arXiv subjects

Y. -T. Li

Publications and source records attributed to Y. -T. Li.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Observation of Strong Terahertz Radiation from a Liquid Water Line

Terahertz radiation generation from liquid water has long been considered to be impossible due to strong absorption. A few very recent works reported terahertz generation from water, but the mechanism is not clear and the efficiency demands to be enhanced. We show experimentally that strong single-cycle terahertz radiation with field strength of $\rm 0.2~MV cm^{-1}$ is generated from a water line/column of $\sim 200 μm$ in diameter irradiated by a mJ femtosecond laser beam. This strength is 100-fold higher than that produced from air. We attribute the mechanism to the laser-ponderomotive-force-induced current with the symmetry broken around the water-column interface. This mechanism can explain our following observations: the radiation can be generated only when the laser propagation axis deviates from the column center; the deviation determines its field strength and polarity; it is always p-polarized no matter whether the laser is p- or s-polarized. This study provides a simple and efficient scheme of table-top terahertz sources based on liquid water.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2018

Collimated Ultra-Bright Gamma-Rays from a PW-Laser-Driven Wire Wiggler

It is shown by three-dimensional QED particle-in-cell simulation that as a laser pulse of 2.5 PW and 20 fs propagates along a sub-wavelength-wide solid wire, directional synchrotron $γ-$rays along the wire surface can be efficiently generated. With 8\% energy conversion from the pulse, the $γ-$rays contains $10^{12}$ photons between 5 and 500 MeV within 10 fs duration, corresponding to peak brilliance of $10^{27}$ photons ${\rm s^{-1}~ mrad^{-2}~ mm^{-2}}$ per 0.1\% bandwidth. The brilliance and photon energy are respectively 2 and 3 orders of magnitude higher than the highest values of synchrotron radiation facilities. The radiation is attributed to the generation of nC, GeV electron beams well guided along the wire surface and their wiggling motion in strong electrostatic and magnetostatic fields induced at the high-density-wire surface. In particular, these quasistatic fields are so strong that QED effects already play a significant role for the $γ-$ray radiation. With the laser power $P_0$ ranging from 0.5 PW to 5 PW available currently, this scheme can robustly produce $γ-$rays peaked at $1^\circ$ with few-mrad divergence and the photon energy and number roughly scales with $P_0$ and $P_0^{3/2}$, respectively. Our scheme embraces both the merits of high directionality comparable to those based upon laser wakefield acceleration and high charge comparable to those based upon laser-solid interaction.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2017

The Hahn Quantum System

Using a formulation of quantum mechanics based on the theory of orthogonal polynomials, we introduce a four-parameter system associated with the Hahn and continuous Hahn polynomials. The continuum energy scattering states are written in terms of the continuous Hahn polynomial whose asymptotics give the scattering amplitude and phase shift. On the other hand, the finite number of discrete bound states are associated with the Hahn polynomial.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Laser opacity in underdense preplasma of solid targets due to quantum electrodynamics effects

We investigate how next-generation laser pulses at 10 PW $-$ 200 PW interact with a solid target in the presence of a relativistically underdense preplasma produced by amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). Laser hole boring and relativistic transparency are strongly restrained due to the generation of electron-positron pairs and $γ$-ray photons via quantum electrodynamics (QED) processes. A pair plasma with a density above the initial preplasma density is formed, counteracting the electron-free channel produced by the hole boring. This pair-dominated plasma can block the laser transport and trigger an avalanche-like QED cascade, efficiently transfering the laser energy to photons. This renders a 1-$\rmμm$-scalelength, underdense preplasma completely opaque to laser pulses at this power level. The QED-induced opacity therefore sets much higher contrast requirements for such pulse in solid-target experiments than expected by classical plasma physics. Our simulations show for example, that proton acceleration from the rear of a solid with a preplasma would be strongly impaired.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

Modeling of photon and pair production due to quantum electrodynamics effects in particle-in-cell simulation

We develop the particle-in-cell (PIC) code KLAPS to include the photon generation via the Compton scattering and electron-positron creation via the Breit-Wheeler process due to quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects. We compare two sets of existing formulas for the photon generation and different Monte Carlo algorithms. Then we benchmark the PIC simulation results.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Tunable Circularly Polarized Terahertz Radiation from Magnetized Gas Plasma

It is shown, by simulation and theory, that circularly or elliptically polarized terahertz radiation can be generated when a static magnetic (B) field is imposed on a gas target along the propagation direction of a two-color laser driver. The radiation frequency is determined by $\sqrt{ω_p^2+{ω_c^2}/{4}} + {ω_c}/{2}$, where $ω_p$ is the plasma frequency and $ω_c$ is the electron cyclotron frequency. With the increase of the B field, the radiation changes from a single-cycle broadband waveform to a continuous narrow-band emission. In high-B-field cases, the radiation strength is proportional to $ω_p^2/ω_c$. The B field provides a tunability in the radiation frequency, spectrum width, and field strength.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Integrated simulation approach for laser-driven fast ignition

An integrated simulation approach fully based upon particle-in-cell (PIC) model is proposed, which involves both fast particle generation via laser solid-density plasma interaction and transport and energy deposition of the particles in extremely high density plasma. It is realized by introducing two independent systems in a simulation, where the fast particle generation is simulated by a full PIC system and the transport and energy deposition computed by a second PIC system with a reduced field solver. Data of the fast particles generated in the full PIC system are copied to the reduced PIC system in real time as the fast particle source. Unlike a two-region approach, which takes a single PIC system and two field solvers in two plasma density regions, respectively, the present one need not match the field-solvers since the reduced field solver and the full solver adopted respectively in the two systems are independent. A simulation case is presented, which demonstrates that this approach can be applied to integrated simulation of fast ignition with real target densities.

physics.plasm-ph↗