Probing ultrafast heating and ionization dynamics in solid density plasmas with time-resolved resonant X-ray absorption and emission
Abstract
Abstract Heating and ionization are among the most fundamental processes in relativistic laser–solid interactions; however, their spatiotemporal evolution remains challenging to capture experimentally. Here we present detailed diagnosis of high-intensity laser interactions with wire targets, leveraging the extreme spectral brightness of an X-ray free-electron laser in sub-picosecond time-resolved resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy and absorption imaging. Experimental results are compared with comprehensive simulations using atomic collisional-radiative models, particle-in-cell, and magnetohydrodynamics codes to elucidate the underlying physics. These multi-scale simulations reveal extreme sensitivity of basic plasma parameters with widely used models, such as temperature and ionization depth, which are able to be constrained by incorporating a detailed accounting of laser spatial profiles, pre-plasma conditions, and collisional processes. These results provide new insights into heating and ionization dynamics in the high-energy-density regime relevant to inertial fusion energy research, both as an experimental platform for accessing theoretically challenging conditions and as a benchmark for improving models of high-power laser–plasma interactions.
Article Details
Authors (37)
Lingen Huang
Mikhail Mishchenko
Michal Šmíd
Oliver S. Humphries
Thomas R. Preston
Xiayun Pan
Long Yang
Johannes Hagemann
Thea Engler
Yangzhe Cui
Thomas Kluge
Carsten Baehtz
Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
Erik Brambrink
Alejandro Laso Garcia
Sebastian Göde
Christian Gutt
Department Physik, Universität Siegen
Mohamed Hassan
Hauke Höppner
Michaela Kozlova
Josefine Metzkes-Ng
Masruri Masruri
Motoaki Nakatsutsumi
Masato Ota
Özgül Öztürk
Alexander Pelka
Irene Prencipe
Lisa Randolph
Martin Rehwald
Hans-Peter Schlenvoigt
Ulrich Schramm
Jan-Patrick Schwinkendorf
Monika Toncian
Toma Toncian
Jan Vorberger
Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) 1 , D-01328 Dresden,
Karl Zeil
Ulf Zastrau
Thomas E. Cowan