Prof Peter Norreys FInstP;: Publications

Whole-beam self-focusing in fusion-relevant plasma

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences Royal Society 379:2189 (2020) 20200159

Authors:

Benjamin Spiers, Matthew Hill, Colin Brown, Luke Ceurvorst, Naren Ratan, Alexander Savin, P Allan, Emma Floyd, J Fyrth, L Hobbs, S James, J Luis, M Ramsay, Nathan Sircombe, J Skidmore, Ramy Aboushelbaya, Marko Mayr, Robert Paddock, Rhw Wang, Peter Norreys

Abstract:

Fast ignition inertial confinement fusion requires the production of a low-density channel in plasma with density scale-lengths of several hundred microns. The channel assists in the propagation of an ultra-intense laser pulse used to generate fast electrons which form a hot spot on the side of pre-compressed fusion fuel. We present a systematic characterisation of an expanding laser-produced plasma using optical interferometry, benchmarked against three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Magnetic fields associated with channel formation are probed using proton radiography, and compared to magnetic field structures generated in fullscale particle-in-cell simulations. We present observations of long lived, straight channels produced by the Habara-Kodama-Tanaka (HKT) wholebeam self-focusing mechanism, overcoming a critical barrier on the path to realising fast ignition.

First demonstration of ARC-accelerated proton beams at the National Ignition Facility (vol 26, 043110, 2019)

PHYSICS OF PLASMAS 27:12 (2020) ARTN 129901

Authors:

D Mariscal, T Ma, Sc Wilks, Aj Kemp, Gj Williams, P Michel, H Chen, Pk Patel, Ba Remington, M Bowers, L Pelz, Mr Hermann, W Hsing, D Martinez, R Sigurdsson, M Prantil, A Conder, J Lawson, M Hamamoto, P Di Nicola, C Widmayer, D Hoemoelle, R Lowe-Webb, S Herriot, W Williams

Abstract:

© 2020 Author(s). In the original paper,1 two coauthors, M. Gatu Johnson and B. Lahmann, were erroneously omitted from the author list. The corrected author list is identical to that of this erratum, and repeated below for clarity.

Collisionless shock acceleration in the corona of an inertial confinement fusion pellet with possible application to ion fast ignition

(2020)

Authors:

E Boella, R Bingham, RA Cairns, P Norreys, R Trines, R Scott, M Vranic, N Shukla, LO Silva

Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy: an introduction to the first special edition

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences The Royal Society 378 (2020) 20200006

Authors:

Peter Norreys, Kate Lancaster, Christopher Ridgers, Mark Koepke, George Tynan

Nonlinear wakefields and electron injection in cluster plasma

Physical Review Accelerators and Beams American Physical Society 23 (2020) 093501

Authors:

Marko Mayr, Benjamin Spiers, Ramy Aboushelbaya, Robert Paddock, James Sadler, Charles Sillett, Robin Wang, Karl Krushelnick, Peter Norreys

Abstract:

Laser and beam driven wakefields promise orders of magnitude increases in electric field gradients for particle accelerators for future applications. Key areas to explore include the emittance properties of the generated beams and overcoming the dephasing limit in the plasma. In this paper, the first in-depth study of the self-injection mechanism into wakefield structures from nonhomogeneous cluster plasmas is provided using high-resolution two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The clusters which are typical structures caused by ejection of gases from a high-pressure gas jet have a diameter much smaller than the laser wavelength. Conclusive evidence is provided for the underlying mechanism that leads to particle trapping, comparing uniform and cluster plasma cases. The accelerated electron beam properties are found to be tunable by changing the cluster parameters. The mechanism explains enhanced beam charge paired with large transverse momentum and energy which has implications for the betatron x-ray flux. Finally, the impact of clusters on the high-power laser propagation behavior is discussed.

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