2025/08/08 by Prokopis Hadjisolomou, Hadjisolomou, Prokopis, Rashid Shaisultanon +7
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Laser Design and Applications #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum Mechanics and Applications
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2508.06045
The interaction of an ultraintense Nd:glass laser pulse with a near-critical plasma self-organizes into a highly efficient γ-ray source. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that relativistic self-focusing, aided by a self-generated electron cavity, enhances the laser intensity by more than an order of magnitude, driving the system into the radiation-reaction-dominated regime, i.e. one where the electrons lose a substantial amount of their energy as hard radiation. Peak photon emission occurs near 0.5 times the relativistic critical density, with a γ-photon yield exceeding 20% of the laser energy. Compared to Ti:Sa lasers of the same power, the longer duration of Nd:glass laser pulses leads to an order of magnitude increase in γ-photon number in the extreme conversion efficiency regime, making them particularly well-suited for photonuclear physics applications. These findings point to a robust and scalable mechanism for compact, ultra-bright γ-ray generation in the multi-petawatt regime.