_version_ 1866912401581932544
author Scisciò, M.
Petringa, G.
Zhu, Z.
Rodrigues, M. R. D.
Alonzo, M.
Andreoli, P. L.
Filippi, F.
Consoli, Fe.
Huault, M.
Raffestin, D.
Molloy, D.
Larreur, H.
Singappuli, D.
Carriere, T.
Verona, C.
Nicolai, P.
McNamee, A.
Ehret, M.
Filippov, E.
Lera, R.
Pérez-Hernández, J. A.
Agarwal, S.
Krupka, M.
Singh, S.
Istokskaia, V.
Lattuada, D.
La Cognata, M.
Guardo, G. L.
Palmerini, S.
Rapisarda, G.
Batani, K.
Cipriani, M.
Cristofari, G.
Di Ferdinando, E.
Di Giorgio, G.
De Angelis, R.
Giulietti, D.
Xu, J.
Volpe, L.
Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.
Giuffrida, L.
Margarone, D.
Batani, D.
Cirrone, G. A. P.
Bonasera, A.
Consoli, Fa.
author_facet Scisciò, M.
Petringa, G.
Zhu, Z.
Rodrigues, M. R. D.
Alonzo, M.
Andreoli, P. L.
Filippi, F.
Consoli, Fe.
Huault, M.
Raffestin, D.
Molloy, D.
Larreur, H.
Singappuli, D.
Carriere, T.
Verona, C.
Nicolai, P.
McNamee, A.
Ehret, M.
Filippov, E.
Lera, R.
Pérez-Hernández, J. A.
Agarwal, S.
Krupka, M.
Singh, S.
Istokskaia, V.
Lattuada, D.
La Cognata, M.
Guardo, G. L.
Palmerini, S.
Rapisarda, G.
Batani, K.
Cipriani, M.
Cristofari, G.
Di Ferdinando, E.
Di Giorgio, G.
De Angelis, R.
Giulietti, D.
Xu, J.
Volpe, L.
Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.
Giuffrida, L.
Margarone, D.
Batani, D.
Cirrone, G. A. P.
Bonasera, A.
Consoli, Fa.
contents Driving the nuclear fusion reaction p+11B -> 3 alpha + 8.7 MeV in laboratory conditions, by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter, has become a popular field of research, due to numerous applications that it can potentially allow: an alternative to deuterium-tritium (DT) for fusion energy production, astrophysics studies and alpha-particle generation for medical treatments. A possible scheme for laser-driven p-11B reactions is to direct a beam of laser-accelerated protons onto a boron sample (the so-called 'pitcher-catcher' scheme). This technique was successfully implemented on large, energetic lasers, yielding hundreds of joules per shot at low repetition. We present here a complementary approach, exploiting the high-repetition rate of the VEGA III petawatt laser at CLPU (Spain), aiming at accumulating results from many interactions at much lower energy, for better controlling the parameters and the statistics of the measurements. Despite a moderate energy per pulse, our experiment allowed exploring the laser-driven fusion process with tens (up to hundreds) of laser shots. The experiment provided a clear signature of the produced reactions and of the fusion products, accumulated over many shots, leading to an improved optimization of the diagnostic for these experimental campaigns In this paper we discuss the effectiveness of the laser-driven p-11B fusion in the pitcher-catcher scheme, at high-repetition rate, addressing the challenges of this experimental scheme and highlighting its critical aspects. Our proposed methodologies allow evaluating the performance of this scheme for laser-driven alpha particle production and can be adapted to high-repetition rate laser facilities with higher energy and intensity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_04577
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Laser initiated p-11B fusion reactions in petawatt high-repetition-rates laser facilities
Scisciò, M.
Petringa, G.
Zhu, Z.
Rodrigues, M. R. D.
Alonzo, M.
Andreoli, P. L.
Filippi, F.
Consoli, Fe.
Huault, M.
Raffestin, D.
Molloy, D.
Larreur, H.
Singappuli, D.
Carriere, T.
Verona, C.
Nicolai, P.
McNamee, A.
Ehret, M.
Filippov, E.
Lera, R.
Pérez-Hernández, J. A.
Agarwal, S.
Krupka, M.
Singh, S.
Istokskaia, V.
Lattuada, D.
La Cognata, M.
Guardo, G. L.
Palmerini, S.
Rapisarda, G.
Batani, K.
Cipriani, M.
Cristofari, G.
Di Ferdinando, E.
Di Giorgio, G.
De Angelis, R.
Giulietti, D.
Xu, J.
Volpe, L.
Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.
Giuffrida, L.
Margarone, D.
Batani, D.
Cirrone, G. A. P.
Bonasera, A.
Consoli, Fa.
Plasma Physics
Driving the nuclear fusion reaction p+11B -> 3 alpha + 8.7 MeV in laboratory conditions, by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter, has become a popular field of research, due to numerous applications that it can potentially allow: an alternative to deuterium-tritium (DT) for fusion energy production, astrophysics studies and alpha-particle generation for medical treatments. A possible scheme for laser-driven p-11B reactions is to direct a beam of laser-accelerated protons onto a boron sample (the so-called 'pitcher-catcher' scheme). This technique was successfully implemented on large, energetic lasers, yielding hundreds of joules per shot at low repetition. We present here a complementary approach, exploiting the high-repetition rate of the VEGA III petawatt laser at CLPU (Spain), aiming at accumulating results from many interactions at much lower energy, for better controlling the parameters and the statistics of the measurements. Despite a moderate energy per pulse, our experiment allowed exploring the laser-driven fusion process with tens (up to hundreds) of laser shots. The experiment provided a clear signature of the produced reactions and of the fusion products, accumulated over many shots, leading to an improved optimization of the diagnostic for these experimental campaigns In this paper we discuss the effectiveness of the laser-driven p-11B fusion in the pitcher-catcher scheme, at high-repetition rate, addressing the challenges of this experimental scheme and highlighting its critical aspects. Our proposed methodologies allow evaluating the performance of this scheme for laser-driven alpha particle production and can be adapted to high-repetition rate laser facilities with higher energy and intensity.
title Laser initiated p-11B fusion reactions in petawatt high-repetition-rates laser facilities
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.04577