Explanipedia

High-energy X-ray radiography with apodized petawatt laser beams Open

Tanner Nutting, R. Anthony, Franko Bayer, M. Burger, P. T. Campbell , et al. · 2025

We have produced laser wakefield-accelerated electron beams with energies of 2 GeV in Target Area 1 of the ZEUS facility. These electron beams oscillate in the accelerating structure that is produced in the wake of an ultrashort laser puls…

The ZEUS multi-petawatt laser system Open

A. Maksimchuk, John Nees, Bixue Hou, R. Anthony, Jun Woo Bae , et al. · 2025

The Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS) at the University of Michigan has constructed a new high-power laser user facility called ZEUS (the Zettawatt Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System), which is funded by the N…

Designing zettawatt-equivalent experiments for ZEUS Open

P. T. Campbell, A. Maksimchuk, Y. Ma, Qian Qian, John Nees , et al. · 2025

The Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) at the University of Michigan is a user facility supported by the National Science Foundation. The name ZEUS refers to the collision of a petawatt (PW) laser pulse with a GeV en…

Active control of the laser beam pointing for the Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System: A proof-of-principle study with 16-inch optics Open

Hao Huang, Tanner Nutting, Andrew McKelvey, Bixue Hou, M. Burger , et al. · 2025

Measurement of field generation at plasma interfaces due to fast electron beam currents from high-intensity laser–plasma interactions Open

C. Zulick, L. Willingale, A. G. R. Thomas, P. M. Nilson, A. Maksimchuk , et al. · 2025

The OMEGA EP laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics was used to investigate high-power, relativistically intense laser interactions with near-critical density plasmas produced using low-density CH foam targets. A proton probe beam di…

Forward ion acceleration by laser-driven collisionless filamentary shocks in underdense plasmas Open

Peter Kordell, Brandon K. Russell, P. Campbell, K. Krushelnick, A. Maksimchuk , et al. · 2024

We have experimentally investigated the collisionless shock acceleration of ions via the interaction of a relativistic intensity (3 × 10 19 W/cm 2 ), 1.053 µm wavelength laser pulse with an underdense plasma. This plasma is formed through …

Observation of Monoenergetic Electrons from Two-Pulse Ionization Injection in Quasilinear Laser Wakefields Open

M. W. von der Leyen, J. Holloway, Y. Ma, P. T. Campbell, Ramy Aboushelbaya , et al. · 2023

The generation of low emittance electron beams from laser-driven wakefields is crucial for the development of compact x-ray sources. Here, we show new results for the injection and acceleration of quasimonoenergetic electron beams in low a…

Direct spectral measurements of midinfrared radiation from a laser wakefield accelerator Open

Amina Hussein, Jan Ludwig, Y. Ma, P. E. Masson-Laborde, P. J. Skrodzki , et al. · 2022

The formation of plasma waves during laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) produces time-dependent frequency shifts in the driving laser pulse, extending its spectral content to the infrared. We present direct spectral measurements of multi-…

Intense gamma-ray source based on focused electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator Open

V. Senthilkumaran, David S. Bailie, Keegan Behm, J. Warwick, G. M. Samarin , et al. · 2022

Laser wakefield accelerators generate ultrashort electron bunches with the capability to produce γ-rays. Here, we produce focused laser wakefield acceleration electron beams using three quadrupole magnets. Electron beams are then focused i…

The effects of laser polarization and wavelength on injection dynamics of a laser wakefield accelerator Open

Y. Ma, D. Seipt, Amina Hussein, Sahel Hakimi, N. F. Beier , et al. · 2021

Here, we investigate the effects of laser polarization and wavelength on electron injection dynamics in a laser wakefield accelerator. During the ionization process, electrons gain residual momentum and kinetic energy via above threshold i…

Scintillator detector characterization for laser-driven proton beam imaging Open

Huaijing Tang, Brandon K. Russell, A. Maksimchuk, P. T. Campbell, M. J.-E. Manuel , et al. · 2020

The spatial resolution and imaging characteristics of plastic scintillators are characterized using laser-driven proton beams. Laser-driven proton beams typically have broad energy spectra and are accompanied by relativistic electrons and …

Enhanced spatial resolution of Eljen-204 plastic scintillators for use in rep-rated proton diagnostics Open

M. J.-E. Manuel, Huaijing Tang, Brandon K. Russell, L. Willingale, A. Maksimchuk , et al. · 2020

A pixelated scintillator has been designed, fabricated, and tested using a laser-accelerated proton source for use in proton diagnostics at rep-rated laser facilities. The work presented here demonstrates the enhanced spatial resolution of…

Sarri <i>et al.</i> Reply: Open

G. Sarri, W. Schumaker, A. Di Piazza, M. Vargas, B. Dromey , et al. · 2020

Received 25 July 2019Accepted 8 April 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.179502© 2020 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasHigh intensity laser-plasma interactionsLaser driven ion acceleration…

Polarization-Dependent Self-Injection by Above Threshold Ionization Heating in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator Open

Y. Ma, D. Seipt, Amina Hussein, Sahel Hakimi, N. F. Beier , et al. · 2020

We report on the experimental observation of a decreased self-injection threshold by using laser pulses with circular polarization in laser wakefield acceleration experiments in a nonpreformed plasma, compared to the usually employed linea…

Characterizing extreme laser intensities by ponderomotive acceleration of protons from rarified gas Open

O. E. Vais, A. G. R. Thomas, A. Maksimchuk, K. Krushelnick, V. Yu. Bychenkov · 2020

A new method to diagnose extreme laser intensities through measurement of angular and spectral distributions of protons directly accelerated by the laser focused into a rarefied gas is proposed. We simulated a laser pulse focused by an off…

Reply to a comment Open

G. Sarri, W. Schumaker, A. Di Piazza, Michael Vargas, B. Dromey , et al. · 2020

Demonstration of femtosecond broadband X-rays from laser wakefield acceleration as a source for pump-probe X-ray absorption studies Open

Keegan Behm, Amina Hussein, Tianzhuo Zhao, R. A. Baggott, J. M. Cole , et al. · 2019

Relativistic-electron-driven magnetic reconnection in the laboratory Open

A. Raymond, Chuanfei Dong, Andrew McKelvey, C. Zulick, N. Alexander , et al. · 2018

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process involving an exchange\nof magnetic energy to plasma kinetic energy through changes in the magnetic\nfield topology. In many astrophysical plasmas magnetic reconnection plays a key\nrole…

The unexpected role of evolving longitudinal electric fields in generating energetic electrons in relativistically transparent plasmas Open

L. Willingale, Alexey Arefiev, G. J. Williams, H Chen, F. Dollar , et al. · 2018

Superponderomotive-energy electrons are observed experimentally from the\ninteraction of an intense laser pulse with a relativistically transparent\ntarget. For a relativistically transparent target, kinetic modeling shows that\nthe genera…

Multi-electron beam generation using co-propagating, parallel laser beams Open

Jennifer Elle, Tianzhuo Zhao, Y. Ma, Keegan Behm, Arthur Lucero , et al. · 2018

High intensity short pulse laser plasma interaction experiments were performed to investigate laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) in the 'bubble' regime. Using a specially designed phase plate, two high intensity laser focal spots were gen…

Stimulated Raman backscattering from a laser wakefield accelerator Open

Amina Hussein, Jan Ludwig, Keegan Behm, Y. Horovitz, P. E. Masson-Laborde , et al. · 2018

Experiments were performed using the HERCULES laser system at the University of Michigan to study backward stimulated Raman scattering (BSRS) from a laser wakefield accelerator driven with a 30 fs pulse. 'The spectrum of backscattered ligh…

On the properties of synchrotron-like X-ray emission from laser wakefield accelerated electron beams Open

C. McGuffey, W. Schumaker, Takeshi Matsuoka, V. Chvykov, F. Dollar , et al. · 2018

The electric and magnetic fields responsible for electron acceleration in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator (LWFA) also cause electrons to radiate x-ray photons. Such x-ray pulses have several desirable properties including short duration and …

Laser induced THz Sommerfeld waves along metal wire Open

A. V. Brantov, A. S. Kuratov, A. Maksimchuk, Yu. M. Aliev, V. Yu. Bychenkov · 2018

Enhanced laser absorption from radiation pressure in intense laser plasma interactions Open

F. Dollar, C. Zulick, A. Raymond, V. Chvykov, L. Willingale , et al. · 2017

The reflectivity of a short-pulse laser at intensities of 2 x 10²¹Wcm^-2 with ultra-high contrast (10^-15) on sub-micrometer silicon nitride foilswas studied experimentally using varying polarizations and tar…

Analysis of sinusoidally modulated chirped laser pulses by temporally encoded spectral shifting Open

Nicholas H. Matlis, A. Maksimchuk, V. Yanovsky, Wim Leemans, M. C. Downer · 2016

We present an analytical formalism elucidating how information is stored in chirped optical probes by describing the effects of sinusoidal temporal modulations on the electric field. We show that the modulations produce spectral sidebands …

Acceleration of high charge-state target ions in high-intensity laser interactions with sub-micron targets Open

C. McGuffey, A. Raymond, Thomas Batson, Rui Hua, G. M. Petrov , et al. · 2016

We have studied laser acceleration of ions from Si _3 N _4 and Al foils ranging in thickness from 1800 to 8 nm with particular interest in acceleration of ions from the bulk of the target. The study includes results of experiments conducte…

Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection in the Laboratory Open

A. Raymond, Chuanfei Dong, Andrew McKelvey, C. Zulick, N. Alexander , et al. · 2016

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process involving an exchange of magnetic energy to plasma kinetic energy through changes in the magnetic field topology. In many astrophysical plasmas magnetic reconnection plays a key role in…

High-Flux Femtosecond X-Ray Emission from Controlled Generation of Annular Electron Beams in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator Open

Tianzhuo Zhao, Keegan Behm, Chuanfei Dong, X. Davoine, S. Kalmykov , et al. · 2016

Annular quasimonoenergetic electron beams with a mean energy in the range 200-400 MeV and charge on the order of several picocoulombs were generated in a laser wakefield accelerator and subsequently accelerated using a plasma afterburner i…

Characterization of electrons and x-rays produced using chirped laser pulses in a laser wakefield accelerator Open

Tianzhuo Zhao, Keegan Behm, Z-H He, A. Maksimchuk, John Nees , et al. · 2016

The electron injection process into a plasma-based laser wakefield accelerator can be influenced by modifying the parameters of the driver pulse. We present an experimental study on the combined effect of the laser pulse duration, pulse sh…

Target surface area effects on hot electron dynamics from high intensity laser–plasma interactions Open

C. Zulick, A. Raymond, Andrew McKelvey, V. Chvykov, A. Maksimchuk , et al. · 2016

Reduced surface area targets were studied using an ultra-high intensity femtosecond laser in order to determine the effect of electron sheath field confinement on electron dynamics. X-ray emission due to energetic electrons was imaged usin…

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