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We present the results of the second commissioning phase of the short-focal-length area of the Apollon laser facility (located in Saclay, France), which was performed with the main laser beam (F1), scaled to a peak power of 2 PetaWatt. Under the conditions that were tested, this beam delivered on-target pulses of maximum energy up to 45 J and 22 fs duration. Several diagnostics were fielded to assess the performance of the facility. The on-target focal spot and its spatial stability, as well as the secondary sources produced when irradiating solid targets, have all been characterized, with the goal of helping users design future experiments. The laser-target interaction was characterized, as well as emissions of energetic ions, X-ray and neutrons recorded, all showing good laser-to-target coupling efficiency. Moreover, we demonstrated the simultaneous fielding of F1 with the auxiliary 0.5 PW F2 beam of Apollon, enabling dual beam operation. The present commissioning will be followed in 2025 by a further commissioning stage of F1 at the 8 PW level, en route to the final 10 PW goal.

Compact laser-plasma acceleration of fast ions has made great strides since its discovery over two decades ago, resulting in the current generation of high-energy ($\geq 100\,\rm MeV$) ultracold beams over ultrashort ($\leq 1\,\rm ps$) durations. To unlock broader applications of these beams, we need the ability to tailor the ion energy spectrum. Here, we present a scheme that achieves precisely this by accelerating protons in a "lighthouse" fashion, whereby the highest-energy component of the beam is emitted in a narrow cone, well separated from the lower-energy components. This is made possible by a two-stage interaction in which the rear surface of the target is first set into rapid motion before the main acceleration phase. This approach offers the additional advantages of leveraging a robust sheath acceleration process in standard micron-thick targets and being optically controllable., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

Realizing the full potential of ultrahigh-intensity lasers for particle and radiation generation will require multi-beam arrangements due to technology limitations. Here, we investigate how to optimize their coupling with solid targets. Experimentally, we show that overlapping two intense lasers in a mirror-like configuration onto a solid with a large preplasma can greatly improve the generation of hot electrons at the target front and ion acceleration at the target backside. The underlying mechanisms are analyzed through multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations, revealing that the self-induced magnetic fields driven by the two laser beams at the target front are susceptible to reconnection, which is one possible mechanism to boost electron energization. In addition, the resistive magnetic field generated during the transport of the hot electrons in the target bulk tends to improve their collimation. Our simulations also indicate that such effects can be further enhanced by overlapping more than two laser beams.

The study of the generation of metric perturbation in the laboratory presents an opportunity to observe and understand more easily the mechanisms at work in gravitation. The present study will focus on the metric perturbation generated by a light pulse, as it could be generated by a current ultra-high power laser. Although of very small magnitude, the potential thus generated has advantages over that generated by mass acceleration, such as the absence of noise due to non uniform acceleration or the ability to scale up the experiment. It is indeed easier to scale up an electromagnetic oscillation compared to a mechanical oscillator, which must either be made with a large accelerated mass or a lot of small masses, all in sync, which acceleration must furthermore be quadripolar. Generation of metric deformation by laser could therefore prove useful in the long-term establishment of a laboratory experiment for the generation and detection of gravitational waves.

By means of particle-in-cell numerical simulations, we investigate the emission of high-energy photons in laser-plasma interactions under ultrahigh-intensity conditions relevant to multi-petawatt laser systems. We first examine the characteristics of synchrotron radiation from laser-driven plasmas of varying density and size. In particular, we show and explain the dependence of the angular distribution of the radiated photons on the transparency or opacity of the plasma. We then study the competition of the synchrotron and Bremsstrahlung emissions in copper foil targets irradiated by $10^{22}\,\rm W\,cm^{-2}$, $50 \, \rm fs$ laser pulses. Synchrotron emission is observed to be maximized for target thicknesses of a few $10 \, \rm nm$, close to the relativistic transparency threshold, and to be superseded by Bremsstrahlung in targets a few $\mu$m thick. At their best efficiency, both mechanisms are found to radiate about one percent of the laser energy into photons with energies above $10\,\rm keV$. Their energy and angular spectra are thoroughly analyzed in light of the ultrafast target dynamics., Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures

The evolution of the Buneman and two-stream instabilities driven by a cold dilute mildly relativistic electron beam is studied as a function of the ion\'\s charge-to-mass ratio. The growth rates of both instabilities are comparable for the selected parameters if the charge-to-mass ratio of protons is used and the Buneman instability outgrows the two-stream instability for a larger ratio. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations show that both instabilities grow independently during their linear growth phase. The much lower saturation amplitude of the Buneman instability implies that it saturates first even if the linear growth rates of both instabilities are equal. The electron phase space holes it drives coalesce. Their spatial size increases in time and they start interacting with the two-stream mode, which triggers the onset of electrostatic turbulence. A reduced charge-to-mass ratio results in stronger turbulence and ion heating and in an increased energy loss of the relativistic electron beam compared to that in a simulation with the correct ratio., Comment: 10 pages, 29 figures

In the past two decades, laser-accelerated ion sources and their applications have been intensely researched. Recently, it has been shown through experiments that proton beams with characteristics comparable to those obtained with solid targets can be obtained from gaseous targets. By means of Particle-In-Cell simulations, this paper studies in detail the effects of a near-critical density gradient on ion and electron acceleration after the interaction with ultra high intensity lasers. We can observe that the peak density of the gas jet has a significant influence on the spectrum features. As the gas jet density increases, so does the peak energy of the central quasi-monoenergetic ion bunch due to the increase in laser absorption while at the same time having a broadening effect on the electron angular distribution., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures

Collision detection of a large number N of particles can be challenging. Directly testing N particles for collision among each other leads to N 2 queries. Especially in scenarios, where fast, densely packed particles interact, challenges arise for classical methods like Particle-in-Cell or Monte-Carlo. Modern collision detection methods utilising bounding volume hierarchies are suitable to overcome these challenges and allow a detailed analysis of the interaction of large number of particles. This approach is applied to the analysis of the collision of two photon beams leading to the creation of electron-positron pairs., Comment: Preprint version

Generation of antimatter via the multiphoton Breit-Wheeler process in an all-optical scheme will be made possible on forthcoming high-power laser facilities through the collision of wakefield-accelerated GeV electrons with a counter-propagating laser pulse with $10^{22}$-$10^{23}$ $\mathrm{Wcm}^{-2}$ peak intensity. By means of integrated 3D particle-in-cell simulations, we show that the production of positron beams with 0.1-1 nC total charge, 100-400 MeV mean energy and 0.01-0.1 rad divergence is within the reach of soon-to-be-available laser systems. The variations of the positron beam's properties with respect to the laser parameters are also examined.

In this paper we describe the physical processes that lead to the generation of Giant Electro- Magnetic Pulses (GEMP) on powerful laser facilities. Our study is based on experimental mea- surements of both the charging of a solid target irradiated by an ultra-short, ultra-intense laser and the detection of the electromagnetic emission in the GHz domain. An unambiguous correlation between the neutralisation current in the target holder and the electromagnetic emission shows that the source of the GEMP is the remaining positive charge inside the target after the escape of fast electrons accelerated by the ultra-intense laser. A simple model for calculating this charge in the thick target case is presented. From this model and knowing the geometry of the target holder, it becomes possible to estimate the intensity and the dominant frequencies of the GEMP on any facility.

A simple setup for the generation of ultra-intense quasistatic magnetic fields is proposed and analysed. Estimations and numerical Particle-In-Cell calculations show that magnetic fields of gigagauss scale may be generated with conventional powerful relativistic lasers interacting with the appropriate targets of a special geometry. The setup may be useful for a wide range of applications, from laboratory astrophysics to magnetized ICF schemes.

A theoretical analysis for astrophysics-oriented laser-matter interaction experiments in the presence of a strong ambient magnetic field is presented. It is shown that the plasma collision in the ambient magnetic field implies significant perturbations in the electron density and magnetic field distribution. This transient stage is difficult to observe in astrophysical phenomena, but it could be investigated in laboratory experiments. Analytic models are presented, which are supported by particle-in-cell simulations.

Next generation of ultra-intense laser facilities will lead to novel physical conditions ruled by collective and quantum electrodynamics effects, such as synchrotron-like emission of high-energy photons and electron-positron pair generation. In view of the future experiments performed in this regime, the latter processes have been implemented into the particle-in-cell code CALDER.

We demonstrate that a mm-scale free electron laser can operate in the X-ray range, in the interaction between a moderately relativistic electron bunch, and a transverse high intensity optical lattice. The corrugated light-induced ponderomotive potential acts simultaneously as a guide and as a low-frequency wiggler, triggering stimulated Raman scattering. The gain law in the small signal regime is derived in a fluid approach, and confirmed from Particle-In-Cell simulations. We describe the nature of bunching, and discuss the saturation properties. The resulting all-optical Raman X-ray laser opens perspectives for ultra-compact coherent light sources up to the hard X-ray range., Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. 03/11/2012