Publications

2018

• Laboratory radiative accretion shocks on GEKKO XII laser facility for POLAR project
  
  • van Box Som L.
  • Falize E.
  • Koenig M.
  • Sakawa Y.
  • Albertazzi B.
  • Barroso P.
  • Bonnet-Bidaud J.-M.
  • Busschaert C.
  • Ciardi A.
  • Hara Y.
  • Katsuki N.
  • Kumar R.
  • Lefevre F.
  • Michaut C.
  • Michel Th.
  • Miura T.
  • Morita T.
  • Mouchet M.
  • Rigon G.
  • Sano T.
  • Shiiba S.
  • Shimogawara H.
  • Tomiya S.
  High Power Laser Science and Engineering, Cambridge University Press, 2018, 6, pp.e35. A new target design is presented to model high-energy radiative accretion shocks in polars. In this paper, we present the experimental results obtained on the GEKKO XII laser facility for the POLAR project. The experimental results are compared with 2D FCI2 simulations to characterize the dynamics and the structure of plasma flow before and after the collision. The good agreement between simulations and experimental data confirm the formation of a reverse shock where cooling losses start modifying the post-shock region. With the multi-material structure of the target, a hydrodynamic collimation is exhibited and a radiative structure coupled with the reverse shock is highlighted in both experimental data and simulations. The flexibility on the laser energy produced on GEKKO XII, allowed us to produce high-velocity flows and study new and interesting radiation hydrodynamic regimes between those obtained on the LULI2000 and Orion laser facilities. (10.1017/hpl.2018.32)
  DOI : 10.1017/hpl.2018.32
• Extreme Ultraviolet Beam Enhancement by Relativistic Surface Plasmons
  
  • Cantono G.
  • Fedeli L.
  • Sgattoni A.
  • Denoeud A.
  • Chopineau L.
  • Réau F.
  • Ceccotti T.
  • Macchi A.
  Physical Review Letters, American Physical Society, 2018, 120 (26), pp.264803. The emission of high-order harmonics in the extreme ultraviolet range from the interaction of a short, intense laser pulse with a grating target is investigated experimentally. When resonantly exciting a surface plasmon, both the intensity and the highest order observed for the harmonic emission along the grating surface increase with respect to a flat target. Harmonics are obtained when a suitable density gradient is preformed at the target surface, demonstrating the possibility to manipulate the grating profile on a nanometric scale without preventing the surface plasmon excitation. In support of this, the harmonic emission is spatiotemporally correlated to the acceleration of multi-MeV electron bunches along the grating surface. Particle-in-cell simulations reproduce the experimental results and give insight on the mechanism of high harmonic generation in the presence of surface plasmons. (10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.264803)
  DOI : 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.264803
• Perpendicular relativistic shocks in magnetized pair plasma
  
  • Plotnikov Illya
  • Grassi Anna
  • Grech Mickael
  Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy P - Oxford Open Option A, 2018, 477 (4), pp.5238-5260. Perpendicular relativistic (γ_0= 10) shocks in magnetized pair plasmas are investigated using two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. A systematic survey, from unmagnetized to strongly magnetized shocks, is presented accurately capturing the transition from Weibel-mediated to magnetic-reflection-shaped shocks. This transition is found to occur for upstream flow magnetizations 10^−3 < σ < 10^−2 at which a strong perpendicular net current is observed in the precursor, driving the so-called current-filamentation instability. The global structure of the shock and shock formation time are discussed. The magnetohydrodynamics shock jump conditions are found in good agreement with the numerical results, except for 10^−4 < σ < 10^−2 where a deviation up to 10 per cent is observed. The particle precursor length converges towards the Larmor radius of particles injected in the upstream magnetic field at intermediate magnetizations. For σ > 10^−2, it leaves place to a purely electromagnetic precursor following from the strong emission of electromagnetic waves at the shock front. Particle acceleration is found to be efficient in weakly magnetized perpendicular shocks in agreement with previous works, and is fully suppressed for σ > 10^−2. Diffusive shock acceleration is observed only in weakly magnetized shocks, while a dominant contribution of shock drift acceleration is evidenced at intermediate magnetizations. The spatial diffusion coefficients are extracted from the simulations allowing for a deeper insight into the self-consistent particle kinematics and scale with the square of the particle energy in weakly magnetized shocks. These results have implications for particle acceleration in the internal shocks of active galactic nucleus jets and in the termination shocks of pulsar wind nebulae. (10.1093/mnras/sty979)
  DOI : 10.1093/mnras/sty979
• SMILEI : A collaborative, open-source, multi-purpose particle-in-cell code for plasma simulation
  
  • Derouillat J.
  • Beck A.
  • Pérez F.
  • Vinci T.
  • Chiaramello M.
  • Grassi A.
  • Flé M.
  • Bouchard G.
  • Plotnikov I.
  • Aunai Nicolas
  • Dargent Jérémy
  • Riconda C.
  • Grech M.
  Computer Physics Communications, Elsevier, 2018, 222, pp.351-373. SMILEI is a collaborative, open-source, object-oriented (C ) particle-in-cell code. To benefit from the latest advances in high-performance computing (HPC), SMILEI is co-developed by both physicists and HPC experts. The code's structures, capabilities, parallelization strategy and performances are discussed. Additional modules (e.g. to treat ionization or collisions), benchmarks and physics highlights are also presented. Multi-purpose and evolutive, SMILEI is applied today to a wide range of physics studies, from relativistic laser-plasma interaction to astrophysical plasmas. (10.1016/j.cpc.2017.09.024)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.cpc.2017.09.024
• X-ray absorption radiography for high pressure shock wave studies
  
  • Antonelli L.
  • Atzeni S.
  • Batani D.
  • Baton S.D.
  • Brambrink E.
  • Forestier-Colleoni P.
  • Koenig M.
  • Bel E. Le
  • Maheut Y.
  • Nguyen-Bui T.
  • Richetta M.
  • Rousseaux C.
  • Ribeyre X.
  • Schiavi A.
  • Trela J.
  Journal of Instrumentation, IOP Publishing, 2018, 13 (01), pp.C01013-C01013. (10.1088/1748-0221/13/01/C01013)
  DOI : 10.1088/1748-0221/13/01/C01013
• Analytical modelling of the expansion of a solid obstacle interacting with a radiative shock
  
  • Michel Th.
  • Falize E.
  • Albertazzi Bruno
  • Rigon G.
  • Sakawa Y.
  • Sano T.
  • Shimogawara H.
  • Kumar R.
  • Morita T.
  • Michaut C.
  • Casner A.
  • Barroso P.
  • Mabey P.
  • Kuramitsu Y.
  • Laffite S.
  • van Box Som L.
  • Gregori G.
  • Kodama R.
  • Ozaki N.
  • Tzeferacos P.
  • Lamb D.
  • Koenig M.
  High Power Laser Science and Engineering, Cambridge University Press, 2018, 6. In this paper, we present a model characterizing the interaction of a radiative shock (RS) with a solid material, as described in a recent paper (Koenig et al., Phys. Plasmas, 24, 082707 (2017)), the new model is then related to recent experiments performed on the GEKKO XII laser facility. The RS generated in a xenon gas cell propagates towards a solid obstacle that is ablated by radiation coming from the shock front and the radiative precursor, mimicking processes occurring in astrophysical phenomena. The model presented here calculates the dynamics of the obstacle expansion, which depends on several parameters, notably the geometry and the temperature of the shock. All parameters required for the model have been obtained from experiments. Good agreement between experimental data and the model is found when spherical geometry is taken into account. As a consequence, this model is a useful and easy tool to infer parameters from experimental data (such as the shock temperature), and also to design future experiments. (10.1017/hpl.2018.24)
  DOI : 10.1017/hpl.2018.24
• Book of Abstracts,16th International Conference on the Physics of Non-Ideal Plasmas (PNP16)
  
  • Clerouin Jean
  • Deutsch Claude
  • Koenig Michel
  • Maynard Gilles
  • Mikikian Maxime
  • Recoules Vanina
  • Deutsch Nimet
  , 2018.
• Liquid properties in the Fe-FeS system under moderate pressure: Tool box to model small planetary cores
  
  • Morard Guillaume
  • Bouchet Johann
  • Rivoldini Attilio
  • Antonangeli Daniele
  • Roberge Mathilde
  • Boulard Eglantine
  • Denoeud Adrien
  • Mezouard Mohamed
  The American Mineralogist, Mineralogical Society of America, 2018. (10.2138/am-2018-6405)
  DOI : 10.2138/am-2018-6405
• Transfers from Earth to LEO and LEO to interplanetary space using lasers
  
  • Phipps Claude R.
  • Bonnal Christophe
  • Masson Frédéric
  • Boustié Michel
  • Berthe Laurent
  • Schneider Matthieu
  • Baton Sophie D
  • Brambrink Erik
  • Chevalier Jean Marc
  • Videau Laurent
  • Boyer Séverine A.E.
  Acta Astronautica, Elsevier, 2018, 146, pp.92-102. New data on some materials at 80ps pulse duration and 1057 nm wavelength give us the option of proportionally combining them to obtain arbitrary values between 35 (aluminum) and 800 N/MW (POM, polyoxymethylene) for momentum coupling coefficient Cm. Laser ablation physics lets us transfer to LEO from Earth, or to interplanetary space using repetitively pulsed lasers and Cm values appropriate for each mission. We discuss practical results for lifting small payloads from Earth to LEO, and space missions such as a cis-Mars orbit with associated laser system parameters. (10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.02.018)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.02.018
• The role of the global phase in the spatio-temporal evolution of strong-coupling Brillouin scattering
  
  • Amiranoff François
  • Riconda C.
  • Chiaramello M.
  • Lancia L.
  • Marquès Jean-Raphaël
  • Weber Sébastien J.
  Physics of Plasmas, American Institute of Physics, 2018, 25 (1), pp.013114. (10.1063/1.5019374)
  DOI : 10.1063/1.5019374
• Magnetic reconnection driven by electron dynamics
  
  • Kuramitsu Y.
  • Moritaka T.
  • Sakawa Y.
  • Morita T.
  • Sano T.
  • Koenig M.
  • Gregory C.
  • Woolsey N.
  • Tomita K.
  • Takabe H.
  • Liu Y.
  • Chen S. H.
  • Matsukiyo S.
  • Hoshino M.
  Nature Communications, Nature Publishing Group, 2018, 9 (1), pp.5109. Magnetic reconnections play essential roles in space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas, where the anti-parallel magnetic field components re-connect and the magnetic energy is converted to the plasma energy as Alfvénic out flows. Although the electron dynamics is considered to be essential, it is highly challenging to observe electron scale reconnections. Here we show the experimental results on an electron scale reconnection driven by the electron dynamics in laser-produced plasmas. We apply a weak-external magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the plasma propagation, where the magnetic field is directly coupled with only the electrons but not for the ions. Since the kinetic pressure of plasma is much larger than the magnetic pressure, the magnetic field is distorted and locally anti-parallel. We observe plasma collimations, cusp and plasmoid like features with optical diagnostics. The plasmoid propagates at the electron Alfvén velocity, indicating a reconnection driven by the electron dynamics. (10.1038/s41467-018-07415-3)
  DOI : 10.1038/s41467-018-07415-3
• Numerical simulations of laser-driven cratering experiments into porous graphite
  
  • Aubert Bertrand
  • Hébert David
  • Rullier Jean-Luc
  • Chevalier Jean-Marc
  • Berthe Laurent
  • Brambrink Erik
  • Lescoute Emilien
  • Videau Laurent
  • Franzkowiak Jean-Eloi
  • Jodar Benjamin
  • Loison Didier
  • Nivard M.
  EPJ Web of Conferences, EDP Sciences, 2018, 183, pp.1060. We present the results of an experimental campaign conducted on the LULI2000 laser facility. Semi-infinite targets of a commercial grade of porous graphite were submitted to high-power laser irradiation inorder to generate craters. A 15 ns pulse duration was used along with a focal spot diameter of 900 μm to deliver energies up to 750 J. Numerical simulations of these shots have been performed following a specificmethodology which can be divided in three steps. Firstly, the mechanical loading induced by the laser iscalibrated by simulating the same shot on a thin aluminum target of which free surface velocity is measured byPDV and line-VISAR. Secondly, the same shot is performed on a thin graphite target to validate the materialmodel of graphite. Thirdly, the craterization shot on semi-infinite target is simulated. Numerical results arecompared to experimental measurements of craters obtained using an interferometric profilometer. (10.1051/epjconf/201818301060)
  DOI : 10.1051/epjconf/201818301060
• Toward compact and ultra-intense laser-based soft x-ray lasers
  
  • Sebban Stéphane
  • Depresseux Adrien
  • Oliva Eduardo
  • Gautier Julien
  • Tissandier F.
  • Nejdl J.
  • Kozlova M.
  • Maynard G.
  • Goddet Jean-Philippe
  • Tafzi Amar
  • Lifschitz Agustin
  • Kim H
  • Jacquemot S.
  • Rousseau Pascal
  • Zeitoun Philippe
  • Rousse Antoine
  Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, IOP Publishing, 2018, 60 (1), pp.014030. We report here recent work on an optical field ionized (OFI), high-order harmonic-seeded EUV laser. The amplifying medium is a plasma of nickel-like krypton obtained by OFI when focusing a 1 J, 30 fs, circularly-polarized, infrared pulse into a krypton-filled gas cell or krypton gas jet. The lasing transition is the 3d(9)4d (J = 0) -> 3d(9)4p (J = 1) transition of Ni-like krypton ions at 32.8 nm and is pumped by collisions with hot electrons. The gain dynamics was probed by seeding the amplifier with a high-order harmonic pulse at different delays. The gain duration monotonically decreased from 7 ps to an unprecedented shortness of 450 fs full width at half-maximum as the amplification peak rose from 150 to 1200 with an increase of the plasma density from 3 x 10(18) to 1.2 x 10(20) cm(-3). The integrated energy of the EUV laser pulse was also measured, and found to be around 2 mu J. It is to be noted that in the ASE mode, longer amplifiers were achieved (up to 2 cm), yielding EUV outputs up to 14 mu J. (10.1088/1361-6587/aa8aaf)
  DOI : 10.1088/1361-6587/aa8aaf
• Coherent beam combining of seven fiber chirped-pulse amplifiers using an interferometric phase measurement
  
  • Heilmann Anke
  • Le Dortz Jérémy
  • Daniault Louis
  • Fsaifes Ihsan
  • Bellanger Séverine
  • Bourderionnet Jérôme
  • Larat Christian
  • Lallier Eric
  • Antier Marie
  • Durand Eric
  • Simon-Boisson Christophe
  • Brignon Arnaud
  • Chanteloup Jean-Christophe
  Optics Express, Optical Society of America - OSA Publishing, 2018, 26 (24), pp.31542. (10.1364/OE.26.031542)
  DOI : 10.1364/OE.26.031542