arXiv subjects

L. L. Ji

Publications and source records attributed to L. L. Ji.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Acceleration of 60 MeV proton beams in the commissioning experiment of SULF-10 PW laser

We report the experimental results of the commissioning phase in the 10 PW laser beamline of Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility (SULF). The peak power reaches 2.4 PW on target without the last amplifying during the experiment. The laser energy of 72\pm 9 J is directed to a focal spot of ~6 μm diameter (FWHM) in 30 fs pulse duration, yielding a focused peak intensity around 2.0 \times 10^{21} W/cm^2. First laser-proton acceleration experiment is performed using plain copper and plastic targets. High-energy proton beams with maximum cut-off energy up to 62.5 MeV are achieved using copper foils at the optimum target thickness of 4 μm via target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA). For plastic targets of tens of nanometers thick, the proton cut-off energy is approximately 20 MeV, showing ring-like or filamented density distributions. These experimental results reflect the capabilities of the SULF-10 PW beamline, e.g., both ultrahigh intensity and relatively good beam contrast. Further optimization for these key parameters is underway, where peak laser intensities of 10^{22}-10^{23} W/cm^2 are anticipated to support various experiments on extreme field physics.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2020

Generalizing the Sokolov-Ternov effect for radiative polarization in intense laser fields

A consistent description of the radiative polarization for relativistic electrons in intense laser fields is derived by generalizing the Sokolov-Ternov effect in general field structure. The new form together with the spin-dependent radiation-reaction force provides a complete set of dynamical equations for electron momentum and spin in strong fields. When applied to varying intense fields, e.g. the laser fields, the generalized Sokolov-Ternov effect allows electrons to gain or lose polarization in any directions other than along the magnetic field in the rest frame of the electron. The generalized theory is applied to the collision process between initially polarized/unpolarized high energy electrons with linearly polarized ultra-intense laser pulse, showing results that eliminate the dependence on specific choices of a quantization axis and spin initialization existing in spin-projection models.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2019

Radiative deflection by spin effect in the quantum radiation-reaction regime

The colliding between ultra-relativistic electrons and an ultra-intense laser pulse is a powerful approach to testify the physics in strong-field QED regime. By considering spin-dependent radiation-reaction during laser-electron collision we find anti-symmetric deflection of electrons with different spin states. We revealed that such deflection is induced by the non-zero work done by radiation-reaction force along field polarization-direction in a half-period of phase, which is larger for spin-anti-paralleled electrons and smaller for spin-paralleled electrons. The spin-projection on the magnetic field of an electron gets inversed in adjacent half-periods due to oscillating magnetic field and therefore the deflection due to spin-dependent radiation is accumulated rather than vanishing. The new mechanism provides an extra dimension to observe quantum radiation-reaction effect in the strong-field QED regime by measuring the anti-symmetric distribution.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum Reflection above the Classical Radiation-reaction Barrier in the QED Regime

The colliding between an ultra-intense laser pulse with a high energy electron beam is not only an important source for high-brightness gamma-rays but also a powerful approach to exploit new physics in the exotic strong-field QED regime. In the cross-colliding geometry, when radiation-reaction (RR) force is interpreted by the classical Landau-Lifshitz equation, we found that there is a distinctive barrier that allows penetration of electrons at energies beyond the barrier and blocks those of lower energies. While in the QED perspective, electrons can be well reflected (transmit) in the regime where complete transmission (reflection) is allowed classically. The reflection (transmission) is guaranteed by the quantum nature of radiation but forbidden by classical description. This effect is accompanied by the blurring of the angular distribution for scattered electrons and becomes significant for laser intensities at $2\times10^{23}\ \mathrm{W/cm^2}$ and electron energies of $\sim 10^2\ \mathrm{MeV}$; thus could be measured in the up-coming 10-100PW laser facilities. By detecting the reflection rate of the energetic electron beam after colliding and resolve the angular distribution, the results are capable of identifying the boundaries between classical and QED approaches in the strong field regime and testifying the various models describing the fundamental process.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Towards manipulating relativistic laser pulses with 3D printed materials

Efficient coupling of intense laser pulses to solid-density matter is critical to many applications including ion acceleration for cancer therapy. At relativistic intensities, the focus has been mainly on investigating various laser beams irradiating initially flat interfaces with little or no control over the interaction. Here, we propose a novel approach that leverages recent advancements in 3D direct laser writing (DLW) of materials and high contrast lasers to manipulate the laser-matter interactions on the micro-scales. We demonstrate, via simulations, that usable intensities >10^23Wcm^(-2) could be achieved with current tabletop lasers coupled to 3D printed plasma lenses. We show that these plasma optical elements act not only as a lens to focus laser light, but also as an electromagnetic guide for secondary particle beams. These results open new paths to engineering light-matter interactions at ultra-relativistic intensities.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Microengineering laser plasma interactions at relativistic intensities

We report on the first successful proof-of-principle experiment to manipulate laser-matter interactions on the microscale using highly ordered Si microwire arrays. The interaction of a high contrast short pulse laser with a flat target via periodic Si microwires yields a substantial enhancement in both total and cut-off energies of the produced electron beam. The self generated electric and magnetic fields behave as an electromagnetic lens that confines and guides electrons between the microwires as they acquire relativistic energies via direct laser acceleration (DLA).

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2014

High quality electron bunch generation with CO2-laser plasma accelerator

CO2 laser-driven electron acceleration is demonstrated with particle-in-cell simulation in low-density plasma. An intense CO2 laser pulse with long wavelength excites wakefield. The bubble behind it has a broad space to sustain a large amount of electrons before reaching its charge saturation limit. A transversely propagating inject pulse is used to induce and control the ambient electron injection. The accelerated electron bunch with total charge up to 10 nC and the average charge per energy interval of more than 0.6 nC/MeV are obtained. Plasma-based electron acceleration driven by intense CO2 laser provides a new potential way to generate high-charge electron bunch with low energy spread, which has broad applications, especially for X-ray generation by table-top FEL and bremsstrahlung.

physics.plasm-ph↗