arXiv subjects

Luca Labate

Publications and source records attributed to Luca Labate.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ultrashort Pulse Train Generation on a 100TW Laser Beamline Using a Delay Mask After the Final Focusing Optics

Experimental results aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of a two-section delay mask for the generation of ultrashort pulse trains are reported. Based on the initial simulation results, a 500 um thick circular fused silica plate featuring a central aperture was designed to enable two distinct transverse portions of the incident laser pulse to be focused, ideally, with equal intensity. This fulfills one of the requirements of the resonant multipulse ionization injection (ReMPI) scheme for laser wakefield acceleration. The experiment was carried out at the CNR-INO Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory using a 240 TW laser system operated at 120 TW, as part of the ongoing preparation for the first experimental demonstration of ReMPI.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2026

Potential pof laser-driven VHEEs towards FLASH radiotherapy: Monte Carlo dosimetric study of single-field pencil beam scanning of a brain tumor

Radiotherapy with Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) beams is being extensively investigated for the treatment of deep-seated tumours, even in view of novel protocols based on the so-called FLASH effect. Laser WakeField Acceleration (LWFA) provides a compact and affordable accelerator technology for VHEE electron beams, featuring ultra-high instantaneous dose rates and holding the promise to provide Ultra-High (average) Dose Rates (UHDRs) needed to activate the FLASH effect, with major efforts ongoing worldwide to fulfill this promise. Therapeutic doses are already at reach, using pencil beams produced via LWFA. These beams typically exhibit significant energy spread, and small transverse size. These features are rather different from those of other beams considered so far in radiotherapy studies. In view of a rapid clinical translation of LWFA-VHEE beams it is therefore of paramount importance to assess the role of these properties in the dose delivery to the patient. Here we present a study carried out via start-to-end (PIC and Monte Carlo) simulations, of the main dosimetric features of a realistic laser-driven VHEE pencil beam targeted on a brain tumor. The entire tumor coverage is achieved by a scanning procedure; the dose pattern resulting from tessellation, i.e. the overlapping of adjacent beamlets, and the role of energy spread are thoroughly discussed. Dose Volume Histograms are presented, and their quality is discussed. The impact of the FLASH effect is also considered, introducing a degree of healthy tissue sparing in the modelling. Finally, the foreseen technological path toward the achievement of FLASH dose rates with LWFA-VHEE beams is briefly outlined.

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2025

A study of cross-relaxation and temporal dynamics of lasing at 2 microns in Thulium doped ceramic

We report the characterization of the pump absorption and emission dynamic properties of a \tulio{} ceramic lasing medium using a three mirrors folded laser cavity. We measured a slope efficiency of 73\%, which allowed us to retrieve the cross-relaxation coefficient. The behavior of our system was modeled via a set of macroscopic rate equations in both the quasi continuous wave and the pulsed pumping regime. Numerical solutions were obtained, showing a good agreement with the experimental findings. The numerical solution also yielded a cross-relaxation coefficient in very good agreement with the measured one, showing that the cross-relaxation phenomenon approaches the maximum theoretical efficiency.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Radionuclide Production for Dose Verification in VHEE FLASH Radiotherapy

This study explores the production of radionuclides in a PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate) phantom irradiated with Very High Energy Electrons (VHEE) beams as a novel method for dose verification. In this work, Monte Carlo simulation studies using the Geant4 toolkit and experimental measurements with a VHEE beam produced by a laser-plasma accelerator were conducted. Specifically, the photonuclear production of 11C, 15O and 13N is examined, with a detailed analysis of their spatial distribution, production yields and decay time

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2022

Snowmass 2021 Accelerator Frontier White Paper: Near Term Applications driven by Advanced Accelerator Concepts

While the long-term vision of the advanced accelerator community is aimed at addressing the challenges of future collider technology, it is critical that the community takes advantage of the opportunity to make large societal impact through its near-term applications. In turn, enabling robust applications strengthens the quality, control, and reliability of the underlying accelerator infrastructure. The white paper contributions that are solicited here will summarize the near-term applications ideas presented by the advanced accelerator community, assessing their potential impact, discussing scientific and technical readiness of concepts, and providing a timeline for implementation.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2021

Accurate electron beam phase-space theory for ionisation injection schemes driven by laser pulses

After the introduction of the ionization-injection scheme in Laser Wake Field Acceleration and of related high-quality electron beam generation methods as two-color or the Resonant Multi Pulse Ionization injection, the theory of thermal emittance by C. Schroeder et al, has been used to predict the beam normalised emittance obtainable with those schemes. In this manuscript we recast and extend such a theory, including both higher order terms in the polinomial laser field expansion and non polinomial corrections due to the onset of saturation effects in a single cycle. Also, a very accurate model for predicting the cycle-averaged $3D$ momentum distribution of the extracted electrons, including saturation and multi-process events, is proposed and tested. We show that our theory is very accurate for the selected processes of Kr$^{8^+\rightarrow10^+}$ and Ar$^{8^+\rightarrow10^+}$, resulting in a a maximum error below $1\%$ even in deep saturation regime. This highly accurate prediction of the beam phase-space can be implemented e.g., in laser-envelope Particle in Cell (PIC) or hybrid PIC-fluid codes, to correctly mimic the cycle-averaged momentum distribution without the need of resolving the intra-cycle dynamics. Finally, we introduce further spatial averaging with Gaussian longitudinal and transverse laser profiles, obtaining expressions for the whole-beam emittance that fits with Monte Carlo simulations in a saturated regime, too.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2017

The REsonant Multi-Pulse Ionization injection

The production of high-quality electron bunches in Laser Wake Field Acceleration relies on the possibility to inject ultra-low emittance bunches in the plasma wave. In this paper we present a new bunch injection scheme in which electrons extracted by ionization are trapped by a large-amplitude plasma wave driven by a train of resonant ultrashort pulses. In the REsonant Multi-Pulse Ionization (REMPI) injection scheme, the main portion of a single ultrashort (e.g Ti:Sa) laser system pulse is temporally shaped as a sequence of resonant sub-pulses, while a minor portion acts as an ionizing pulse. Simulations show that high-quality electron bunches with normalized emittance as low as $0.08$ mm$\times$mrad and $0.65\%$ energy spread can be obtained with a single present-day 100TW-class Ti:Sa laser system.

physics.plasm-ph↗