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Progress in proton radiography for diagnosis of ICF-relevant plasmas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2010

M. Borghesi ,
G. Sarri ,
C.A. Cecchetti ,
I. Kourakis ,
D. Hoarty ,
R.M. Stevenson ,
S. James ,
C.D. Brown ,
P. Hobbs  and
J. Lockyear
...Show all authors
M. Borghesi*
Affiliation:
Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
G. Sarri
Affiliation:
Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
C.A. Cecchetti
Affiliation:
Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici, Consiglio Nazionale della Ricerca, Pisa, Italy
I. Kourakis
Affiliation:
Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
D. Hoarty
Affiliation:
AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
R.M. Stevenson
Affiliation:
AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
S. James
Affiliation:
AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
C.D. Brown
Affiliation:
AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
P. Hobbs
Affiliation:
AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
J. Lockyear
Affiliation:
AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
J. Morton
Affiliation:
AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
O. Willi
Affiliation:
Institut für Laser und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
R. Jung
Affiliation:
Institut für Laser und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
M. Dieckmann
Affiliation:
ITN, Linkoping University, Norrkoping, Sweden
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: M. Borghesi, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom. E-mail: m.borghesi@qub.ac.uk
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Abstract

Proton radiography using laser-driven sources has been developed as a diagnostic since the beginning of the decade, and applied successfully to a range of experimental situations. Multi-MeV protons driven from thin foils via the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism, offer, under optimal conditions, the possibility of probing laser-plasma interactions, and detecting electric and magnetic fields as well as plasma density gradients with ~ps temporal resolution and ~ 5–10 µm spatial resolution. In view of these advantages, the use of proton radiography as a diagnostic in experiments of relevance to Inertial Confinement Fusion is currently considered in the main fusion laboratories. This paper will discuss recent advances in the application of laser-driven radiography to experiments of relevance to Inertial Confinement Fusion. In particular we will discuss radiography of hohlraum and gasbag targets following the interaction of intense ns pulses. These experiments were carried out at the HELEN laser facility at AWE (UK), and proved the suitability of this diagnostic for studying, with unprecedented detail, laser-plasma interaction mechanisms of high relevance to Inertial Confinement Fusion. Non-linear solitary structures of relevance to space physics, namely phase space electron holes, have also been highlighted by the measurements. These measurements are discussed and compared to existing models.

Keywords

FilamentationInertial confinement fusionNon-linear plasma phenomenaPlasma expansionProton radiography
Type
Research Article
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 277 - 284
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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