An overview of the various design choices to be made for a two-dimensional numerical code to simulate heavy ion targets is given. We discuss such issues as the grid structure, rezoning techniques, and the inclusion of material properties to various degrees. This is followed by a brief discussion of the open codes being used in the European heavy ion fusion community with characteristic samples of their application.

Crater shapes and plasma plume expansion in the interaction of sharply focused laser beams (10 μm waist diameter, 60 fs–6 ns pulse duration) with metals in air at atmospheric pressure were studied. Laser ablation efficiencies and rates of plasma expansion were determined. The best ablation efficiency was observed with femtosecond laser pulses. It was found that for nanosecond pulses, the laser beam absorption, its scattering, and its reflection in plasma were the limiting factors for efficient laser ablation and precise material sampling with sharply focused laser beams. The experimental results obtained were analyzed with relation to different theoretical models of laser ablation.

High dynamic range, space-resolved X-ray spectra, obtained using a TlAP crystal and a cooled CCD camera as a detector, were used to investigate the electron density and temperature profiles of an aluminum laser plasma with micrometer resolution. The electron density profile retrieved from the measurements is compared with numerical predictions from the two hydrodynamics codes MEDUSA (1D) and POLLUX (2D). It is shown that 2D density profiles can be successfully reproduced by 1D simulations using a spherical geometry with an ad hoc initial radius, leading to similar electron temperature profiles.

A longitudinal compression is indispensable in a final stage of the heavy ion driver system using a particle accelerator. For the beam compression, an induction buncher applies the bunching voltage so as to make a considerable velocity tilt between the head and the tail of the beam bunch. However, the velocity tilt induces mismatch oscillation of the beam envelope due to the nonconformity between the beam particle velocity and the confinement force of the lens system. At the first step of design works for the beam transport line, the initial phase advance is decided to avoid resonance lines on the tune diagram. However, as the phase advance changes in the buncher by the velocity tilt, the beam bunch reenters in the resonance condition under certain circumstances. The transport region for avoiding the resonance condition is discussed on a phase diagram, as a function of the phase advance and the velocity tilt.

A nonequilibrium kinetic model is used for predicting the time evolution of the Li atom concentrations (ground and excited states) in the plasma produced by excimer laser ablation of a LiNbO3 target. The model predicts a very high ionization degree (∼0.97) that agrees well with the one obtained experimentally (∼1). These results together with the prediction of high (and close to local thermodynamic equilibrium) population densities of the electronically excited Li upper energy levels provide an indirect support for an electronic rather than thermal ablation mechanism of Li atoms.

Recently the “fast ignition” method in the ICF problem was considered (Caruso & Pais, 1996). It allows increasing a target gain factor and raising reliability of the burning process. Since the required power of the irradiating beam in this method is unattainable for the traditional type of heavy ion driver with the energy of ions ≤10 GeV, the powerful laser is considered as a possible driver only. Here we investigate the fast ignition method for a system constituted from the directly irradiated cylindrical target and a powerful heavy ion driver of the charge-symmetric type (Koshkarev, 1993) in which the ions with energy ≈100 GeV and mass ≈200 are used. The actual design of a powerful heavy ion driver with the required characteristics is outside the purpose of this article. However some consideration will be given to exploring whether such a performance is within the realm of reasonable extrapolations of the present state of the art.

A plasma production method using the irradiation of an array of small spots has been investigated from the point of view of soft X-ray laser generation in the recombining plasma scheme pumped by a pulse-train laser. The expansion geometry of highly ionized ions produced by the micro-dot array irradiation method has been measured and compared with that by a simple line irradiation. Spatial distribution of gain coefficients of the Li-like Al ion transition lines have also been measured for both irradiation methods. Highly ionized ions were observed to spread wider in the micro-dot array irradiation method. It is expected that rapid expansion and efficient cooling are achieved in plasmas produced by the micro-dot array irradiation method, which is consistent with the experimental results on the spatial structure of the X-ray laser gain region.

We have developed an analytical model for the implosion of a heavy ion beam driven multilayered cylindrical target. The target consists of a thick metallic shell, typically made of lead which is filled with a low density material, for example frozen hydrogen, and it is axially irradiated with a heavy ion beam with an annular focal spot. The model describes the expansion of the absorption region, the implosion of the pusher, the trajectories of the incident and reflected shocks and the final quasi-isentropic compression. The model is expected to be very helpful to optimize detailed simulations of such problems which are of close relevance to the GSI plasma physics experimental program, planned for the future upgraded accelerator facilities.

For the intense beams in heavy ion fusion accelerators, details of the beam distribution as it emerges from the source region can determine the beam behavior well downstream. This occurs because collective space-charge modes excited as the beam is born remain undamped for many focusing periods. Traditional studies of the source region in particle beam systems have emphasized the behavior of averaged beam characteristics, such as total current, rms beam size, or emittance, rather than the details of the full beam distribution function that are necessary to predict the excitation of the collective modes. Simulations of the beam in the source region and comparisons to experimental measurements at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Maryland are presented to illustrate some of the complexity in beam characteristics that has been uncovered as increased attention has been devoted to developing a detailed understanding of the source region. Also discussed are methods of using the simulations to infer characteristics of the beam distribution that can be difficult to measure directly.

The intrinsically nonperturbative “vacuum persistence probability” P for e + e− production in the overlap region of a pair of high-intensity lasers is estimated in the context of three models, each of which adapt and simplify the exact Fradkin representation for the logarithm of the fermion determinant in the fields of the crossed lasers. In each case, one finds for P an expression resembling Schwinger's 1951 result for the probability of pair production in a constant electric field, proportional to an exponential factor which contains an essential singularity and hence does not admit a perturbative expansion about zero coupling. Qualitative estimates of these models suggest that realistic yields for this form of e + e− production must await lasers of intensity 1029 W/m2. The possibility of producing a quark–antiquark pair in this way is noted, in particular, with temporary, but large separations of the qq.

Laser-produced electron–positron pair production has been under discussion in the literature since 1969. Large numbers of positrons have been generated by lasers for a few years in studies which are also related to the studies of the physics of the fast ignitor laser fusion concept. For electron–positron pair production in vacuum due to vacuum polarization as predicted by Heisenberg (1934) with electrostatic fields, high-frequency laser fields with intensities around 1028 W/cm2 are necessary and may be available within a number of years. A similar electron acceleration by gravitation near black holes denoted as Hawking–Unruh radiation was discussed in 1985 by McDonald. The conditions are considered in view of the earlier work on pair production, change of statistics for electrons in relativistic black body radiation, and an Einstein recoil mechanism with a consequence of a physical foundation of the fine structure constant.

A detailed understanding of the physics of space-charge-dominated beams is vital in the design of heavy ion inertial fusion (HIF) drivers. In that regard, low-energy, high-intensity electron beams provide an excellent model system. The University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER), currently being installed, has been designed to study the physics of space-charge-dominated beams with extreme intensity in a strong focusing lattice with dispersion. At 10 keV and 100 mA, the beam from the UMER injector has a generalized perveance as much as 0.0015, corresponding to that of proposed HIF drivers. Though compact (11 m in circumference), UMER will be a very complex device by the time of its completion (expected 2003). We present an update on the construction as well as recent experimental results.

The U.S. Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory is continuing research into ion sources and injectors that simultaneously provide high current (0.5–1.0 A) and high brightness (normalized emittance better than 1.0 π-mm-mr). The central issue of focus is whether to continue pursuing the traditional approach of large surface ionization sources or to adopt a multiaperture approach that transports many smaller “beamlets” separately at low energies before allowing them to merge. For the large surface source concept, the recent commissioning of the 2-MeV injector for the High Current eXperiment has increased our understanding of the beam quality limitations for these sources. We have also improved our techniques for fabricating large diameter aluminosilicate sources to improve lifetime and emission uniformity. For the multiaperture approach, we are continuing to study the feasibility of small surface sources and a RF-induced plasma source in preparation for beamlet merging experiments, while continuing to run computer simulations for better understanding of this alternate concept. Experiments into both architectures will be performed on a newly commissioned ion source test stand at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory called STS-500. This stand test provides a platform for testing a variety of ion sources and accelerating structures with 500-kV, 17-μs pulses. Recent progress in these areas is discussed as well as plans for future experiments.

The approach to the ultimate strength of metals is determined experimentally. The strength of the materials and the strain rate were determined from the free surface velocity time history, which was measured with an optically recording velocity interferometer system. The dynamic strength was measured at strain rates in the domain of 5·106 to 5·108 s−1. The necessary tension to break the metal (spall) and the very high strain rates were achieved using high-powered lasers in nanosecond and picosecond regimes. The measurements at strain rates larger than 108 s−1 were achieved for the first time. The ultimate strength of metals was calculated using a realistic wide-range equation of state. Our experiments indicate that under very fast tension processes, the dynamic strength of materials is determined not by the macroscopic defects but by atomic quantum mechanical processes described by the equation of state of the material. The rate of the process is described by the strain rate, and at strain rates higher than 5·107 s−1, the atomic forces are dominating the dynamic strength of materials.

The High Current Experiment (HCX) is being assembled at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as part of the U.S. program to explore heavy ion beam transport at a scale representative of the low-energy end of an induction linac driver for fusion energy production. The primary mission of this experiment is to investigate aperture fill factors acceptable for the transport of space-charge dominated heavy ion beams at high space-charge intensity (line-charge density ∼ 0.2 μC/m) over long pulse durations (>4 μs). This machine will test transport issues at a driver-relevant scale resulting from nonlinear space-charge effects and collective modes, beam centroid alignment and beam steering, matching, image charges, halo, lost-particle induced electron effects, and longitudinal bunch control. We present the first experimental results carried out with the coasting K+ ion beam transported through the first 10 electrostatic transport quadrupoles and associated diagnostics. Later phases of the experiment will include more electrostatic lattice periods to allow more sensitive tests of emittance growth, and also magnetic quadrupoles to explore similar issues in magnetic channels with a full driver scale beam.

Using the technique of tight-binding electron–ion dynamics, we have calculated the response of crystalline GaAs when a femtosecond laser pulse excites 1–20% of the valence electrons. Above a threshold fluence, which corresponds to promotion of about 12% of the valence electrons to the conduction band, the lattice is destabilized and the band gap collapses to zero. This result supports the conclusion that structural changes on a subpicosecond time scale observed in pump-probe experiments are of a nonthermal nature.

Formation of transverse inhomogeneities in the corona of a solid target irradiated by an inhomogeneous main laser pulse and a uniform background pulse was observed experimentally via side-on shadowgraphy. The experimental results were successfully interpreted using a two-dimensional hydrodynamics code. Our simulations identified the onset of sharp contact boundaries between plasma streams of different expansion velocities. The formation and the decay of the contact boundaries is investigated in detail. When the background pulse is used as a laser prepulse, a layer of coronal plasma is formed that enhances main pulse collisional absorption in underdense plasma and creates conditions for an efficient thermal smoothing of the transverse inhomogeneities.

For the High Current Beam Transport Experiment (HCX) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, an injector is required to deliver up to 1.8 MV of 0.6 A K+ beam with an emittance of ≈1 π-mm-mrad. We have successfully operated a 10-cm-diameter surface ionization source together with an electrostatic quadrupole (ESQ) accelerator to meet these requirements. The pulse length is ≈4 μs, firing at once every 10–15 s. By optimizing the extraction diode and the ESQ voltages, we have obtained an output beam with good current density uniformity, except for a small increase near the beam edge. Characterization of the beam emerging from the injector included measurements of the intensity profile, beam imaging, and transverse phase space. These data along with comparison to computer simulations provide the knowledge base for designing and understanding future HCX experiments.

The emission of high-energy protons in laser–solid interactions and the theories that have been used to explain it are briefly reviewed. To these theories we add a further possibility: the acceleration of protons inside the target by the electric field generated by fast electrons. This is considered using a simple one-dimensional model. It is found that for relativistic laser intensities and sufficiently long pulse durations, the proton energy gain is typically several times the fast electron temperature. The results are very similar to those obtained for proton acceleration by electron expansion into vacuum.

Activities of research and development on repetitive induction voltage modulators in the Tokyo Institute of Technology–High Energy Accelerator Research Organization group are presented along with a discussion of the magnetic response of ferro-magnetic materials to fast magnetization and a transient beam loading in the modulators. The modulator is composed of independently driven modules switched by field effect transistors. To make waveform control, the induced voltages are stacked and synthesized in the induction unit. A proof-of-principle experiment shows that the module elements are successfully operated up to megahertz levels with good reproducibility. For the evaluation of magnetic core response, magnetic characteristics are investigated over a wide range of parameters, and an empirical core loss scaling is derived at minor-hysteresis loops. Using the prototype induction module, we have also investigated the effect of beam loading. Results indicate that the effect depends not only on the impedance of the driving circuit but on nonlinearity of the magnetic-core response. This means that the response of the induction modulator depends on the time scale of domain motion and operating point in the B-H plane of magnetic materials. Based on the progress of the component technology in the induction accelerator and database of magnetic materials, a system design has been developed.