Exotic dense-matter states pumped by a relativistic laser plasma in the radiation-dominated regime

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Colgan, J. and Abdallah, J. and Faenov, A. Ya. and Pikuz, S. A. and Wagenaars, E. and Booth, N. and Culfa, O. and Dance, R. J. and Evans, R. G. and Gray, R. J. and Kaempfer, T. and Lancaster, K. L. and McKenna, P. and Rossall, A. L. and Skobelev, I. Yu. and Schulze, K. S. and Uschmann, I. and Zhidkov, A. G. and Woolsey, N. C. (2013) Exotic dense-matter states pumped by a relativistic laser plasma in the radiation-dominated regime. Physical Review Letters, 110 (12). 125001. ISSN 1079-7114 (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.125001)

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Abstract

In high-spectral resolution experiments with the petawatt Vulcan laser, strong x-ray radiation of KK hollow atoms (atoms without n = 1 electrons) from thin Al foils was observed at pulse intensities of 3 x 10(20) W/cm(2). The observations of spectra from these exotic states of matter are supported by detailed kinetics calculations, and are consistent with a picture in which an intense polychromatic x-ray field, formed from Thomson scattering and bremsstrahlung in the electrostatic fields at the target surface, drives the KK hollow atom production. We estimate that this x-ray field has an intensity of >5 x 10(18) W/cm(2) and is in the 3 keV range.

ORCID iDs

Colgan, J., Abdallah, J., Faenov, A. Ya., Pikuz, S. A., Wagenaars, E., Booth, N., Culfa, O., Dance, R. J., Evans, R. G., Gray, R. J. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0610-9595, Kaempfer, T., Lancaster, K. L., McKenna, P. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8061-7091, Rossall, A. L., Skobelev, I. Yu., Schulze, K. S., Uschmann, I., Zhidkov, A. G. and Woolsey, N. C.;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)