Numerical investigation of spallation neutrons generated from petawatt-scale laser-driven proton beams

Martinez B.; Chen S. N.; Bolaños S.; Blanchot N.; Boutoux G.; Cayzac W.; Courtois C.; Davoine X.; Duval A.; Horny V.; Lantuejoul I.; Le Deroff L.; Masson-Laborde P. E.; Sary G.; Vauzour B.; Smets R.; Gremillet L.; Fuchs J.

doi:10.1063/5.0060582

Volume 7 Issue 2

Mar. 2022

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Martinez B., Chen S. N., Bolaños S., Blanchot N., Boutoux G., Cayzac W., Courtois C., Davoine X., Duval A., Horny V., Lantuejoul I., Le Deroff L., Masson-Laborde P. E., Sary G., Vauzour B., Smets R., Gremillet L., Fuchs J.. Numerical investigation of spallation neutrons generated from petawatt-scale laser-driven proton beams[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2022, 7(2): 024401. doi: 10.1063/5.0060582

Citation:

Martinez B., Chen S. N., Bolaños S., Blanchot N., Boutoux G., Cayzac W., Courtois C., Davoine X., Duval A., Horny V., Lantuejoul I., Le Deroff L., Masson-Laborde P. E., Sary G., Vauzour B., Smets R., Gremillet L., Fuchs J.. Numerical investigation of spallation neutrons generated from petawatt-scale laser-driven proton beams[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2022, 7(2): 024401. doi: 10.1063/5.0060582

Citation:

Martinez B., Chen S. N., Bolaños S., Blanchot N., Boutoux G., Cayzac W., Courtois C., Davoine X., Duval A., Horny V., Lantuejoul I., Le Deroff L., Masson-Laborde P. E., Sary G., Vauzour B., Smets R., Gremillet L., Fuchs J.. Numerical investigation of spallation neutrons generated from petawatt-scale laser-driven proton beams[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2022, 7(2): 024401. doi: 10.1063/5.0060582

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Numerical investigation of spallation neutrons generated from petawatt-scale laser-driven proton beams

doi: 10.1063/5.0060582

Martinez B.^{1, 2
,
,
,},
Chen S. N.³,
Bolaños S.^1
,,
Blanchot N.⁴,
Boutoux G.²,
Cayzac W.²,
Courtois C.^2
,,
Davoine X.^{2, 5},
Duval A.²,
Horny V.^{1, 2
,},
Lantuejoul I.²,
Le Deroff L.^4
,,
Masson-Laborde P. E.^{2, 5
,},
Sary G.^{2, 5
,},
Vauzour B.²,
Smets R.^6
,,
Gremillet L.^{2, 5
,
,
,},
Fuchs J.^{1
,
,
,}

1.
LULI-CNRS, CEA, UPMC Univ Paris 06: Sorbonne Université, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, F-91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France
2.
CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon, France
3.
Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest–Magurele, Romania
4.
CEA, DAM, CESTA, F-33114 Le Barp, France
5.
Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, LMCE, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France
6.
LPP, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, F-91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France

More Information

Corresponding author: b)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: bertrand.martinez@tecnico.ulisboa.pt; laurent.gremillet@cea.fr; and julien.fuchs@polytechnique.edu; b)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: bertrand.martinez@tecnico.ulisboa.pt; laurent.gremillet@cea.fr; and julien.fuchs@polytechnique.edu; b)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: bertrand.martinez@tecnico.ulisboa.pt; laurent.gremillet@cea.fr; and julien.fuchs@polytechnique.edu
Received Date: 2021-06-20
Accepted Date: 2021-11-30

Available Online: 2022-03-01

Publish Date: 2022-03-01

Abstract

Abstract

Laser-driven neutron sources could offer a promising alternative to those based on conventional accelerator technologies in delivering compact beams of high brightness and short duration. We examine this through particle-in-cell and Monte Carlo simulations that model, respectively, the laser acceleration of protons from thin-foil targets and their subsequent conversion into neutrons in secondary lead targets. Laser parameters relevant to the 0.5 PW LMJ-PETAL and 0.6–6 PW Apollon systems are considered. Owing to its high intensity, the 20-fs-duration 0.6 PW Apollon laser is expected to accelerate protons up to above 100 MeV, thereby unlocking efficient neutron generation via spallation reactions. As a result, despite a 30-fold lower pulse energy than the LMJ-PETAL laser, the 0.6 PW Apollon laser should perform comparably well both in terms of neutron yield and flux. Notably, we predict that very compact neutron pulses, of ∼10 ps duration and ∼100 μm spot size, can be released provided the lead convertor target is thin enough (∼100 μm). These sources are characterized by extreme fluxes, of the order of 10²³ n cm⁻² s⁻¹, and even ten times higher when using the 6 PW Apollon laser. Such values surpass those currently achievable at large-scale accelerator-based neutron sources (∼10¹⁶ n cm⁻² s⁻¹), or reported from previous laser experiments using low-Z converters (∼10¹⁸ n cm⁻² s⁻¹). By showing that such laser systems can produce neutron pulses significantly brighter than existing sources, our findings open a path toward attractive novel applications, such as flash neutron radiography and laboratory studies of heavy-ion nucleosynthesis.

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References(54)

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