. Quevedo

Center for High Energy Density Science, University of Texas at Austin 5 , Austin, Texas 78712,

F

F. N. Beg

Center for Energy Research, University of California - San Diego 2 , La Jolla, California 92093,

E

E. A. Chowdhury

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University 7 , Columbus, Ohio 43210,

T

T. Ditmire

Center for High Energy Density Science, University of Texas at Austin 5 , Austin, Texas 78712,

E

E. Liang

Physics and Astronomy Department, Rice University 3 , Houston, Texas 77005,

A

A. G. R. Thomas

Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan 4 , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109,

J

J. C. Fernandez

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

D

D. C. Gautier

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

J

J. Hunter

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

Y

Y. Kim

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

K

K. D. Meaney

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

B

B. J. Albright

Los Alamos National Laboratory 1 , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545,

Funding

Laboratory Directed Research and Development Award: 89233218CNA000001

Fusion Energy Sciences Award: DE-SC0021125

Cite This Article

J. Strehlow, L. Yin, C.-S. Wong, et al. (2024). MeV x-ray production from a petawatt laser in the regime of a relativistically transparent preplasma, with applications to radiography. Physics of Plasmas, 31(12). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0237193

MeV x-ray production from a petawatt laser in the regime of a relativistically transparent preplasma, with applications to radiography

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