Four-dimensional (spatial and temporal) investigation of hard x-ray emission produced by intense femtosecond laser interactions with solid targets

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A research program is proposed aimed at resolving a number of important but poorly understood issues in hard x-ray emission from short-pulse, high-intensity laser interactions with solid targets. Particular attention will be given to the role of fast electron transport in and around the target material, which largely determines the spatial and temporal source characteristics of both K¿ and bremsstrahlung x-ray emission. For this purpose, a recently developed three-dimensional, mesh-free model will be used which is capable of handling laser interactions with geometrically complex targets with finite resistivity, a task which is currently beyond the reach of conventional kinetic simulation tools. This theoretical investigation will be performed in tandem with experiments specifically designed to probe anomalous transport behaviour via K¿ emission measurements. If successful, the project will lead to better physical understanding of femtosecond x-ray generation at high laser intensities and provide urgently needed guidance for increasing K¿ source efficiency. As such, the results of this study will have a direct impact on many of the other projects within the Schwerpunktprogramm which depend on high Ka photon flux for diffractometry and spectroscopy applications.