Intense attoscience: A new frontier in ultrafast research - Relativistic plasmas and high harmonic generation
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Mathematics and Physics
Abstract
Probing ultrashort processes allows researchers to understand the dynamics of the microcosm. To investigate processes that occur on the fastest timescales, probes on the duration of attoseconds are required. Coherent laser-driven X-rays from gaseous media has fuelled the nascent field of attosecond research to date. However, these sources are limited in the photon energy and flux that can readily be achieved. With the advent of few laser cycle Terawatt/Petawatt (10^12-10^15W) systems however, a new age in ultrafast/atto-science is dawning, based on coherent X-rays generated from relativistically oscillating mirrors (ROM), which are created when an ultra-intense pulse is focused onto a solid target. The coherent X-rays that are generated from ROM have/are predicted to have excellent properties when compared with those generated in gases: high efficiency, shortest pulses and excellent focusability. In addition they are ideally suited to exploit lasers with high pulse energies - resulting in an XUV photon flux per pulse that is many orders of magnitude higher than to date. The principle aim of this proposal is to coherently harness the relativistic plasma medium and the demonstrate first applications of the resulting ultra-intense XUV pulses. Such advances will permit researchers access to a source that can combine the high photon flux available at large accelerator based XUV/X-ray sources with the attosecond duration of laser based XUV sources, opening completely new avenues of research.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Brendan Hugh Dromey (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bellei C
(2010)
Micron-scale fast electron filaments and recirculation determined from rear-side optical emission in high-intensity laser-solid interactions
in New Journal of Physics
Bierbach J
(2012)
Generation of 10 µ W relativistic surface high-harmonic radiation at a repetition rate of 10 Hz
in New Journal of Physics
Cousens S
(2016)
Temporal Structure of Attosecond Pulses from Laser-Driven Coherent Synchrotron Emission.
in Physical review letters
Dromey B
(2013)
Coherent synchrotron emission in transmission from ultrathin relativistic laser plasmas
in New Journal of Physics
Dromey B
(2016)
Strong coupling of light goes nuclear
in Nature Photonics
Dromey B
(2012)
Coherent synchrotron emission from electron nanobunches formed in relativistic laser-plasma interactions
in Nature Physics
Dromey B
(2016)
Picosecond metrology of laser-driven proton bursts.
in Nature communications
Dzelzainis T
(2010)
The TARANIS laser: A multi-Terawatt system for laser-plasma investigations
in Laser and Particle Beams
Esirkepov T
(2012)
High-order harmonics from bow wave caustics driven by a high-intensity laser
Green J
(2010)
Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation
in New Journal of Physics
Hahn T
(2014)
Broadband XUV polarimetry of high harmonics from plasma surfaces using multiple Fresnel reflections
in Applied Physics B
Hörlein R
(2010)
Temporal characterization of attosecond pulses emitted from solid-density plasmas
in New Journal of Physics
Hörlein R
(2009)
Controlling the divergence of high harmonics from solid targets: a route toward coherent harmonic focusing
in The European Physical Journal D
Jung D
(2013)
Beam profiles of proton and carbon ions in the relativistic transparency regime
in New Journal of Physics
Jung D
(2013)
Laser-driven 1 GeV carbon ions from preheated diamond targets in the break-out afterburner regime
in Physics of Plasmas
Jung D
(2013)
Efficient carbon ion beam generation from laser-driven volume acceleration
in New Journal of Physics
Kahaly S
(2013)
Direct observation of density-gradient effects in harmonic generation from plasma mirrors.
in Physical review letters
Kettle B
(2016)
Experimental measurements of the collisional absorption of XUV radiation in warm dense aluminium.
in Physical review. E
Kiefer D
(2013)
Relativistic electron mirrors from nanoscale foils for coherent frequency upshift to the extreme ultraviolet.
in Nature communications
Lewis C
(2012)
The TARANIS laser : A multi-terawatt system for laser plasma physics
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Ma WJ
(2014)
Bright subcycle extreme ultraviolet bursts from a single dense relativistic electron sheet.
in Physical review letters
Makita M
(2014)
Fast electron propagation in Ti foils irradiated with sub-picosecond laser pulses at I?2>1018 Wcm-2µm2
in Physics of Plasmas
McKeever K
(2015)
Fast-electron refluxing effects on anisotropic hard-x-ray emission from intense laser-plasma interactions.
in Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics
Palaniyappan S
(2012)
Dynamics of relativistic transparency and optical shuttering in expanding overdense plasmas
in Nature Physics
Pirozhkov A
(2012)
Relativistic high harmonic generation in gas jet targets
Pirozhkov AS
(2012)
Soft-x-ray harmonic comb from relativistic electron spikes.
in Physical review letters
Qiao B
(2011)
Conditions for efficient and stable ion acceleration by moderate circularly polarized laser pulses at intensities of 1020 W/cm2
in Physics of Plasmas
Qiao B
(2010)
Radiation-pressure acceleration of ion beams from nanofoil targets: the leaky light-sail regime.
in Physical review letters
Rykovanov S
(2011)
Plasma surface dynamics and smoothing in the relativistic few-cycle regime
in New Journal of Physics
Rödel C
(2012)
Harmonic generation from relativistic plasma surfaces in ultrasteep plasma density gradients.
in Physical review letters
Sarri G
(2013)
Table-top laser-based source of femtosecond, collimated, ultrarelativistic positron beams.
in Physical review letters
Sarri G
(2013)
Laser-driven generation of collimated ultra-relativistic positron beams
in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
Schumaker W
(2014)
Measurements of high-energy radiation generation from laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams
in Physics of Plasmas
Streeter M
(2011)
Relativistic plasma surfaces as an efficient second harmonic generator
in New Journal of Physics
Tanikawa T
(2016)
First observation of SASE radiation using the compact wide-spectral-range XUV spectrometer at FLASH2
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Yeung M
(2013)
Near-monochromatic high-harmonic radiation from relativistic laser-plasma interactions with blazed grating surfaces
in New Journal of Physics
Yeung M
(2016)
Experimental observation of attosecond control over relativistic electron bunches with two-colour fields
in Nature Photonics
Yeung M
(2014)
Dependence of laser-driven coherent synchrotron emission efficiency on pulse ellipticity and implications for polarization gating.
in Physical review letters
Yeung M
(2013)
Beaming of high-order harmonics generated from laser-plasma interactions.
in Physical review letters
Yeung M
(2015)
Noncollinear Polarization Gating of Attosecond Pulse Trains in the Relativistic Regime.
in Physical review letters
| Description | We have used our findings to increase our understanding relativistic laser plasma interactions and attosecond science. This is leading the development of next generation ultrafast sources for use in biomedical imaging and materials science. Ultrafast X-ray sources: The use of relativistic laser plasmas as a medium to support the generation of intense attosecond pulses forms a key part of our strategy to produce ultra intense laser plasma interactions. We have worked in several new regimes developing Coherent synchrotron emission and using relativistic laser produced electron bunches to upshift fundamental frequency laser pulses coherently into the extreme ultraviolet region of the spectrum. These results shed new light on the relativistic laser plasma interaction in general and indicate a clear path towards realising our goal to produce high energy density interactions on timescales of the atomic response. Ultimately these findings are driving new approaches to treatments of cancer through enhanced dose delivery and improved biomedical imaging techniques. This impact is being realised by reducing the size and cost of devices used to produce the radiation required for these treatments and studies. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Education,Electronics,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | Air Force Basic Technology grant |
| Amount | $150,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | United States Air Force |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 12/2013 |
| End | 12/2017 |
| Description | CEA Saclay collaboration |
| Organisation | Saclay Nuclear Research Centre |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | WE performed and designed experiments on both the Gemini laser system at RAL and the ultrafast laser system at CEA Saclay |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provide staff and expertise for experiments and dedicated access to a world class laser facility |
| Impact | 3 papers ( 1 PRL, 1 Nature Communications, I New Journal of Phyiscs) Invitations to further experiments |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | Collaboration with Los Alamos |
| Organisation | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Development of relativistic laser plasma knowledge and control |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to world class laser facilities |
| Impact | 4 publications, two in Nature physics |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | Helmholtz institute Jena |
| Organisation | Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | WE attended and designed new experiments on the Jeti laser in Jena |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to world class laser facilities, plasma mirror setup and cutting edge diagnostic suite |
| Impact | > 6 published articles (PRL, 3 invited talks at international conferences |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | Lund collabortation |
| Organisation | Lund University |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Performed experiments and led the Scientific case on the Phelix laser at GSI Darmstadt |
| Collaborator Contribution | PhD and Postdoc support on experiments |
| Impact | Currently 5 publications in preparation 2 publications accepted for publictaion |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Partnership with Class 5 lasers DESY hamburg |
| Organisation | Deutsches Electronen-Synchrotron (DESY) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have aided in developing novel x-ray sources for deployment at free electron lasers |
| Collaborator Contribution | They have provided access to expertise and engineering |
| Impact | 3 publications accepted, two publications pending |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Crete summer school |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Creating awareness to international PhD students about on going work in relativistic laser plasmas and attosecond sources Experiments planned, international networking, invited talks |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | Cross border schools initiative |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | School students interest in scientific discussions Students planning to visit lab, cross border initiative |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | Incredible power of light roadshow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We hosted and provided full time staffing for the Incredible power of light roadshow from the STFC in the Ulster Museum during February and March 2015. Our active participation in this public out reach event saw over 10,000 members of the public and over 1000 pupils from regional (Northern Ireland) schools. We demonstrated the exhibits and informed attendees about how to pursue careers in science, technology engineering and mathematics with particular emphasis on laser and light based technologies. Since this was the first year it was difficult to directly measure impact. However our success saw my group invited to return to present the exhibits again the following year (2016). Also the impact on regional schools was tangible with over 10 requests from individual school groups to provide year round displays in public forums with dedicated exhibitors such as those provided by my group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Laser lab meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Talk lead to discussion about future directions for Laser-lab Europe Invitations to perform experiments |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | Late Lab |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Northern Ireland Science festival we have presented live demonstrations at the Late Lab showcase event of how light can be used to change our world to members of the public. On both occasions over 1000 members of the public attended our stands and interacted with our demonstrators in a 1 -1 basis in an very different setting to what is normal of a scientific setting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFN3JCAgj58 |
| Description | UCD Japan Ireland Initiative |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Generate new collaborative links in Japan, investigate novel funding streams New collaborations forged, invitations to international labs for experiments |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |