The 65h JSAP Spring Meeting, 2018

Presentation information

Oral presentation

3 Optics and Photonics » 3.6 Ultrashort-pulse and high-intensity lasers

[19p-B301-1~23] 3.6 Ultrashort-pulse and high-intensity lasers

Mon. Mar 19, 2018 1:15 PM - 7:30 PM B301 (53-301)

Ikufumi Katayama(Yokohama National Univ.), Takasumi Tanabe(Keio Univ.), Satoshi Ashihara(Univ. of Tokyo), Taro Sekikawa(Hokkaido University)

2:15 PM - 2:30 PM

[19p-B301-5] Plasma density jump for the control of coherent x-ray emission via BISER mechanism

Alexander S. Pirozhkov1, Timur Zh. Esirkepov1, Akito Sagisaka1, Koichi Ogura1, Nobuhiko Nakanii1, Kai Huang1, Tatiana A. Pikuz2, Anatoly Ya. Faenov2, Shinichi Namba3, Izuru Daito1, Yuji Fukuda1, James K. Koga1, Hiromitsu Kiriyama1, Kiminori Kondo1, Tetsuya Kawachi1, Masaki Kando1 (1.KPSI, QST, 2.Osaka University, 3.Hiroshima University)

Keywords:Burst Intensification by Singularity Emitting Radiation (BISER), Relativistic plasma singularities, Coherent x-ray sources

We have discovered Burst Intensification by Singularity Emitting Radiation (BISER) [1], a new phenomenon which in particular results in bright coherent x-ray generation by relativistic plasma singularities driven by a multi-terawatt femtosecond laser focused onto a gas jet target [2], [3]. Singularities are produced in plasma by the laser pulse which pushes electrons creating an electron-free cavity and bow wave [4]. The singularities at the joining of the cavity wall and bow wave manifest themselves as point-like coherent x-ray emitters. A spontaneous BISER regime realized in previous experiments exhibits relatively large shot-to-shot fluctuations of the x-ray source position and low overall stability because the emission occurs after the relativistic self-focusing. However, stability is desirable for prospective applications of the new coherent x-ray source.

A tailored plasma density profile can help to control the BISER, as shown by our simulations with the PIC REMP code [5]. Here, we present an experiment with the plasma profile tailoring, where a shock in supersonic gas flow generates a sharp density up-jump. We demonstrate the BISER control using this density jump scheme and the J-KAREN-P laser [6]-[7]. In contrast to the spontaneous regime, here we obtain low-jitter x-ray source position and higher x-ray yield. Moreover, these advantages are achieved simultaneously in an optimized case. Our results represent a crucial step towards implementation of the next-generation bright compact coherent x-ray source. Further, they demonstrate the new technique of relativistic self-focusing control and its diagnostics.

We thank the J-KAREN-P laser operation group. We acknowledge the financial support from JSPS Kakenhi JP 25390135 and JP 26707031.

[1] A. S. Pirozhkov, T. Zh. Esirkepov, et al., "Burst intensification by singularity emitting radiation in multi-stream flows," Scientific Reports 7, 17968 (2017).
[2] A.S.Pirozhkov, et al. "Soft-X-Ray Harmonic Comb from Relativistic Electron Spikes" Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 135004 (2012).
[3] A.S.Pirozhkov et al., "High order harmonics from relativistic electron spikes" New J. Phys. 16, 093003-30 (2014).
[4] T. Zh. Esirkepov, Y. Kato, and S. V. Bulanov, "Bow Wave from Ultraintense Electromagnetic Pulses in Plasmas," Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 265001-4 (2008).
[5] T. Zh. Esirkepov, "Exact charge conservation scheme for Particle-in-Cell simulation with an arbitrary form-factor," Comput. Phys. Comm. 135, 144-153 (2001).
[6] H. Kiriyama, et al., "High-Contrast, High-Intensity Petawatt-Class Laser and Applications," IEEE J.S.T.Quantum Electron. 21, 1601118-18 (2015).
[7] A.S.Pirozhkov, et al. "Approaching the diffraction-limited, bandwidth-limited Petawatt" Opt. Express 25, 20486 (2017).