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Transition metal dichalcogenides with superperiodic lattice distortions have been widely investigated as the platform of ultrafast structural phase manipulations. Here we performed ultrafast electron diffraction on room-temperature TaTe$_2$, which exhibits peculiar double zigzag chain pattern of Ta atoms. From the time-dependent electron diffraction pattern, we revealed a photoinduced change in the crystal structure occurring within <0.5 ps, though there is no corresponding high-temperature equilibrium phase. We further clarified the slower response (~1.5 ps) reflecting the lattice thermalization. Our result suggests the unusual ultrafast crystal structure dynamics specific to the non-equilibrium transient process in TaTe$_2$., Comment: The paer is accepted in Applied Physics Express.(Open Access)

The enhancement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the vicinity of $p$-wave compound nuclear resonances was observed for a variety of medium-heavy nuclei. The enhanced parity-violating asymmetry can be understood using the $s$-$p$ mixing model. The $s$-$p$ mixing model predicts several neutron energy-dependent angular correlations between the neutron momentum $\vec k_n$, neutron spin $\vec\sigma_n$, $\gamma$-ray momentum $\vec k_\gamma$, and $\gamma$-ray polarization $\vec\sigma_\gamma$ in the $(n,\gamma)$ reaction. In this paper, the improved value of the transverse asymmetry of $\gamma$-ray emissions, corresponding to a correlation term $\vec{\sigma}_n\cdot(\vec k_n\times\vec k_\gamma)$ in the $^{139}\mathrm{La}(\vec n,\gamma)^{140}\mathrm{La}$ reaction, and the transverse asymmetries in the transitions to several low excited states of $^{140}\mathrm{La}$ are reported., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables

High-order harmonics are ubiquitous in nature and present in electromagnetic, acoustic, and gravitational waves. They are generated by periodic nonlinear processes or periodic high-frequency pulses. However, this periodicity is often inexact, such as that in chirped (frequency-swept) optical waveforms or interactions with nonstationary matter -- for instance, reflection from accelerating mirrors. Spectra observed in such cases contain complicated sets of harmonic-like fringes. We encountered such fringes in our experiment on coherent extreme ultraviolet generation via BISER, and could not interpret them using currently available knowledge. Here, we present a comprehensive theory based on interference of harmonics with different orders fully explaining the formation of these fringes, which we call alloharmonics. Like atomic spectra, the complex alloharmonic spectra depend on several integer numbers and bear a unique imprint of the emission process, which the theory can decipher, avoiding confusion or misinterpretation. We also demonstrate the alloharmonics in simulations of gravitational waves emitted by binary black hole mergers. Further, we predict the presence of alloharmonics in the radio spectra of pulsars and in optical frequency combs, and propose their use for measurement of extremely small accelerations necessary for testing gravity theories. The alloharmonics phenomenon generalizes classical harmonics and is critical in research fields such as laser mode locking, frequency comb generation, attosecond pulse generation, pulsar studies, and future gravitational wave spectroscopy., Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables

The neutron energy-dependent angular distribution of $\gamma$ rays from $^{117}{\rm Sn}(n,\gamma)$ reaction was measured with germanium detectors and a pulsed neutron beam. The angular distribution was clearly observed in $\gamma$-ray emissions with an energy of 9327 keV which corresponds to the transition from a neutron resonance of $^{117}{\rm Sn}+n$ to the ground state of $^{118}{\rm Sn}$. The angular distribution causes an angular-dependent asymmetric resonance shape. An asymmetry $A_{\rm LH}$ was defined as $(N_{\rm L}-N_{\rm H})/(N_{\rm L}+N_{\rm H})$, where $N_{\rm L}$ and $N_{\rm H}$ are integrated values for lower- and higher-energy regions of a neutron resonance, respectively. We found that the $A_{\rm LH}$ has the angular dependence of $(A \cos \theta_\gamma +B)$, where $\theta_\gamma$ is the $\gamma$-ray emission angle with respect to the incident neutron momentum, with $A=0.394 \pm 0.073$ and $B = 0.118 \pm 0.029$ in the 1.33 eV p-wave resonance., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Neutron energy-dependent angular distributions were observed for individual $\gamma$-rays from the 0.74 eV p-wave resonance of $^{139}$La+$n$ to several lower excited states of $^{140}$La. The $\gamma$-ray signals were analyzed in a two dimensional histogram of the $\gamma$-ray energy, measured with distributed germanium detectors, and neutron energy, determined with the time-of-flight of pulsed neutrons, to identify the neutron energy dependence of the angular distribution for each individual $\gamma$-rays. The angular distribution was also found for a photopeak accompanied with a faint p-wave resonance component in the neutron energy spectrum. Our results can be interpreted as interference between s- and p-wave amplitudes which may be used to study discrete symmetries of fundamental interactions., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures

A neutron lifetime measurement conducted at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) is counting the number of electrons from neutron decays with a time projection chamber (TPC). The $\gamma$ rays produced in the TPC cause irreducible background events. To achieve the precise measurement, the inner walls of the TPC consist of $^6$Li-enriched lithium-fluoride ($^6$LiF) tiles to suppress the amount of $\gamma$ rays. In order to estimate the amount of $\gamma$ rays from the $^{6}{\rm LiF}$ tile, prompt gamma ray analysis (PGA) measurements were performed using germanium detectors. We reconstructed the measured $\gamma$-ray energy spectrum using a Monte Carlo simulation with the stripping method. Comparing the measured spectrum with a simulated one, the number of $\gamma$ rays emitted from the$^{6}{\rm LiF}$ tile was $(2.3^{+0.7}_{-0.3}) \times 10^{-4}$ per incident neutron. This is $1.4^{+0.5}_{-0.2}$ times the value assumed for a mole fraction of the $^{6}{\rm LiF}$ tile. We concluded that the amount of $\gamma$ rays produced from the $^{6}{\rm LiF}$ tile is not more twice the originally assumed value., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, will be submitted to JINST

The neutron lifetime has been measured by comparing the decay rate with the reaction rate of $^3$He nuclei of a pulsed neutron beam from the spallation neutron source at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). The decay rate and the reaction rate were determined by simultaneously detecting electrons from the neutron decay and protons from the $^3$He(n,p)$^3$H reaction using a gas chamber of which working gas contains diluted $^3$He. The measured neutron lifetime was $898\,\pm\,10\,_{\rm stat}\,^{+15}_{-18}\,_{\rm sys}\,$s., Comment: 28 pages, 20 figures, will be submitted to PTEP

A correlation term ${{ \sigma}_{n} }\cdot ({ k_{n}\times k_\gamma}) $ in the ${}^{139}{\rm La}(\vec{n},\gamma)$ reaction has been studied utilizing epithermal polarized neutrons and germanium detectors. The transverse asymmetry for single $\gamma$-ray transition was measured to be $0.60\pm0.19$ in the $p$-wave resonance.

Relativistic mirrors can be realized with strongly nonlinear Langmuir waves excited by intense laser pulses in underdense plasma. On reflection from the relativistic mirror the incident light affects the mirror motion. The corresponding recoil effects are investigated analytically and with particle-in-cell simulations. It is found that if the fluence of the incident electromagnetic wave exceeds a certain threshold, the relativistic mirror undergoes a significant back reaction and splits into multiple electron layers. The reflection coefficient of the relativistic mirror as well as the factors of electric field amplification and frequency upshift of the electromagnetic wave are obtained., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physics of Plasmas

Effects of ionization injection in low and high Z gas mixtures for the laser wake field acceleration of electrons are analyzed with the use of balance equations and particle-in-cell simulations via test probe particle trajectories in realistic plasma fields and direct simulations of charge loading during the ionization process. It is shown that electrons appearing at the maximum of laser pulse field after optical ionization are trapped in the first bucket of the laser pulse wake. Electrons, which are produced by optical field ionization at the front of laser pulse, propagate backwards; some of them are trapped in the second bucket, third bucket and so on. The efficiency of ionization injection is not high, several pC/mm/bucket. This injection becomes competitive with wave breaking injection at lower plasma density and over a rather narrow range of laser pulse intensity., Comment: 12 figures

We have developed a new laser-based time calibration system for highly segmented scintillator counters like the MEG II pixelated Timing Counter (pTC), consisting of 512-centimeter scale scintillator counters read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). It is difficult to apply previous laser-based calibration methods for conventional meter-scale Time-Of-Flight detectors to the MEG II pTC from the implementation and the accuracy points of view. This paper presents a new laser-based time calibration system which can overcome such difficulties. A laser pulse is split into each scintillator counter via several optical components so that we can directly measure the time offset of each counter relative to the laser-emitted time. We carefully tested all the components and procedures prior to the actual operation. The laser system was installed into the pTC and thoroughly tested under the real experimental condition. The system showed good stability and being sensitive to any change of timing larger than ~10 ps. Moreover, it showed an uncertainty of 48 ps in the determination of the time offsets, which meets our requirements. The new method provides an example of the implementation of a precise timing alignment for the new type of detectors enabled by the advance of SiPM technology., Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures

Apart from maximizing the strength of optical electromagnetic fields achievable at high-intensity laser facilities, the collision of several phase-matched laser pulses has been theoretically identified as a trigger of and way to study various phenomena. These range from the basic processes of strong-field quantum electrodynamics to the extraordinary dynamics of the generated electron-positron plasmas. This has paved the way for several experimental proposals aimed at both fundamental studies of matter at extreme conditions and the creation of particle and radiation sources. Because of the unprecedented capabilities of such sources they have the potential to open up new opportunities for experimental studies in nuclear and quark-gluon physics. We here perform a systematic analysis of different regimes and opportunities achievable with the concept of multiple-colliding laser pulses (MCLP), for both current and upcoming laser facilities. We reveal that several distinct regimes could be within reach of multi-PW laser facilities., Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures

In a neutron lifetime measurement at the Japan Proton Accelerator Complex, the neutron lifetime is calculated by the neutron decay rate and the incident neutron flux. The flux is obtained due to counting the protons emitted from the neutron absorption reaction of ${}^{3}{\rm He}$ gas, which is diluted in a mixture of working gas in a detector. Hence, it is crucial to determine the amount of ${}^{3}{\rm He}$ in the mixture. In order to improve the accuracy of the number density of the ${}^{3}{\rm He}$ nuclei, we suggested to use the ${}^{14}{\rm N}({\rm n},{\rm p}){}^{14}{\rm C}$ reaction as a reference because this reaction involves similar kinetic energy as the ${}^{3}{\rm He}({\rm n},{\rm p}){}^{3}{\rm H}$ reaction and a smaller reaction cross section to introduce reasonable large partial pressure. The uncertainty of the recommended value of the cross section, however, is not satisfied with our requirement. In this paper, we report the most accurate experimental value of the cross section of the ${}^{14}{\rm N}({\rm n},{\rm p}){}^{14}{\rm C}$ reaction at a neutron velocity of 2200 m/s, measured relative to the ${}^{3}{\rm He}({\rm n},{\rm p}){}^{3}{\rm H}$ reaction. The result was 1.868 $\pm$ 0.003 (stat.) $\pm$ 0.006 (sys.) b. Additionally, the cross section of the ${}^{17}{\rm O}({\rm n},{\rm \alpha}){}^{14}{\rm C}$ reaction at the neutron velocity is also redetermined as 249 $\pm$ 6 mb., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures

As an alternative to Compton backscattering and bremsstrahlung, the process of colliding high-energy electron beams with strong laser fields can more efficiently provide both cleaner and brighter source of photons in the multi-GeV range for fundamental studies in nuclear and quark-gluon physics. In order to favor the emission of high-energy quanta and minimize their decay into electron-positron pairs the fields must not only be sufficiently strong, but also well localized. We here examine these aspects and develop the concept of a laser-particle collider tailored for high-energy photon generation. We show that the use of multiple colliding laser pulses with 0.4 PW of total power is capable of converting more than 18% of the initial multi-GeV electron beam energy into photons, each of which carries more than half of the electron energy., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Angular distribution of individual $\gamma$-rays, emitted from a neutron-induced compound nuclear state via radiative capture reaction of ${}^{139}$La(n,$\gamma$) has been studied as a function of incident neutron energy in the epithermal region by using germanium detectors. An asymmetry $A_{\mathrm{LH}}$ was defined as $(N_{\mathrm L}-N_{\mathrm H})/(N_{\mathrm L}+N_{\mathrm H})$, where $N_{\mathrm L}$ and $N_{\mathrm H}$ are integrals of low and high energy region of a neutron resonance respectively, and we found that $A_{\mathrm{LH}}$ has the angular dependence of $(A\cos\theta_\gamma+B)$, where $\theta_\gamma$ is emitted angle of $\gamma$-rays, with $A= -0.3881\pm0.0236$ and $B=-0.0747\pm0.0105$ in 0.74 eV p-wave resonance. This angular distribution was analyzed within the framework of interference between s- and p-wave amplitudes in the entrance channel to the compound nuclear state, and it is interpreted as the value of the partial p-wave neutron width corresponding to the total angular momentum of the incident neutron combined with the weak matrix element, in the context of the mechanism of enhanced parity-violating effects. Additionally we used the result to quantify the possible enhancement of the breaking of the time-reversal invariance in the vicinity of the p-wave resonance., Comment: 14pages, 25 figures

We analyze the collision of a high energy electron beam with an oscillating electric and magnetic field configuration, which represents a three-dimensional standing electromagnetic wave. The radiating electrons are stopped at the distance of the order of or less than the electromagnetic wave wavelength, and become trapped near the electric field local maxima due to the nonlinear dependence of the radiation friction force on the electromagnetic field strength, while the quantum effects on the radiation friction remain negligible., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 31 citations, 1 appendix

The multiple colliding laser pulse concept formulated in Ref. [1] is beneficial for achieving an extremely high amplitude of coherent electromagnetic field. Since the topology of electric and magnetic fields oscillating in time of multiple colliding laser pulses is far from trivial and the radiation friction effects are significant in the high field limit, the dynamics of charged particles interacting with the multiple colliding laser pulses demonstrates remarkable features corresponding to random walk trajectories, limit circles, attractors, regular patterns and Levy flights. Under extremely high intensity conditions the nonlinear dissipation mechanism stabilizes the particle motion resulting in the charged particle trajectory being located within narrow regions and in the occurrence of a new class of regular patterns made by the particle ensembles., Comment: 28 pages, 32 figures

In various media the elementary components can emit traveling waves such as electromagnetic, gravitational or acoustic types. If these elementary emitters are synchronized, the resulting emission is coherent. Moreover, the faster the emitters approach an observer, the more intense and directional their apparent emission is, with associated frequency increase. Multi-stream flows ubiquitously occur in media (such as with shock waves and jets in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas) and produce fast moving density singularities, where high concentration and synchronism can bring constructive interference. However, a singularity emitting such characteristic coherent radiation has not been demonstrated yet. We show this general phenomenon in laser-driven relativistic plasma, which is an ideal medium for realizing these effects in the laboratory under controllable conditions. Our experiments and simulations reveal bright coherent soft x-ray radiation from nanoscale electron density singularities in multi-stream plasma. They constitute a new compact x-ray source of ultrashort duration, demanded in numerous applications. In general, singularities can be bright sources of other types of traveling waves. Thus our findings open new opportunities in different fields of science. For example, gravitational wave generation, as proposed in ultrahigh-energy accelerators, can be significantly enhanced by intentionally induced density singularities in the particle bunches. Further, we anticipate that multi-stream flows in cosmic media can produce intense bursts of coherent electromagnetic and/or gravitational waves, especially at longer wavelengths which facilitate constructive interference. We can then expect to observe more directional short wavelength bursts from cosmic emitters approaching at relativistic speeds. Thus, we present a new framework for interpreting a broad range of experimental results.

A nonlinear oscillator with an abruptly inhomogeneous restoring force driven by an uniform oscillating force exhibits stochastic properties under specific resonance conditions. This behaviour elucidates the elementary mechanism of the electron energization in the strong electromagnetic wave interaction with thin targets., Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures

Non-linear cascade scattering of intense, tightly focused laser pulses by relativistic electrons is studied numerically in the classical approximation including the radiation damping for the quantum parameter hwx-ray/E<1 and an arbitrary radiation parameter Kai. The electron energy loss, along with its side scattering by the ponderomotive force, makes the scattering in the vicinity of high laser field nearly impossible at high electron energies. The use of a second, co-propagating laser pulse as a booster is shown to solve this problem.

We propose experiments on the collision of high intensity electromagnetic pulses with electron bunches and on the collision of multiple electromagnetic pulses for studying extreme field limits in the nonlinear interaction of electromagnetic waves. The effects of nonlinear QED will be revealed in these laser plasma experiments., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; 15th Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop (AAC 2012), Austin, Texas, 10-15 June, 2012

We demonstrate a new high-order harmonic generation mechanism reaching the `water window' spectral region in experiments with multi-terawatt femtosecond lasers irradiating gas jets. A few hundred harmonic orders are resolved, giving uJ/sr pulses. Harmonics are collectively emitted by an oscillating electron spike formed at the joint of the boundaries of a cavity and bow wave created by a relativistically self-focusing laser in underdense plasma. The spike sharpness and stability are explained by catastrophe theory. The mechanism is corroborated by particle-in-cell simulations.

We propose the experiments on the collision of laser light and high intensity electromagnetic pulses generated by relativistic flying mirrors, with electron bunches produced by a conventional accelerator and with laser wake field accelerated electrons for studying extreme field limits in the nonlinear interaction of electromagnetic waves. The regimes of dominant radiation reaction, which completely changes the electromagnetic wave-matter interaction, will be revealed in the laser plasma experiments. This will result in a new powerful source of ultra short high brightness gamma-ray pulses. A possibility of the demonstration of the electron-positron pair creation in vacuum in a multi-photon processes can be realized. This will allow modeling under terrestrial laboratory conditions neutron star magnetospheres, cosmological gamma ray bursts and the Leptonic Era of the Universe., Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures, 1 table

An optically-dense ionization wave (IW) produced by two femtosecond laser pulses focused cylindrically and crossing each other is shown to be an efficient coherent x-ray converter. The resulting velocity of a quasi-plane IW in the vicinity of pulse intersection increases with the angle between the pulses from the group velocity of ionizing pulses to infinity allowing an easy tuning the wavelength of x-rays. The x-ray spectra of a converted, lower frequency coherent light change from the monochromatic to a high order harmonic-like with the duration of ionizing pulses and the intensity of scattered pulses; the spectrum are not symmetrical at Vc.

A set of ballpark parameters for laser, plasma, and accelerator technologies that define for electron energies reaching as high as TeV are identified. These ballpark parameters are carved out from the fundamental scaling laws that govern laser acceleration, theoretically suggested and experimentally explored over a wide range in the recent years. In the density regime on the order of 10^{16} cm^{-3}, the appropriate laser technology, we find, matches well with that of a highly efficient high fluence LD driven Yb ceramic laser. Further, the collective acceleration technique applies to compactify the beam stoppage stage by adopting the beam-plasma wave deceleration, which contributes to significantly enhance the stopping power and energy recovery capability of the beam. Thus we find the confluence of the needed laser acceleration parameters dictated by these scaling laws and the emerging laser technology. This may herald a new technology in the ultrahigh energy frontier., Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, submitted to AIP Conference Proceedings

The laser-driven acceleration of high quality proton beams from a double-layer target, comprised of a high-Z ion layer and a thin disk of hydrogen, is investigated with three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations in the case of oblique incidence of a laser pulse. It is shown that the proton beam energy reaches its maximum at a certain incidence angle of the laser pulse, where it can be much greater than the energy at normal incidence. The proton beam propagates at some angle with respect to the target surface normal, as determined by the proton energy and the incidence angle.

Since the advent of chirped pulse amplification1 the peak power of lasers has grown dramatically and opened the new branch of high field science, delivering the focused irradiance, electric fields of which drive electrons into the relativistic regime. In a plasma wake wave generated by such a laser, modulations of the electron density naturally and robustly take the shape of paraboloidal dense shells, separated by evacuated regions, moving almost at the speed of light. When we inject another counter-propagating laser pulse, it is partially reflected from the shells, acting as relativistic flying (semi-transparent) mirrors, producing an extremely time-compressed frequency-multiplied pulse which may be focused tightly to the diffraction limit. This is as if the counterstreaming laser pulse bounces off a relativistically swung tennis racket, turning the ball of the laser photons into another ball of coherent X-ray photons but with a form extremely relativistically compressed to attosecond and zeptosecond levels. Here we report the first demonstration of the frequency multiplication detected from the reflection of a weak laser pulse in the region of the wake wave generated by the driver pulse in helium plasma. This leads to the possibility of very strong pulse compression and extreme coherent light intensification. This Relativistic Tennis with photon beams is demonstrated leading to the possibility toward reaching enormous electromagnetic field intensification and finally approaching the Schwinger field, toward which the vacuum nonlinearly warps and eventually breaks, producing electron-positron pairs., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures

We studied the hard x-ray emission and the K-alpha x-ray conversion efficiency produced by 60 fs high contrast frequency doubled Ti: sapphire laser pulse focused on Cu foil target. Cu K-alpha photon emission obtained with second harmonic laser pulse is more intense than the case of fundamental laser pulse. The Cu K-alpha conversion efficiency shows strong dependence on laser nonlinearly skewed pulse shape and reaches the maximum value 4x10-4 with 100 fs negatively skewed pulse. It shows the electron spectrum shaping contribute to the increase of conversion efficiency. Particle-in-cell simulations demonstrates that the application of high contrast laser pulses will be an effective method to optimize the x-ray emission, via the Enhanced Vacuum Heating mechanism., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, presented in 2006 APS March Meeting, Baltimore, MD. Session N43: Quantum Optics and Strong Field Physics, Abstract: N43.00011

We suggest a novel method for injection of electrons into the acceleration phase of particle accelerators, producing low emittance beams appropriate even for the demanding high energy Linear Collider specifications. In this paper we work out the injection into the acceleration phase of the wake field in a plasma behind a high intensity laser pulse, taking advantage of the laser polarization and focusing. With the aid of catastrophe theory we categorize the injection dynamics. The scheme uses the structurally stable regime of transverse wake wave breaking, when electron trajectory self-intersection leads to the formation of a flat electron bunch. As shown in three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the interaction of a laser pulse in a line-focus with an underdense plasma, the electrons, injected via the transverse wake wave breaking and accelerated by the wake wave, perform betatron oscillations with different amplitudes and frequencies along the two transverse coordinates. The polarization and focusing geometry lead to a way to produce relativistic electron bunches with asymmetric emittance (flat beam). An approach for generating flat laser accelerated ion beams is briefly discussed., Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures

An experiment for studying laser self-guiding has been carried out for the high power ultrashort pulse laser interaction with an underdense plasma slab. Formation of an extremely long plasma channel and its bending are observed when the laser pulse power is much higher than the critical power for relativistic self-focusing. The long self-guiding channel formation is accompanied by electron acceleration with a low transverse emittance and high electric current. Particle-in-cell simulations show that laser bending occurs when the accelerated electrons overtake the laser pulse and modify the refractive index in the region in front of the laser pulse.

The regimes of quasi-mono-energetic electron beam generation were experimentally studied in the sub-relativistic intensity laser plasma interaction. The observed electron acceleration regime is unfolded with two-dimensional-particle-in-cell simulations of laser-wakefield generation in the self-modulation regime., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures