A free-electron laser (FEL) operating in the quantum regime can provide a compact and monochromatic x-ray source. Here we present the complete quantum model for a FEL with a laser wiggler in three spatial dimensions, based on a discrete Wigner-function formalism taking into account the longitudinal momentum quantization. The model describes the complete spatial and temporal evolution of the electron and radiation beams, including diffraction, propagation, laser wiggler profile and emittance effects. The transverse motion is described in a suitable classical limit, since the typical beam emittance values are much larger than the Compton wavelength quantum limit. In this approximation we derive an equation for the Wigner function which reduces to the three-dimensional Vlasov equation in the complete classical limit. Preliminary numerical results are presented together with parameters for a possible experiment.

Laser–plasma interaction (LPI) at intensities $10^{15}{-}10^{16}~\text{W}\cdot \text{cm}^{-2}$ is dominated by parametric instabilities which can be responsible for a significant amount of non-collisional absorption and generate large fluxes of high-energy nonthermal electrons. Such a regime is of paramount importance for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and in particular for the shock ignition scheme. In this paper we report on an experiment carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) facility to investigate the extent and time history of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and two-plasmon decay (TPD) instabilities, driven by the interaction of an infrared laser pulse at an intensity ${\sim}1.2\times 10^{16}~\text{W}\cdot \text{cm}^{-2}$ with a ${\sim}100~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ scalelength plasma produced from irradiation of a flat plastic target. The laser pulse duration (300 ps) and the high value of plasma temperature ( ${\sim}4~\text{keV}$ ) expected from hydrodynamic simulations make these results interesting for a deeper understanding of LPI in shock ignition conditions. Experimental results show that absolute TPD/SRS, driven at a quarter of the critical density, and convective SRS, driven at lower plasma densities, are well separated in time, with absolute instabilities driven at early times of interaction and convective backward SRS emerging at the laser peak and persisting all over the tail of the pulse. Side-scattering SRS, driven at low plasma densities, is also clearly observed. Experimental results are compared to fully kinetic large-scale, two-dimensional simulations. Particle-in-cell results, beyond reproducing the framework delineated by the experimental measurements, reveal the importance of filamentation instability in ruling the onset of SRS and stimulated Brillouin scattering instabilities and confirm the crucial role of collisionless absorption in the LPI energy balance.

Fast electrons produced by a 10 ps, 160 J laser pulse through laser-compressed plastic cylinders are studied experimentally and numerically in the context of fast ignition. K(α)-emission images reveal a collimated or scattered electron beam depending on the initial density and the compression timing. A numerical transport model shows that implosion-driven electrical resistivity gradients induce strong magnetic fields able to guide the electrons. The good agreement with measured beam sizes provides the first experimental evidence for fast-electron magnetic collimation in laser-compressed matter.

We study the Bloch-Messiah reduction of parametric downconversion of light in the pulsed regime with a nondegenerate phase matching providing generation of twin beams. We find that in this case every squeezing eigenvalue has multiplicity at least two. We discuss the problem of ambiguity in the definition of the squeezing eigenmodes in this case and develop two approaches to unique determination of the latter. First, we show that the modal functions of the squeezing eigenmodes can be tailored from the Schmidt modes of the signal and idler beams. Alternatively, they can be found as a solution of an eigenvalue problem for an associated Hermitian squeezing matrix. We illustrate the developed theory by an example of frequency non-degenerate collinear twin beams generated in beta barium borate crystal. On this example we demonstrate how the squeezing eigenmodes can be approximated analytically on the basis of the Mehler's formula, extended to complex kernels. We show how the multiplicity of the eigenvalues and the structure of the eigenmodes are changed when the phase matching approaches the degeneracy in frequency. arXiv:1903.06578v2 [quant-ph]

The Centro de Laseres Pulsados in Salamanca Spain has recently started operation phase and the first User access period on the 6 J 30 fs 200 TW system (VEGA 2) already started at the beginning of 2018. In this paper we report on two commissioning experiments recently performed on the VEGA 2 system in preparation for the user campaign. VEGA 2 system has been tested in different configurations depending on the focusing optics and targets used. One configuration (long focal length f=130 cm) is for under-dense laser-matter interaction where VEGA 2 is focused onto a low density gas-jet generating electron beams (via laser wake field acceleration mechanism) with maximum energy up to 500 MeV and an X-ray betatron source with a 10 keV critical energy. A second configuration (short focal length f=40 cm) is for over-dense laser-matter interaction where VEGA 2 is focused onto an 5 µm thick Al target generating a proton beam with a maximum energy of 10 MeV and average energy of 7-8 MeV and temperature of 2.5 MeV. In this paper we present preliminary experimental results.

An experiment was done at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory ͑Vulcan laser petawatt laser͒ to study fast electron propagation in cylindrically compressed targets, a subject of interest for fast ignition. This was performed in the framework of the experimental road map of HiPER ͑the European high power laser energy research facility project͒. In the experiment, protons accelerated by a picosecond-laser pulse were used to radiograph a 220 m diameter cylinder ͑20 m wall, filled with low density foam͒, imploded with ϳ200 J of green laser light in four symmetrically incident beams of pulse length 1 ns. Point projection proton backlighting was used to get the compression history and the stagnation time. Results are also compared to those from hard x-ray radiography. Detailed comparison with two-dimensional numerical hydrosimulations has been done using a Monte Carlo code adapted to describe multiple scattering and plasma effects. Finally we develop a simple analytical model to estimate the performance of proton radiography for given implosion conditions.

We describe an experiment performed at the LULI laser facility using an advanced radiographic technique that allowed obtaining 2D, spatially resolved images of a shocked buried-code-target. The technique is suitable for applications on Fast Ignition as well as Warm Dense Matter research. In our experiment, it allowed to show cone survival up to Mbar pressures and to measure the shock front velocity and the fluid velocity associated to the laser-generated shock. This allowed obtaining one point on the shock polar of porous carbon.

In this work, we present a novel and practical method for generating optical vortices in highpower laser systems. Off-axis spiral phase mirrors are used at oblique angles of incidence in the beam path after amplification and compression allowing for the generation of high-power optical vortices in almost any laser system. An off-axis configuration is possible via modification of the azimuthal gradient of the spiral phase helix and is demonstrated with a simple model using a discrete spiral staircase. This work presents the design, fabrication, and implementation of off-axis spiral phase mirrors in both low and high-power laser systems.