Long-lived hot and dense plasma from relativistic laser–nanowire array interaction

Eftekhari-Zadeh Ehsan; Gyrdymov Mikhail; Tavana Parysatis; Loetzsch Robert; Uschmann Ingo; Siefke Thomas; Käsebier Thomas; Zeitner Uwe; Szeghalmi Adriana; Pukhov Alexander; Serebryakov Dmitri; Nerush Evgeni; Kostyukov Igor; Rosmej Olga; Spielmann Christian; Kartashov Daniil

doi:10.1063/5.0306455

Volume 11 Issue 3

May 2026

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Eftekhari-Zadeh Ehsan, Gyrdymov Mikhail, Tavana Parysatis, Loetzsch Robert, Uschmann Ingo, Siefke Thomas, Käsebier Thomas, Zeitner Uwe, Szeghalmi Adriana, Pukhov Alexander, Serebryakov Dmitri, Nerush Evgeni, Kostyukov Igor, Rosmej Olga, Spielmann Christian, Kartashov Daniil. Long-lived hot and dense plasma from relativistic laser–nanowire array interaction[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(3): 037202. doi: 10.1063/5.0306455

Citation:

Eftekhari-Zadeh Ehsan, Gyrdymov Mikhail, Tavana Parysatis, Loetzsch Robert, Uschmann Ingo, Siefke Thomas, Käsebier Thomas, Zeitner Uwe, Szeghalmi Adriana, Pukhov Alexander, Serebryakov Dmitri, Nerush Evgeni, Kostyukov Igor, Rosmej Olga, Spielmann Christian, Kartashov Daniil. Long-lived hot and dense plasma from relativistic laser–nanowire array interaction[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(3): 037202. doi: 10.1063/5.0306455

Citation:

Eftekhari-Zadeh Ehsan, Gyrdymov Mikhail, Tavana Parysatis, Loetzsch Robert, Uschmann Ingo, Siefke Thomas, Käsebier Thomas, Zeitner Uwe, Szeghalmi Adriana, Pukhov Alexander, Serebryakov Dmitri, Nerush Evgeni, Kostyukov Igor, Rosmej Olga, Spielmann Christian, Kartashov Daniil. Long-lived hot and dense plasma from relativistic laser–nanowire array interaction[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(3): 037202. doi: 10.1063/5.0306455

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Long-lived hot and dense plasma from relativistic laser–nanowire array interaction

doi: 10.1063/5.0306455

Eftekhari-Zadeh Ehsan^{1, 2, 3
,
,
,},
Gyrdymov Mikhail^4
,,
Tavana Parysatis^{1, 4, 5
,},
Loetzsch Robert^{1, 2
,},
Uschmann Ingo^{1, 2
,},
Siefke Thomas^{6, 7, 8
,},
Käsebier Thomas⁶,
Zeitner Uwe^{6, 7
,},
Szeghalmi Adriana^{6, 7
,},
Pukhov Alexander^9
,,
Serebryakov Dmitri¹⁰,
Nerush Evgeni^{10
,},
Kostyukov Igor^{10
,},
Rosmej Olga^{4, 5
,},
Spielmann Christian^{1, 2, 3
,},
Kartashov Daniil^{1, 2, 3
,
,
,}

1.
Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
2.
Helmholtz Institute Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
3.
Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07745 Jena, Germany
4.
GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt 64291, Germany
5.
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
6.
Institute of Applied Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07745 Jena, Germany
7.
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, 07745 Jena, Germany
8.
University of Applied Sciences, Carl-Zeiss-Promenade 2, 07745 Jena, Germany
9.
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
10.
Institute of Applied Physics RAS, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

More Information

Corresponding author: a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: e.eftekharizadeh@uni-jena.de and daniil.kartashov@uni-jena.de
Received Date: 2025-10-10
Accepted Date: 2026-01-26

Available Online: 2026-05-01

Publish Date: 2026-05-28

Abstract

Abstract

Long-lived hot and dense plasmas generated by ultra-intense laser beams are of critical importance for laser-driven nuclear physics, bright hard X-ray sources, and laboratory astrophysics. We report the experimental observation of plasmas with nanosecond-scale lifetimes, near-solid density, and keV-level temperatures, produced by irradiating periodic arrays of composite nanowires with ultra-high-contrast relativistically intense femtosecond laser pulses. Jet-like plasma structures extending up to 1 mm from the nanowire surface were observed, emitting K-shell radiation from He-like Ti²⁰⁺ ions. High-resolution X-ray spectra have been analyzed using 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the laser–plasma interaction combined with collisional–radiative modeling (FLYCHK). The results indicate that the jets consist of plasma with densities of 10²⁰–10²² cm⁻³ and keV-scale temperatures, persisting for several nanoseconds. We attribute the formation of these jets to the generation of kilotesla-scale global magnetic fields during the laser interaction, as predicted by PIC simulations. These fields may drive long-timescale current instabilities that sustain magnetic fields of several hundred tesla, sufficient to confine hot, dense plasma over nanosecond durations.

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
Conflict of Interest
Author Contributions
Ehsan Eftekhari-Zadeh: Conceptualization (equal); Data curation (equal); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation (equal); Methodology (equal); Project administration (equal); Software (equal); Validation (equal); Visualization (equal); Writing – original draft (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal). Mikhail Gyrdymov: Data curation (equal); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation (equal); Methodology (equal); Software (equal); Validation (equal); Visualization (equal). Parysatis Tavana: Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (supporting); Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting); Software (supporting); Validation (supporting); Visualization (supporting). Robert Loetzsch: Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (supporting); Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting); Software (supporting); Validation (supporting); Visualization (supporting). Ingo Uschmann: Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting). Thomas Siefke: Resources (supporting). Thomas Käsebier: Resources (supporting). Uwe Zeitner: Resources (supporting). Adriana Szeghalmi: Resources (supporting). Alexander Pukhov: Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (supporting); Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting); Software (supporting). Dmitri Serebryakov: Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (supporting); Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting); Software (supporting). Evgeni Nerush: Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (supporting); Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting); Software (supporting). Igor Kostyukov: Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (supporting); Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting); Software (supporting). Olga Rosmej: Conceptualization (supporting); Investigation (supporting); Methodology (supporting); Resources (supporting); Supervision (supporting). Christian Spielmann: Conceptualization (lead); Funding acquisition (lead); Resources (lead); Supervision (lead); Writing – original draft (supporting); Writing – review & editing (supporting). Daniil Kartashov: Conceptualization (lead); Data curation (equal); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation (equal); Methodology (equal); Project administration (equal); Software (equal); Supervision (lead); Validation (equal); Visualization (equal); Writing – original draft (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal).
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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References(41)

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