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Articles 61 - 90 of 635

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Visualization Of Surface Acoustic Waves By Means Of Synchronous Amplitude Modulated Illumination, Bradley Duncan Nov 2015

Visualization Of Surface Acoustic Waves By Means Of Synchronous Amplitude Modulated Illumination, Bradley Duncan

Bradley D. Duncan

A simple technique for visualizing two-dimensional traveling surface acoustic wave (SAW) phenomena in real time was developed. The technique requires illumination of a SAW carrying substrate with a collimated, sinusoidally amplitude-modulated laser beam. Though at first the technique may appear to be stroboscopic in nature, it in fact has its foundations in spatiotemporal correlation theory. It is shown that if the modulation frequency of the illumination beam is equal to, or an integer fraction of, the SAW frequency (i.e., if they are temporally correlated) then, after simple spatial filtering, high-visibility stationary fringes can be produced. In fact, it is shown …

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A Technique For Removing Platform Vibration Noise From A Pulsed Ladar Vibration Sensor, Troy Sturm, R. Richmond, Bradley Duncan Nov 2015

A Technique For Removing Platform Vibration Noise From A Pulsed Ladar Vibration Sensor, Troy Sturm, R. Richmond, Bradley Duncan

Bradley D. Duncan

A technique has been developed for removing platform-induced vibration noise from a pulsed ladar vibration sensor. Deriving the vibrational characteristics of the platform is accomplished by simulating ambient atmospheric aerosols as a stationary reference target. Using a pulsed coherent detection ladar, the instantaneous Doppler frequency shifts from both aerosols and a distant hard target are measured and recorded, while the data acquisition is range gated so that both Doppler measurements are made from a single pulse. Periodic measurements are then made to develop a time history of the fluctuations in the Doppler signals, after which two vibration spectra are derived …

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Real-Time Frequency-Translated Holographic Visualization Of Saw Interactions With Surface-Breaking Defects, James Blackshire, Shamachary Sathish, Bradley Duncan, Mike Millard Nov 2015

Real-Time Frequency-Translated Holographic Visualization Of Saw Interactions With Surface-Breaking Defects, James Blackshire, Shamachary Sathish, Bradley Duncan, Mike Millard

Bradley D. Duncan

A real-time, frequency-translated holographic imaging system has been developed by use of bacteriorhodopsin film. The system provides a capability for imaging surface acoustic waves and has been utilized to detect and characterize surface-breaking defects through near-field ultrasonic scattering effects. Frequency-plane filtering was used to discriminate between ultrasonic standing-wave and near-field scattering features, dramatically enhancing the holographic visualization of the defect sites. A detailed description of the system is presented, along with representative holographic images showing the interaction of surface acoustic waves with surface-breaking cracks and small notches in aluminum and titanium substrates.

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High-Speed Shack-Hartmann Wave-Front Sensor Design Utilizing Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Optics, Jeffrey Widiker, Scott Harris, Bradley Duncan Nov 2015

High-Speed Shack-Hartmann Wave-Front Sensor Design Utilizing Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Optics, Jeffrey Widiker, Scott Harris, Bradley Duncan

Bradley D. Duncan

Several trade-offs relevant to the design of a two-dimensional high-speed Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor are presented. Also outlined are some simple preliminary experiments that can be used to establish critical design specifications not already known. These specifications include angular uncertainty, maximum measurable wavefront tilt, and spatial resolution. A generic design procedure is then introduced to enable the adaptation of a limited selection of CCD cameras and lenslet arrays to the desired design specifications by use of commercial off-the-shelf optics. Although initially developed to aid in the design of high-speed (i.e., megahertz-frame-rate) Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensors, our method also works when used for …

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Real-Time Optical Holography Using A Spatial Light Modulator, Ting-Chung Poon, Bradley Duncan, Ming Hsien Wu, K. Shinoda, Y. Suzuki Nov 2015

Real-Time Optical Holography Using A Spatial Light Modulator, Ting-Chung Poon, Bradley Duncan, Ming Hsien Wu, K. Shinoda, Y. Suzuki

Bradley D. Duncan

Paper proposes a real-time technique for recording and reconstructing optical holograms. Holographic recording is accomplished by scanning an object with two superposed light beams of different temporal frequencies. For reconstruction, the scanned information is transferred to an electron beam addressed spatial light modulator for coherent processing and optically read out to reconstruct an image of the scanned object.

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Direct Visualization Of Spruce Budworm Antifreeze Protein Interacting With Ice Crystals: Basal Plane Affinity Confers Hyperactivity, Natalya Pertaya, Christopher Marshall, Yeliz Celik, Peter Davies, Ido Braslavsky Nov 2015

Direct Visualization Of Spruce Budworm Antifreeze Protein Interacting With Ice Crystals: Basal Plane Affinity Confers Hyperactivity, Natalya Pertaya, Christopher Marshall, Yeliz Celik, Peter Davies, Ido Braslavsky

Yeliz Celik

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) protect certain organisms from freezing by adhering to ice crystals, thereby preventing their growth. All AFPs depress the nonequilibrium freezing temperature below the melting point; however AFPs from overwintering insects, such as the spruce budworm (sbw) are 10–100 times more effective than most fish AFPs. It has been proposed that the exceptional activity of these AFPs depends on their ability to prevent ice growth at the basal plane. To test the hypothesis that the hyperactivity of sbwAFP results from direct affinity to the basal plane, we fluorescently tagged sbwAFP and visualized it on the surface of ice …

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Magnetic-Field-Induced Alignment-To-Orientation Conversion In Sodium, G. Schinn, Xianming Han Oct 2015

Magnetic-Field-Induced Alignment-To-Orientation Conversion In Sodium, G. Schinn, Xianming Han

Xianming Han

We report a detailed investigation of excited-state alignment-to-orientation conversion in the presence of an external magnetic field. This counterintuitive phenomenon occurs under intermediate-coupling conditions. A weak, linearly polarized, cw laser beam was used to excite and align the Na 3P3/2 state in an atomic beam along the z direction. The degree of circular polarization of the resulting fluorescence was detected along the z direction as a function of magnetic-field strength. The spectrally integrated transitions originating from individual F levels of the 3S1/2 state yield a maximum circular-polarization fraction of ∼40%; integrating the circular polarization over all the allowed 3S1/2-3P3/2 transitions …

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Collision Induced Superfluorescence, A. Kumarakrishnan, Siddharaj Chudasama, Xianming Han Oct 2015

Collision Induced Superfluorescence, A. Kumarakrishnan, Siddharaj Chudasama, Xianming Han

Xianming Han

We have studied superfluorescence (SF) in Ca vapor evolving on the 3d4s3DJ-4s4p3PJ−1 transitions at 1.9 mm by exciting the 4s21S0-4s4p1P1 with a pulsed dye laser. SF is generated following population transfer by spinchanging collisions with an inert gas Ar from the 4s4p1P1 and 3d4s1D2 levels. We show for the first time to our knowledge that the time delay for SF evolution follows the 1/ÎN dependence expected for the case of uniform excitation of the vapor column by collisional transfer. Here, N is the number of participating atoms that was measured directly from the photon yield. The measured photon yield for …

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Diamond Growth Reactor Chemistry And Film Nucleation Enhancement Using Chlorinated Hydrocarbons, James Chenault, Charles Feigerle, Xianming Han, Robert Shaw Oct 2015

Diamond Growth Reactor Chemistry And Film Nucleation Enhancement Using Chlorinated Hydrocarbons, James Chenault, Charles Feigerle, Xianming Han, Robert Shaw

Xianming Han

The chemistry of diamond film growth from chlorinated hydrocarbons has been investigated using a hot filament reactor coupled to an orifice sampling mass spectrometer. The relative concentrations of the species present near the growth surface have been determined as a function of filament temperature for dilute mixtures of CH4, CH3Cl, CH2Cl2 and CHCl3 in H2. Mass spectral analysis indicated that chlorinated hydrocarbons are sequentially dechlorinated in the presence of hydrogen at moderate reactor temperatures. A dark film was deposited on all surfaces of the reactor during studies of this dechlorination of CHCl3. Raman analysis indicated that these deposits are small …

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Collisional Dynamics Of The First Excited States Of Neon In The 590-670 Nm Region Using Laser Optogalvanic Spectroscopy, Xianming Han, M. Su, C. Haridass, P. Misra Oct 2015

Collisional Dynamics Of The First Excited States Of Neon In The 590-670 Nm Region Using Laser Optogalvanic Spectroscopy, Xianming Han, M. Su, C. Haridass, P. Misra

Xianming Han

A mathematical rate equation model, incorporating the various processes contributing to the generation of optogalvanic signals in a discharge plasma, has been used to analyze the time-resolved waveforms of neon in the wavelength region 590–670 nm. Amplitudes, decay rates and the appropriate instrumental time constant have been determined using a non-linear least-squares fit of the observed time-resolved optogalvanic waveforms.

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Abrupt Change In Neon Discharge Plasma Detected Through Optogalvanic Effects, Xianming Han, Michael Blosser, Prabhakar Misra, Haridass Chandran Oct 2015

Abrupt Change In Neon Discharge Plasma Detected Through Optogalvanic Effects, Xianming Han, Michael Blosser, Prabhakar Misra, Haridass Chandran

Xianming Han

When a laser is tuned between two excited energy levels of a gas in a Direct Current discharge lamp, the discharge current will experience a temporary disturbance lasting tens or hundreds of microseconds known as the optogalvanic effect. We have carried out extensive studies of optogalvanic effects in neon discharge plasmas for transitions at 621.7 nm, 630.5 nm, 638.3 nm, 650.7 nm and 659.9 nm. A nonlinear least-squares Monte Carlo technique has been used to determine the relevant amplitude coefficients, decay rates and the instrumental time constant. We discovered an abrupt change in the neon discharge plasma at a discharge …

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Collisional Ionization Of Excited State Neon In A Gas Discharge Plasma, Xianming Han, Verl Wiseheart, Scott Conner, Meng-Chih Su, David Monts Oct 2015

Collisional Ionization Of Excited State Neon In A Gas Discharge Plasma, Xianming Han, Verl Wiseheart, Scott Conner, Meng-Chih Su, David Monts

Xianming Han

We report the first case where it is possible to clearly identify and quantitatively characterize the dominant physical processes contributing to production of the optogalvanic effect (OGE) signal in a discharge plasma. This work concentrates on the simplest case where only two states are involved in the optical transition. The theoretical model with only four parameters is in excellent agreement with the experimentally obtained time-resolved OGE waveforms. The collisional ionization rate in the upper state is twice as fast as that in the lower state although the two states are only separated by 1.94 eV. We conclude that the optogalvanic …

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Investigations Of Superfluorescent Cascades, A. Kumarakrishnan, Xianming Han Oct 2015

Investigations Of Superfluorescent Cascades, A. Kumarakrishnan, Xianming Han

Xianming Han

We report our studies of superfluorescent cascades in atomic calcium which result from two-photon excitation of several levels reasonably close to the ionization limit. We have observed significant conversion efficiencies for some of these transitions which result in subnanosecond pulses particularly in the visible wavelengths. We report the discovery of a novel two-photon scattering mechanism which could prove to be a useful method for determining collisional broadening rates. In addition, a hyper Raman transition near 17 μm is discovered which appears to be a promising candidate for a tunable source.

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Production And Diagnosis Of A Highly Spin-Polarized Na Beam, G. Schinn, Xianming Han, A. Gallagher Oct 2015

Production And Diagnosis Of A Highly Spin-Polarized Na Beam, G. Schinn, Xianming Han, A. Gallagher

Xianming Han

We describe optically pumping a beam of sodium atoms to >96% mS and >92% mS, mI state selection. (We have accurately measured the population of every mS, mI state in the optically pumped beam.) For the optical pumping both ground hyperfine states are pumped, using single-mode cw dye-laser radiation tuned to the 3S1/2–3P1/2 transition that is phase modulated in a LiTaO3 crystal to produce first-order sidebands at approximately the 1772-MHz hyperfine splitting of the ground state. The z-directed optical pumping is performed in a z-directed magnetic field of ~5 G. The state-selected atoms then move, in ~1 cm, into an …

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Microscopic Theory Of Network Glasses, Randall Hall, Peter Wolynes Oct 2015

Microscopic Theory Of Network Glasses, Randall Hall, Peter Wolynes

Randall W. Hall

A theory of the glass transition of network liquids is developed using self-consistent phonon and liquid state approaches. The dynamical transition and entropy crisis characteristic of random first-order transitions are mapped as a function of the degree of bonding and density. Using a scaling relation for a soft-core model to crudely translate the densities into temperatures, theory predicts that the ratio of the dynamical transition temperature to the laboratory transition temperature rises as the degree of bonding increases, while the Kauzmann temperature falls explaining why highly coordinated liquids are “strong” while van der Waals liquids without coordination are “fragile.”

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Transitions Of Tethered Chain Molecules Under Tension, Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann, Kurt Binder Sep 2015

Transitions Of Tethered Chain Molecules Under Tension, Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann, Kurt Binder

Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann

An applied tension force changes the equilibrium conformations of a polymer chain tethered to a planar substrate and thus affects the adsorption transition as well as the coil-globule and crystallization transitions. Conversely, solvent quality and surface attraction are reflected in equilibrium force-extension curves that can be measured in experiments. To investigate these effects theoretically, we study tethered chains under tension with Wang-Landau simulations of a bond-fluctuation lattice model. Applying our model to pulling experiments on biological molecules we obtain a good description of experimental data in the intermediate force range, where universal features dominate and finite size effects are small. …

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Partition Function Zeros And Finite Size Scaling For Polymer Adsorption, Mark Taylor, Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann Sep 2015

Partition Function Zeros And Finite Size Scaling For Polymer Adsorption, Mark Taylor, Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann

Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann

The zeros of the canonical partition functions for a flexible polymer chain tethered to an attractive flat surface are computed for chains up to length N = 1536. We use a bond-fluctuation model for the polymer and obtain the density of states for the tethered chain by Wang-Landau sampling. The partition function zeros in the complex e(β)-plane are symmetric about the real axis and densest in a boundary region that has the shape of a nearly closed circle, centered at the origin, terminated by two flaring tails. This structure defines a root-free zone about the positive real axis and follows …

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Fate Of Quasiparticles In The Superconducting State, Sasa Dordevic, D. Van Der Marel, C. C. Homes Sep 2015

Fate Of Quasiparticles In The Superconducting State, Sasa Dordevic, D. Van Der Marel, C. C. Homes

Sasa V. Dordevic

Quasiparticle properties in the superconducting state are masked by the superfluid and are not directly accessible to infrared spectroscopy. We show how one can use a Kramers-Kronig transformation to separate the quasiparticle from superfluid response and extract intrinsic quasiparticle properties in the superconducting state. We also address the issue of a narrow quasiparticle peak observed in microwave measurements, and demonstrate how it can be combined with infrared measurements to obtain a unified picture of electrodynamic properties of cuprate superconductors.

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Dielectric Behavior Of 95.5% Pb(Zn1/3nb2/3)O-3-4.5% Pbtio3 Single Crystals Under Dc Bias From 12-550 K, Ang Chen, Zhi Yu Sep 2015

Dielectric Behavior Of 95.5% Pb(Zn1/3nb2/3)O-3-4.5% Pbtio3 Single Crystals Under Dc Bias From 12-550 K, Ang Chen, Zhi Yu

Ang Chen

This work reports a detailed study of the dielectric behavior of 95.5% Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3 - 4.5% PbTiO3 (PZN-4.5PT) single crystals with and without dc bias. It is found that there are at least five sets of dielectric anomalies for PZN-4.5PT from 12K to 550K. There are two dielectric peaks, around 430K and 395K, which are referred to as cubic-tetragonal and tetragonal- rhombohedral phase transitions, respectively, above room temperature. Furthermore, a set of broad peaks around 350K (at 10kHz) that showed up under electric field of 10kV/cm might indicate the existence of a monoclinic distortion M-A phase.

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Detection And Counting Of Micro Scale Particles And Pollen Using A Multi-Aperture Coulter Counter, Ashish Jagtiani, Jiang Zhe, Jun Hu, Joan Carletta Aug 2015

Detection And Counting Of Micro Scale Particles And Pollen Using A Multi-Aperture Coulter Counter, Ashish Jagtiani, Jiang Zhe, Jun Hu, Joan Carletta

Joan Carletta

We demonstrate a high throughput, all-electronic Coulter-type sensor with four sensing microapertures to detect and count micro-scale particles. Four particle samples are utilized for this study: polymethacrylate particles 40 µm and 20 µm in diameter, Juniper Scopulorum (Rocky Mountain Juniper) pollen and Cottonwood pollen particles. The two types of pollen particles are roughly 20 µm in diameter. The particles are mixed with deionized water and forced to pass through the microapertures. Voltage pulses across all four apertures are recorded and analysed. Results demonstrate that the sensor can detect and count particles through its four sensing apertures simultaneously. Thus, the counting …

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Magnetism Of Zno Nanoparticles: Dependence On Crystallite Size And Surfactant Coating, Aaron Thurber, Geoffrey Beausoleil, Gordon Alanko, Joshua Anghel, Michael Jones, Lydia Johnson, Jianhui Zhang, Charles Hanna, Dmitri Tenne, Alex Punnoose Jul 2015

Magnetism Of Zno Nanoparticles: Dependence On Crystallite Size And Surfactant Coating, Aaron Thurber, Geoffrey Beausoleil, Gordon Alanko, Joshua Anghel, Michael Jones, Lydia Johnson, Jianhui Zhang, Charles Hanna, Dmitri Tenne, Alex Punnoose

Lydia Johnson

Many recent reports on magnetism in otherwise nonmagnetic oxides have demonstrated that nanoparticle size, surfactant coating, or doping with magnetic ions produces room-temperature ferromagnetism. Specifically, ZnO has been argued to be a room-temperature ferromagnet through all three of these methods in various experimental studies. For this reason, we have prepared a series of 1% Fe doped ZnO nanoparticle samples using a single forced hydrolysis co-precipitation synthesis method from the same precursors, while varying size (6 – 15 nm) and surface coating concentration to study the combined effects of these two parameters. Size was controlled by modifying the water concentration. Surfactant …

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Local Heating With Lithographically Fabricated Plasmonic Titanium Nitride Nanoparticles, Urcan Guler, Justus Ndukaife, Gururaj Naik, Agbai Nnanna, Alexander Kildishev, V. Shalaev, Alexandra Boltasseva Jul 2015

Local Heating With Lithographically Fabricated Plasmonic Titanium Nitride Nanoparticles, Urcan Guler, Justus Ndukaife, Gururaj Naik, Agbai Nnanna, Alexander Kildishev, V. Shalaev, Alexandra Boltasseva

U. Guler

Titanium nitride is considered a promising alternative plasmonic material and is known to exhibit localized surface plasmon resonances within the near-infrared biological transparency window. Here, local heating efficiencies of disk-shaped nanoparticles made of titanium nitride and gold are compared in the visible and near-infrared regions numerically and experimentally with samples fabricated using e-beam lithography. Results show that plasmonic titanium nitride nanodisks are efficient local heat sources and outperform gold nanodisks in the biological transparency window, dispensing the need for complex particle geometries.

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Photonuclear Physics: Laser Splits Atom, Donald Umstadter Jul 2015

Photonuclear Physics: Laser Splits Atom, Donald Umstadter

Donald P. Umstadter

Lasers have become ubiquitous, being used in everything from a bar-code reader to a compact disk player. Who would have thought that they might be used to split the atom? A few scientists proposed to do just that more that a decade ago. But accomplishing it in the laboratory had to await the maturity of new technology, which enabled the construction of the world's most powerful lasers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States and at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom. Now two independent research teams have used these lasers to split the uranium …

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High-Energy Ion Generation By Short Laser Pulses, A. Maksimchuk, K. Flippo, H. Krause, G. Mourou, K. Nemoto, D. Schultz, Donald Umstadter, R. Vane, V. Yu. Bychenkov, G.I. Dudnikova, V.F. Kovalev, K. Mima, V.N. Novikov, Y. Sentoku, S.V. Tolokonnikov Jul 2015

High-Energy Ion Generation By Short Laser Pulses, A. Maksimchuk, K. Flippo, H. Krause, G. Mourou, K. Nemoto, D. Schultz, Donald Umstadter, R. Vane, V. Yu. Bychenkov, G.I. Dudnikova, V.F. Kovalev, K. Mima, V.N. Novikov, Y. Sentoku, S.V. Tolokonnikov

Donald P. Umstadter

This paper reviews the many recent advances at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS) at the University of Michigan in multi-MeV ion beam generation from the interaction of short laser pulses focused onto thin foil targets at intensities ranging from 1017 to 1019 W/cm2. Ion beam characteristics were studied by changing the laser intensity, laser wavelength, target material, and by depositing a well-absorbed coating. We manipulated the proton beam divergence using shaped targets and observed nuclear transformation induced by high-energy protons and deuterons. Qualitative theoretical approaches and fully relativistic two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations modeled energetic ion …

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Criss-Crossing Laser Beams Zoom Electrons Along, P. Zhang, N. Saleh, S. Chen, Z.M. Sheng, Donald Umstadter Jul 2015

Criss-Crossing Laser Beams Zoom Electrons Along, P. Zhang, N. Saleh, S. Chen, Z.M. Sheng, Donald Umstadter

Donald P. Umstadter

Crossing two high-intensity laser beams in a plasma (a collection of charged particles) can have some interesting effects. In a recent experiment performed by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Institute of Physics in China, energy from a higher-power laser pulse was transferred to a lower-power laser pulse. The lower-power pulse had been accelerating electrons with its "wakefield" (like a wave accelerating a surfer). The extra energy to this lower-power pulse enhanced the electron acceleration and decreased the divergence of the electron beam. These features are desirable for proposed "laser particle accelerators" that would be powered by relatively …

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Laser-Energy Transfer And Enhancement Of Plasma Waves And Electron Beams By Interfering High-Intensity Laser Pulses, P. Zhang, N. Saleh, S. Chen, Z.M. Sheng, Donald Umstadter Jul 2015

Laser-Energy Transfer And Enhancement Of Plasma Waves And Electron Beams By Interfering High-Intensity Laser Pulses, P. Zhang, N. Saleh, S. Chen, Z.M. Sheng, Donald Umstadter

Donald P. Umstadter

The effects of interference due to crossed laser beams were studied experimentally in the high-intensity regime. Two ultrashort (400 fs), high-intensity (4×1017 and 1.6×1018 W/cm2) and1µm wavelength laser pulses were crossed in a plasma of density 4×1019 cm3. Energy was observed to be transferred from the higher-power to the lower-power pulse, increasing the amplitude of the plasma wave propagating in the direction of the latter. This results in increased electron self-trapping and plasma-wave acceleration gradient, which led to an increased number of hot electrons (by 300%) and hot-electron temperature (by 70%) and a decreased electron-beam divergence angle (by 45%), as …

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Laser-Plasma Harmonics With High-Contrast Pulses And Designed Prepulses, R.S. Marjoribanks, L. Zhao, F.W. Budnik, G. Kulcsar, A. Vitcu, H. Higaki, R. Wagner, A. Maksimchuk, Donald Umstadter, S.P. Le Blanc, M.C. Downer Jul 2015

Laser-Plasma Harmonics With High-Contrast Pulses And Designed Prepulses, R.S. Marjoribanks, L. Zhao, F.W. Budnik, G. Kulcsar, A. Vitcu, H. Higaki, R. Wagner, A. Maksimchuk, Donald Umstadter, S.P. Le Blanc, M.C. Downer

Donald P. Umstadter

One aspect of the complexity of mid- and high-harmonic generation in highintensity laser-plasma interactions is that nonlinear hydrodynamics is virtually always folded together with the nonlinear optical conversion process. We have partly dissected this issue in picosecond and subpicosecond interactions with preformed plasma gradients, imaging and spectrally resolving low- and mid-order harmonics. We describe spatial breakup of the picosecond beam in preformed plasmas, concomitant broaden~ng and breakup of the harmonic spectrum. presumably through self-phase modulation, together with data on the sensitivity of harmonics production efficiency to the gradient or extent of prefomed plasma. Lastly. we show preliminary data of regular …

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Relativistic Laser–Plasma Interactions, Donald Umstadter Jul 2015

Relativistic Laser–Plasma Interactions, Donald Umstadter

Donald P. Umstadter

By focusing petawatt peak power laser light to intensities up to 1021 Wcm−2, highly relativistic plasmas can now be studied. The force exerted by light pulses with this extreme intensity has been used to accelerate beams of electrons and protons to energies of a million volts in distances of only microns. This acceleration gradient is a thousand times greater than in radio-frequency-based accelerators. Such novel compact laser-based radiation sources have been demonstrated to have parameters that are useful for research in medicine, physics and engineering. They might also someday be used to ignite controlled thermonuclear fusion. Ultrashort …

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Nonlinear Plasma Waves Resonantly Driven By Optimized Laser Pulse Trains, Donald Umstadter, E. Esarey, J. Kim Jul 2015

Nonlinear Plasma Waves Resonantly Driven By Optimized Laser Pulse Trains, Donald Umstadter, E. Esarey, J. Kim

Donald P. Umstadter

A method for generating large-amplitude plasma waves, which utilizes an optimized train of independently adjustable, intense laser pulses, is discussed and analyzed. Both the pulse widths and interpulse spacings are optimally determined such that resonance is maintained and the plasma wave amplitude is maximized. By mitigating the effects of both phase and resonant detuning, and by reducing laser-plasma instabilities, the use of appropriately tailored multiple laser pulses is a highly advantageous technique for accelerating electrons. Practical methods of producing the required pulse trains are suggested.

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Submillimeter-Resolution Radiography Of Shielded Structures With Laser-Accelerated Electron Beams, Viswanathan Ramanathan, Sudeep Banerjee, Nathan Powers, Nathaniel Cunningham, Nathan A. Chandler-Smith, Kun Zhao, Kevin Brown, Donald Umstadter, Shaun Clarke, Sara Pozzi, James Beene, Randy Vane, David Schultz Jul 2015

Submillimeter-Resolution Radiography Of Shielded Structures With Laser-Accelerated Electron Beams, Viswanathan Ramanathan, Sudeep Banerjee, Nathan Powers, Nathaniel Cunningham, Nathan A. Chandler-Smith, Kun Zhao, Kevin Brown, Donald Umstadter, Shaun Clarke, Sara Pozzi, James Beene, Randy Vane, David Schultz

Donald P. Umstadter

We investigate the use of energetic electron beams for high-resolution radiography of flaws embedded in thick solid objects. A bright, monoenergetic electron beam (with energy >100 MeV) was generated by the process of laser-wakefield acceleration through the interaction of 50-TW, 30-fs laser pulses with a supersonic helium jet. The high energy, low divergence, and small source size of these beams make them ideal for high-resolution radiographic studies of cracks or voids embedded in dense materials that are placed at a large distance from the source. We report radiographic imaging of steel with submillimeter resolution.

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