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Yasuhiro Kuramitsu

Publications and source records attributed to Yasuhiro Kuramitsu.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Pulse magnet of 10 T for power laser experiments with x-ray free-electron laser diagnostics

The importance of investigating magnetized plasmas/solids in extreme conditions has grown over the last decades, particularly in the field of high energy density physics (HEDP), such as laboratory astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion. However, up to now, the unique capabilities of an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), such as high brilliance and low divergence have never been exploited for this type of research. In this paper, we present the first platform developed at SACLA, Japan, that combines a high-power optical laser for generating matter under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature, an XFEL probe, and an external magnetic field. The high current is produced using a 2 kV, 4.8 kJ pulsed power system giving a maximum current of 10 kA which is synchronized with the optical laser and XFEL in a vacuum environment. It flows through a split-pair coil to generate a high magnetic field (10 T at 6 kA) which has 1 cm access every 45$^{\circ}$ in the equatorial plane and 90$^{\circ}$ in the poloidal one. This platform offers new opportunities to study high-energy-density matter in strong magnetic fields, including shock propagation, instability growth, and turbulent plasma dynamics.

physics.plasm-ph

Probing In-Solid Proton Energy Distributions in Laser-Driven Fusion via Nuclear Activation Diagnostics

The energy distribution of energetic protons inside a solid target is a key quantity governing nuclear reaction yields and energy deposition in high-intensity laser-driven fusion, including nonthermal proton--boron (p--B) schemes and proton fast ignition. Yet it has remained inaccessible to conventional particle diagnostics, which detect only ions escaping the target and are perturbed by intense plasma electromagnetic fields. Here we establish a quantitative diagnostic that uses nuclear activation reactions occurring within the target itself as an internal probe of the in-solid proton energy distribution. Applied to laser-driven p--B fusion experiments on the kJ-class laser, the method reconstructs an exponential-equivalent in-solid proton energy distribution from the absolute yields of $^{11}\mathrm{C}$ and $^{7}\mathrm{Be}$ produced via $\mathrm{^{11}B(p,n)^{11}C}$ and $\mathrm{^{10}B(p,\alpha)^{7}Be}$, and yields the absolute number of $\mathrm{^{11}B(p,2\alpha)^{4}He}$ reactions through a side-channel analysis with propagated cross-section uncertainties. This work opens a quantitative window onto the in-solid proton dynamics that drive nuclear reactions in laser-driven fusion experiments.

physics.plasm-ph

Toward experimental observations of induced Compton scattering by high-power laser facilities

Induced Compton scattering (ICS) is a nonlinear interaction between intense electromagnetic radiation and a rarefied plasma. Although the magnetosphere of pulsars is a potential cite at which ICS occurs in nature, the ICS signatures have not been discovered so far. One of the reasons for non-detection of the ICS signatures is that we still do not attain the concrete understanding of such nonlinear plasma interactions because of their nonlinear nature and of the lack of experimental confirmations. Here, we propose a possible approach to understand ICS experimentally in laboratories, especially, with the use of the up-to-date short-pulse lasers. We find that the scattered light of ICS has characteristic signatures in the spectrum. The signatures will be observed in some current laser facilities. The characteristic spectrum is quantitatively predictable and we can diagnose the properties of the scattering plasma from the signatures.

astro-ph.HE