Two different methods have been employed to determine the plasma temperature in a laser-cluster fusion experiment on the Texas Petawatt laser. In the first, the temperature was derived from time-of-flight data of deuterium ions ejected from exploding D(2) or CD(4) clusters. In the second, the temperature was measured from the ratio of the rates of two different nuclear fusion reactions occurring in the plasma at the same time: D(d,(3)He)n and (3)He(d,p)(4)He. The temperatures determined by these two methods agree well, which indicates that (i) the ion energy distribution is not significantly distorted when ions travel in the disassembling plasma; (ii) the kinetic energy of deuterium ions, especially the "hottest part" responsible for nuclear fusion, is well described by a near-Maxwellian distribution.
A: Thomson Spectrometers are of primary importance in the discrimination of particles produced by laser-plasma interaction, according to their energy and charge-mass ratio. We describe here a detailed study on a set of Thomson Spectrometers, adaptable to different experimental situations, with the aim of being placed directly within the experimental chamber, rather than in additional extensions, in order to increase the solid angle of observation. These instruments are suitable for detection of low-medium energy particles and can be effectively employed in laserplasma experiments of 11 B(p, α) 8 Be fusion. They are provided with permanent magnets, have small dimensions and compact design. In these small configurations electric and magnetic fringing fields play a primary role for particle deflection, and their accurate characterization is required. It was accomplished by means of COMSOL electromagnetic solver coupled to an effective analytical model, very suitable for practical use of the spectrometers. Data from experimental measurements of the magnetic fields have been also used. We describe the application of the spectrometers to an experiment of laser-plasma interaction, coupled to Imaging Plate detectors. Data analysis for spectrum and yield of the detected radiation is discussed in detail.
K: Plasma diagnostics -charged-particle spectroscopy; Spectrometers; Plasma generation (laser-produced, RF, x ray-produced); Erasable phosphors 1Corresponding author.
A: Thomson Spectrometers are devices capable to separate the several particle species (with distinct charge-to-mass ratio and energy) produced by the different regimes of laser-matter experiments. In this work we describe the development of advanced spectrometers for low and medium energy particles. In particular, they are suitable for protons in the 5 keV-2 MeV and 100 keV-10 MeV energy ranges, respectively. The new prototypes of spectrometers have been designed and built to have a high sensitivity and be adaptable to many experimental situations and configurations, and are tailored to the characterization of charged particles and products of nuclear fusion reactions initiated by high energy and intensity lasers. Details on the realized prototypes, on their characterization and testing, together with the first experimental results are discussed.
K: Plasma diagnostics -charged-particle spectroscopy; Spectrometers; Erasable phosphors; Plasma generation (laser-produced, RF, x ray-produced) 1Corresponding author.
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