1-D Eulerian Vlasov-Maxwell simulations are presented which show kinetic enhancement of stimulated Raman backscatter (SRBS) due to electron trapping in regimes of heavy linear Landau damping. The conventional Raman Langmuir wave is transformed into a set of beam acoustic modes [L. Yin et al., Phys. Rev. E 73, 025401 (2006)]. For the first time, a low phase velocity electron acoustic wave (EAW) is seen developing from the self-consistent Raman physics. Backscatter of the pump laser off the EAW fluctuations is reported and referred to as electron acoustic Thomson scatter. This light is similar in wavelength to, although much lower in amplitude than, the reflected light between the pump and SRBS wavelengths observed in single hot spot experiments, and previously interpreted as stimulated electron acoustic scatter [D. S. Montgomery et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 155001 (2001)]. The EAW is strongest well below the phase-matched frequency for electron acoustic scatter, and therefore the EAW is not produced by it. The beating of different beam acoustic modes is proposed as the EAW excitation mechanism, and is called beam acoustic decay. Supporting evidence for this process, including bispectral analysis, is presented. The linear electrostatic modes, found by projecting the numerical distribution function onto a Gauss-Hermite basis, include beam acoustic modes (some of which are unstable even without parametric coupling to light waves) and a strongly-damped EAW similar to the observed one. This linear EAW results from non-Maxwellian features in the electron distribution, rather than nonlinearity due to electron trapping.
The Thomson scattering spectra by an electron moving in the laser-magnetic resonance acceleration regime are computed numerically and analytically. The dependence of fundamental frequency on the laser intensity and magnetic resonance parameter is examined carefully. By calculating the emission of a single electron in a circularly polarized plane-wave laser field and constant external magnetic field, the scale invariance of the radiation spectra is evident in terms of harmonic orders. The scaling law of backscattered spectra are exhibited remarkably for the laser intensity as well for the initi…
We show experimentally that XUV radiation is produced when a laser pulse is Thomson backscattered from sheets of relativistic electrons which are formed at the rear-surface of a foil irradiated on its front side by a high-intensity laser. An all-optical setup is realized using the Jena Titanium:Sapphire TW laser system (JETI). The main pulse is split into two pulses: one to accelerate electrons from thin aluminum foil targets to energies of the order of some MeV and the other, counterpropagating probe pulse is Thomson-backscattered off these electrons when they exit the target rear side. The p…
The generation of laser-driven dense relativistic electron layers from ultra-thin foils and their use for coherent Thomson backscattering is discussed, applying analytic theory and one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The blow-out regime is explored in which all foil electrons are separated from ions by direct laser action. The electrons follow the light wave close to its leading front. Single electron solutions are applied to initial acceleration, phase switching, and second-stage boosting. Coherently reflected light shows Doppler-shifted spectra, chirped over several octaves. The Dop…
The intra-beam repulsions play a significant role in determining the performances of free-electron devices when an high brilliance of the beam is required. The transversal and longitudinal spread of the beam, its energy and density are fundamental parameters in any beam experiment and different beam diagnostics are available to measure such parameters. A diagnostic method based on the Thomson backscattering of a laser beam impinging on the particle beam is proposed in this work for the study of nanosecond electron bunches in high space charge regime. This diagnostics, aimed to the measurement …
A proposal for a novel source of isolated attosecond XUV -- soft X-ray pulses with a well controlled carrier-envelope phase difference (CEP) is presented in the framework of nonlinear Thomson-backscattering. Based on the analytic solution of the Newton-Lorentz equations, the motion of a relativistic electron is calculated explicitly, for head-on collision with an intense fs laser pulse. By using the received formulae, the collective spectrum and the corresponding temporal shape of the radiation emitted by a mono-energetic electron bunch can be easily computed. For certain suitable and realisti…
A new parameter regime of laser wakefield acceleration driven by sub-petawatt femotsecond lasers is proposed, which enables the generation of relativistic electron mirrors further accelerated by the plasma wave. Integrated particle-in-cell simulation including the mirror formation and Thomson scattering demonstrates that efficient coherent backscattering up to keV photon energy can be obtained with moderate driver laser intensities and high density gas targets.
A number of theoretical calculations have studied the effect of radiation reaction forces on radiation distributions in strong field counter-propagating electron beam-laser interactions, but could these effects - including quantum corrections - be observed in interactions with realistic bunches and focusing fields, as is hoped in a number of soon to be proposed experiments? We present numerical calculations of the angularly resolved radiation spectrum from an electron bunch with parameters similar to those produced in laser wakefield acceleration experiments, interacting with an intense, ultra…
A self-consistent kinetic theory of Thomson scattering of an electromagnetic field by a non-uniform plasma is derived. We draw the readers' attention to the inconsistency in recent results on the Thomson scattering in inhomogeneous plasma, which leads to violation of the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem. We show that not only the imaginary part, but also the derivatives of the real part of the dielectric susceptibility determine the amplitude and the width of the Thomson scattering spectral lines. As a result of inhomogeneity, these properties become asymmetric with respect to inversion of the …
In this short communication, we draw the readers' attention to the inconsistency in the derivation of the Thomson scattering spectrum in inhomogeneous plasma, which leads to violation of the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem and a substantial deviation from the results of the rigorous kinetic theory. Moreover, the self-consistent kinetic theory predicts the asymmetry of the spectral lines in inhomogeneous plasma.
One factor determining the reliability of measurements of electron temperature using a Thomson scattering (TS) system is transmittance of the optical bandpass filters in polychromators. We investigate the system performance as a function of electron temperature to determine reliable range of measurements for a given set of the optical bandpass filters. We show that such a reliability, i.e., both bias and random errors, can be obtained by building a forward model of the KSTAR TS system to generate synthetic TS data with the prescribed electron temperature and density profiles. The prescribed pr…
The average-atom model is applied to study Thomson scattering of x-rays from warm-dense matter with emphasis on scattering by bound electrons. Parameters needed to evaluate the dynamic structure function (chemical potential, average ionic charge, free electron density, bound and continuum wave-functions and occupation numbers) are obtained from the average-atom model. The resulting analysis provides a relatively simple diagnostic for use in connection with x-ray scattering measurements. Applications are given to dense hydrogen, beryllium, aluminum and titanium plasmas. In the case of titanium,…
Thomson scattering in non-ideal (collision-dominated) two-component plasmas is calculated accounting for electron-ion collisions as well as electron-electron correlations. This is achieved by using a novel interpolation scheme for the electron-electron response function generalizing the traditional Mermin approach. Also, ions are treated as randomly distributed inert scattering centers. The collision frequency is taken as a dynamic and complex quantity and is calculated from a microscopic quantum-statistical approach. Implications due to different approximations for the electron-electron corre…
In nonlinear Thomson scattering, a relativistic electron reflects and re-radiates the photons of a laser pulse, converting optical light to x rays or beyond. While this extreme frequency conversion offers a promising source for probing high-energy-density materials and driving uncharted regimes of nonlinear quantum electrodynamics, conventional nonlinear Thomson scattering has inherent tradeoffs in its scaling with laser intensity. Here we discover that the ponderomotive control afforded by spatiotemporal pulse shaping enables novel regimes of nonlinear Thomson scattering that substantially en…
This work proposes a novel method of Thomson microwave scattering for electron number density measurements of miniature plasmas at pressures < 10 Torr. This method is applied to determine electron number density in a positive column of glow discharge initiated at 5 Torr in air with a plasma column diameter of 3.4 mm. The Thomson Microwave Scattering(TMS) system measured the electron number density to be 3.36*10^10 cm^-3. The result obtained using the TMS system was validated against the measurements made using the well-known technique of microwave quarter-wave hairpin resonator. Measurements w…
For the last decade numerous researchers have been trying to develop experimental techniques to use X-ray Thomson scattering as a method to measure the temperature, electron density, and ionization state of high energy density plasmas such as those used in inertial confinement fusion. With the advent of the X-ray free electron laser (X-FEL) at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) we now have such a source available in the keV regime. One challenge with X-ray Thomson scattering experiments is understanding how to model the scattering for partially ionized plasmas. Most Thomson scattering…
X-ray Thomson scattering is being developed as a method to measure the temperature, electron density, and ionization state of high energy density plasmas such as those used in inertial confinement fusion. Most experiments are currently done at large laser facilities that can create bright X-ray sources, however the advent of the X-ray free electron laser (X-FEL) provides a new bright source to use in these experiments. One challenge with X-ray Thomson scattering experiments is understanding how to model the scattering for partially ionized plasmas in order to include the contributions of the b…
We propose a collective Thomson scattering experiment at the VUV free electron laser facility at DESY (FLASH) which aims to diagnose warm dense matter at near-solid density. The plasma region of interest marks the transition from an ideal plasma to a correlated and degenerate many-particle system and is of current interest, e.g. in ICF experiments or laboratory astrophysics. Plasma diagnostic of such plasmas is a longstanding issue. The collective electron plasma mode (plasmon) is revealed in a pump-probe scattering experiment using the high-brilliant radiation to probe the plasma. The distinc…
A recent and unexpected discrepancy between \textit{ab initio} simulations and the interpretation of a laser shock experiment on aluminum, probed by X-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS), is addressed. The ion-ion structure factor deduced from the XRTS elastic peak (ion feature) is only compatible with a strongly coupled out-of-equilibrium state. Orbital free molecular dynamics simulations with ions colder than the electrons are employed to interpret the experiment. The relevance of decoupled temperatures for ions and electrons is discussed. The possibility that it mimics a transient, or metastable,…
The total number of electrons in a classical microplasma can be non-intrusively measured through elastic in-phase coherent microwave scattering (CMS). Here, we establish a theoretical basis for the CMS diagnostic technique with an emphasis on Thomson and collisional scattering in short, thin unmagnetized plasma media. Experimental validation of the diagnostic is subsequently performed via linearly polarized, variable frequency microwave scattering off laser induced air-based microplasmas with diverse ionization and collisional features. Namely, conducted studies include a verification of short…
We calculate the Thomson scattering cross section in a non-relativistic, magnetized, high density plasma -- in a regime where collective excitations can be described by magnetohydrodynamics. We show that, in addition to cyclotron resonances and an elastic peak, the cross section exhibits two pairs of peaks associated with slow and fast magnetosonic waves; by contrast, the cross section arising in pure hydrodynamics possesses just a single pair of Brillouin peaks. Both the position and the width of these magnetosonic-wave peaks depend on the ambient magnetic field and temperature, as well as tr…
X-ray Thomson scattering is being developed as a method to measure the temperature, electron density, and ionization state of high energy density plasmas such as those used in inertial confinement fusion. X-ray laser sources have always been of interest because of the need to have a bright monochromatic x-ray source to overcome plasma emission and eliminate other lines in the background that complicate the analysis. With the advent of the xray free electron laser (X-FEL) at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and other facilities coming online worldwide, we now have such a source avail…
We present experimental measurements of a pulsed plasma gun, using two-colour imaging laser interferometry and spatially resolved Thomson scattering. Interferometry measurements give an electron density $n_e\approx2.7\times10^{17}$ cm$^{-3}$ at the centre of the plasma plume, at 5 mm from the plasma gun nozzle. The Thomson scattered light is collected from two probing angles allowed us to simultaneously measure the collective and non-collective spectrum of the electron feature from the same spatial locations. The inferred electron densities from the location of the electron plasma waves is in …
With the Thomson scattering (TS) system in KSTAR, temporal evolution of electron temperature ($T_e$) is estimated using a weighted look-up table method with fast sampling ($1.25$ or $2.5$ GS/s) digitizers during the 2014 KSTAR campaign. Background noise level is used as a weighting parameter without considering the photon noise due to the absence of information on absolute photon counts detected by the TS system. Estimated electron temperature during a relatively quiescent discharge are scattered, i.e., $15$\% variation on $T_e$ with respect to its mean value. We find that this $15$\% variatio…
Conceptual design of Thomson scattering system with high wavelength resolution in magnetically confined plasmas for electron phase-space measurements
National Institute for Fusion Science（国立研究开发法人核融合科学研究所）；Division of Quantum Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University（北海道大学工学研究科量子科学与工程专攻）；The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)（综合研究大学院大学）；Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University（名古屋大学理学研究科）
We consider the Thomson scattering of an electron in an ultra-intense chirped laser pulse. It is found that the introduction of a negative chirp means the electron enters a high frequency region of the field while it still has a large proportion of its original energy. This results in a significant enhancement of the energy and intensity of the emitted radiation as compared to the case without chirping.
A Particle-in-Cell Simulation Framework for Thomson Scattering Analysis in Inertial Confinement Fusion
University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）；Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学）；Hunan University（湖南大学）；China Academy of Engineering Physics（中国工程物理研究院）
Many astrophysical environments such as X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, and accretion disks of compact objects have photoionized plasmas. The strong photoionizing environment found near these bright X-ray sources can be produced in a scaled laboratory experiment, and direct measurements can form a testbed for spectroscopic models and photoionization codes used in analysis of these astrophysical objects. Such scaled experiments are currently being conducted using Ne filled gas cells on the Z-facility as part of the Z Astrophysical Plasma Properties (ZAPP) collaboration. The plasma is di…
The spectrum of relativistic electron bunches with large energy dispersion is hardly obtainable with conventional magnetic spectrometers. We present a novel spectroscopic concept, based on the analysis of the photons generated by Thomson Scattering of a probe laser pulse inpinging with arbitrary incidence angle onto the electron bunch. The feasibility of a single-pulse spectrometer, using an energy-calibrated CCD device as detector, is investigated. Numerical simulations performed in conditions typical of a real experiment show the effectiveness and accuracy of the new method.
If an electric charge is accelerated by a sufficiently intense electromagnetic field, the effects of the radiation emitted by the charge on the charge dynamics (radiation reaction) cannot be ignored. Here we show that classical radiation-reaction effects alter qualitatively and quantitatively the infrared behavior of the spectrum of the radiation emitted by an electron in the presence of an intense electromagnetic plane wave (nonlinear Thomson scattering). An analytical expression of the infrared limit of nonlinear Thomson scattering is provided, which includes radiation-reaction effects and i…
We study incoherent Thomson scattering between an ultrashort laser pulse and an electron beam accelerated from a laser wakefield. The energy chirp effects of the accelerated electron beam on the final radiation spectrum bandwidth are investigated. It is found that the scattered X-ray radiation has the minimum spectrum width and highest intensity as electrons are accelerated up to around the dephasing point. Furthermore, it is proposed the electron acceleration process inside the wakefield can be studied by use of $90^\circ$ Thomson scattering. The dephasing position and beam energy chirp can b…
A century ago, J. J. Thomson showed that the scattering of low-intensity light by electrons was a linear process (i.e., the scattered light frequency was identical to that of the incident light) and that light's magnetic field played no role. Today, with the recent invention of ultra-high-peak-power lasers it is now possible to create a sufficient photon density to study Thomson scattering in the relativistic regime. With increasing light intensity, electrons quiver during the scattering process with increasing velocity, approaching the speed of light when the laser intensity approaches 10^18 …
Brilliant X-ray sources are of great interest for many research fields from biology via medicine to material research. The quest for a cost-effective, brilliant source with unprecedented temporal resolution has led to the recent realization of various high-intensity-laser-driven X-ray beam sources. Here we demonstrate the first all-laser-driven, energy-tunable and quasi-monochromatic X-ray source based on Thomson backscattering. This is a decisive step beyond previous results, where the emitted radiation exhibited an uncontrolled broad energy distribution. In the experiment, one part of the la…
We report on the generation of a narrow divergence ($θ\approx 2.5$ mrad), multi-MeV ($E_\text{MAX} = 18$ MeV) and ultra-high brilliance ($\approx 2\times10^{19}$ photons s$^{-1}$ mm$^{-2}$ mrad $^{-2}$ 0.1\% BW) $γ$-ray beam from the scattering of an ultra-relativistic laser-wakefield accelerated electron beam in the field of a relativistically intense laser (dimensionless amplitude $a_0\approx2$). The spectrum of the generated $γ$-ray beam is measured, with MeV resolution, seamlessly from 6 MeV to 18 MeV, giving clear evidence of the onset of non-linear Thomson scattering. The photon source h…
We discuss intensity effects in collisions between beams of optical photons from a high-power laser and relativistic electrons. Our main focus are the modifications of the emission spectra due to realistic finite-beam geometries. By carefully analyzing the classical limit we precisely quantify the distinction between strong-field QED Compton scattering and classical Thomson scattering. A purely classical, but fully covariant, calculation of the bremsstrahlung emitted by an electron in a plane wave laser field yields radiation into harmonics, as expected. This result is generalized to pulses of…
By comparison with high-resolution synchrotron x-ray experimental results, we assess several theoretical treatments for the bound-free (core-electron) contribution to x-ray Thomson scattering (i.e., also known as nonresonant inelastic x-ray scattering). We identify an often overlooked source of systematic error in the plane- wave form factor approximation (PWFFA) used in the inference of temperature, ionization state, and free electron density in some laser-driven compression studies of warm dense matter. This error is due to a direct violation of energy conservation in the PWFFA. We propose a…
We theoretically and numerically investigate the ion-acoustic features of collective Thomson scattering (CTS) in two-stream plasmas. When the electron distribution functions of two (stationary and moving) components overlap with each other at the phase velocities corresponding to the two resonant peaks of the ion-acoustic feature, the theoretical spectrum shows asymmetry because the rate of electron Landau damping is different for the two peaks. The results of numerical simulations agree well with the theoretical spectra. We also demonstrate the effect of a two-stream-type instability in the i…
Nonlinear Thomson and Compton processes, in which energetic electrons collide with an intense optical pulse, are investigated in the framework of classical and quantum electrodynamics. Spectral modulations of the emitted radiation, appearing as either oscillatory or pulsating structures, are observed and explained. It is shown that both processes generate a bandwidth radiation spanning the range of few MeV, which occurs in a small cone along the propagation direction of the colliding electrons. Most importantly, these broad bandwidth structures are temporarily coherent which proves that Thomso…
Narrow bandwidth, high energy photon sources can be generated by Thomson scattering of laser light from energetic electrons, and detailed control of the interaction is needed to produce high quality sources. We present analytic calculations of the energy-angular spectra and photon yield that parametrize the influences of the electron and laser beam parameters to allow source design. These calculations, combined with numerical simulations, are applied to evaluate sources using conventional scattering in vacuum and methods for improving the source via laser waveguides or plasma channels. We show…
We study the effects of laser pulse focussing on the spectral properties of Thomson scattered radiation. Modelling the laser as a paraxial beam we find that, in all but the most extreme cases of focussing, the temporal envelope has a much bigger effect on the spectrum than the focussing itself. For the case of ultra-short pulses, where the paraxial model is no longer valid, we adopt a sub-cycle vector beam description of the field. It is found that the emission harmonics are blue shifted and broaden out in frequency space as the pulse becomes shorter. Additionally the carrier envelope phase be…
A 1D, steady-state model for Brillouin and Raman backscatter from an inhomogeneous plasma is presented. The daughter plasma waves are treated in the strong damping limit, and have amplitudes given by the (linear) kinetic response to the ponderomotive drive. Pump depletion, inverse-bremsstrahlung damping, bremsstrahlung emission, Thomson scattering off density fluctuations, and whole-beam focusing are included. The numerical code DEPLETE, which implements this model, is described. The model is compared with traditional linear gain calculations, as well as "plane-wave" simulations with the parax…
The Compton and Thomson radiation spectra, generated in collisions of an electron beam with a powerful laser beam, are studied in the framework of quantum and classical electrodynamics, respectively. We show that there are frequency regimes where both radiation spectra are nearly identical, which for Compton scattering relates to the process which preserves the electron spin. Although the radiation spectra are nearly identical, the corresponding probability amplitudes exhibit different global phases. This has pronounced consequences, which we demonstrate by investigating temporal power distrib…
The analysis was carried out of the scattered signal in the cases of ground backscatter and ionospheric scatter. The analysis is based on the data of the decameter coherent EKB ISTP SB RAS radar. In the paper the signals scattered in each sounding run were analysed before their statistical averaging. Based on the analysis and on previously studied mechanisms, a model is constructed for ionospheric scatter and ground backscatter signals. Within the framework of the Bayesian approach and based on a large amount of the data the technique and algorithm for separating these two types of signals are…
Spectra of Thomson and Compton radiation, emitted during electron scattering off an intense laser beam, are calculated using the frameworks of classical and strong-field quantum electrodynamics, respectively. Both approaches use a plane-wave-fronted pulse approximation regarding the driving laser beam. Within this approximation, a very good agreement between Thomson and Compton frequency distributions is observed provided that frequencies of the emitted radiation is relatively low. The dependence of frequency spectra on the laser pulse envelope is analyzed. This becomes important in the contex…
