High intensity relativistic laser plasma interactions and laser fusion

超短光脉冲的产生和放大的快速发展使得能够用小型实验室规模的激光系统产生多太瓦脉冲。 这些激光脉冲的持续时间可以短至25飞秒，光脉冲的总长度以数十微米计。 10太瓦的峰值瞬时功率相当于整个世界在一瞬间总发电量的几倍。 当聚焦成微米大小的斑点时，这种能量导致相干激光和物质之间非常强的相对论相互作用。 压力和密度只存在于恒星介质的中心，并产生每厘米GeV的加速电场梯度。 本研究计划将探索这些高强度激光脉冲与物质相互作用中发生的基本物理过程，这是一个被确定为高能量密度物理学的新领域，并研究在这些极端强度下发生的一些现象，包括：1）通过等离子体引导通道中的韦克菲尔德加速产生和加速GeV电子，2）产生用于癌症肿瘤的精确放射治疗的高亮度质子束，3）按需产生放射性同位素，4）产生用于相衬显微术的高亮度飞秒X射线脉冲，5）用于时间分辨电子射线照相研究的飞秒电子射流的产生和6）用于快速点火聚变能量的电子和质子束的产生、传输和能量沉积。所有这些新现象都导致了桌面粒子加速器，桌面同步加速器源和桌面核物理的新范式。 所有这些应用领域的关键使能技术是一个强大的，高效的，高能量，高重复率，超短脉冲激光源，该项目将开发和展示这种基于新兴二极管泵浦陶瓷盘激光器技术的源。 该研究的主要总体目标之一是推进快速点火，这可能导致激光聚变能的快速发展，为我们日益增长的绿色家用气体和能源危机提供长期解决方案。

Rapid advances in the production and amplification of ultrashort optical pulses have enabled the generation of multi-terawatt pulses with small laboratory scale laser systems. The duration of these laser pulses can be as short as 25 femtoseconds, a light pulse whose total length is measured in tens of microns. The peak instantaneous power of 10 terawatts is equivalent to several times the total electrical generating capacity of the whole world for one brief instant. This power when focused into micron size spots leads to extraordinarily strong relativistic interactions of the coherent laser light and matter. Pressures and densities are created which only exist in the centre of stellar media and accelerating electric field gradients of GeV per centimetre are created. The present research proposal will explore the fundamental physical processes occurring in the interaction of these high intensity laser pulses and matter, a new area identified as High Energy Density Physics, and investigate a number of phenomena occurring at these extreme intensities including: 1) generation and acceleration of GeV electrons via wakefield acceleration in plasma guide channels, 2) generation of high brightness proton beams for pinpoint radiation therapy of cancer tumors, 3) generation of radioisotopes on demand, 4) generation of high brightness femtosecond x-ray pulses for phase contrast microscopy, 5) generation of femtosecond electron jets for time resolved electron radiographic studies and 6) the generation, transport and energy deposition from electron and proton beams for fast ignition fusion energy. All of these new phenomena are leading to a new paradigm of tabletop particle accelerators, tabletop synchrotron sources and tabletop nuclear physics. A key enabling technology for all of these application areas is a robust, efficient, high energy, high repetition rate, ultrashort pulse laser source and the project will develop and demonstrate such a source based on newly emerging diode pumped ceramic disk laser technology. One of the major overall goals of the research is to advance Fast Ignition which could lead to the rapid advancement of Laser Fusion Energy giving us a long term solution for our growing green house gas and energy crises.