Proton radiography as an electromagnetic field and density perturbation diagnostic (invited)

Abstract

Saturation gain-length product during short-wavelength plasma lasing Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 081105 (2012) Laser induced avalanche ionization in gases or gas mixtures with resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization or femtosecond laser pulse pre-ionization Phys. Plasmas 19, 083508 (2012) A new scheme for stigmatic x-ray imaging with large magnification Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10E527 (2012) Efficient laser-induced 6-8keV x-ray production from iron oxide aerogel and foil-lined cavity targets Phys. Plasmas 19, 083101 (2012) Additional information on Rev. Sci. Instrum. Laser driven proton beams have been used to diagnose transient fields and density perturbations in laser produced plasmas. Grid deflectometry techniques have been applied to proton radiography to obtain precise measurements of proton beam angles caused by electromagnetic fields in laser produced plasmas. Application of proton radiography to laser driven implosions has demonstrated that density conditions in compressed media can be diagnosed with million electron volt protons. This data has shown that proton radiography can provide unique insight into transient electromagnetic fields in super critical density plasmas and provide a density perturbation diagnostics in compressed matter.

Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments

“…The deflection of protons was used to infer local magnetic field structures and the spatial scale of field-carrying features in the plasma [27,28]. Protons at energies up to ∼60 MeV in an exponentially decaying spectrum were generated by a high-intensity (190-J, 1-ps duration, 10-20 μm spot size, ∼10…”

Laser triggered micro-lens for focusing and energy selection of MeV protons

“…These laser produced proton beams have opened up new opportunities for major applications in scientific, technological, and medical areas. The proposed applications include energy production via thermonuclear fusion~Roth et al, !, cancer therapy~Bulanov et al, 2002!, production of radioactive particles for medical diagnosis~Spencer et al, 2001!, and the detection of electric and magnetic fields in plasmas Borghesi et al, 2002Borghesi et al, , 2003Mackinnon et al, 2004;Romagnani et al, 2005!. However, reduction and control of the angular divergence and of the energy spread of these pulses are essential requirements for some of these applications.…”

Investigations of Field Dynamics in Laser Plasmas with Proton Imaging

“…Therefore proton imaging can be applied for different objectives. It can be used to visualize density gradients, for example in shocked material [110,111] or to detect electric and magnetic fields generated by laser matter interaction (proton deflectometry) [102,112]. With proton imaging the ion acceleration process itself [105,113] was investigated recently.…”