High deuteron and neutron yields from the interaction of a petawatt laser with a cryogenic deuterium jet
Abstract
A compact high-flux, short-pulse neutron source would have applications from nuclear astrophysics to cancer therapy. Laser-driven neutron sources can achieve fluxes much higher than spallation and reactor neutron sources by reducing the volume and time in which the neutron-producing reactions occur by orders of magnitude. We report progress towards an efficient laser-driven neutron source in experiments with a cryogenic deuterium jet on the Texas Petawatt laser. Neutrons were produced both by laser-accelerated multi-MeV deuterons colliding with Be and mixed metallic catchers and by d (d,n)3He fusion reactions within the jet. We observed deuteron yields of 1013/shot in quasi-Maxwellian distributions carrying ∼8−10% of the input laser energy. We obtained neutron yields greater than 1010/shot and found indications of a deuteron-deuteron fusion neutron source with high peak flux (>1022 cm−2 s−1). The estimated fusion neutron yield in our experiment is one order of magnitude higher than any previous laser-induced dd fusion reaction. Though many technical challenges will have to be overcome to convert this proof-of-principle experiment into a consistent ultra-high flux neutron source, the neutron fluxes achieved here suggest laser-driven neutron sources can support laboratory study of the rapid neutron-capture process, which is otherwise thought to occur only in astrophysical sites such as core-collapse supernova, and binary neutron star mergers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 09, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.3389/fphy.2022.964696
Entities
People
- B. K. Ofori-okai
- B. M. Hegelich
- C. B. Curry
- C. Schoenwaelder
- D. D. Phan
- E. C. Galtier
- E. Mccary
- F. Fiuza
- F. Treffert
- G D Glenn
- G. M. Dyer
- G. Tiwari
- H-G J Chou
- J. B. Kim
- L. Labun
- M. Gauthier
- O. Z. Labun
- R. Roycroft
- S. H. Glenzer
- Xuanmao Jiao