Relativistic nanophotonics: heating matter to extreme conditions with compact lasers

R.C. HOLLINGER; V. KAYMAK; C. CALVI; V. N. SHLYAPTSEV; J. J. ROCCA; A PUKHOV; M. G. CAPELUTO; C. BARGNSTEN; A. CURTIS

Simposio; Winter Colloquium on the Physics of Quantum Electronics; 2018

The heating of dense matter to extreme temperatures and pressures as in the center of stars is one of the frontiers of physics. This currently requires complex and expensive methods such as spherical compressions with the world?s largest lasers. We have recently demonstrated that trapping of femtosecond laser pulses of relativistic intensity deep within ordered nanowire arrays can volumetrically heat near solid density matter into a new ultra hot plasma regime. Using laser pulses of only ~ 1 J energy we have volumetrically heated near solid density plasmas to multi-keV temperatures [1,2]. We obtained extraordinarily high degrees of ionization (e.g. 52 times ionized Au, 26 times ionized Ni), and Gigabar pressures. These pressures are nearly two orders of magnitude larger than those in inertial confinement fusion hohlraum plasmas and are comparable to those created in the central hot spot of the imploded fusion capsule in the initial National Ignition Facility experiments. Moreover, we have measured record high conversion efficiency into picosecond X-ray pulses [3], and using deuterated nanowire arrays we have also detected ultrashort pulses of fusion neutrons. Giga-Gauss quasi-static magnetic fields are created by gigantic return currents induced through the nanowires by the laser pulse [4]. Scaling these results to higher laser intensities promises to create plasmas with temperatures and pressures exceeding those in the center of the sun [2].