Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “laser-driven”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Ramp-release experiments for strength measurements: Strain-rate dependence

This paper presents an enhanced analysis method for investigating material properties at high strain rates, extending the capability of established experimental techniques to gain more information. The ramp-release method has been applied to many experiments reported at high (≈10 5 − 10 6 s −1 ) strain-rates. More recent data gathered at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) has enabled higher (≈10 8 s −1 ) strain-rates to be studied. Here, we present an initial application of ramp-release analysis to NIF ramp-compression data, illustrating both the opportunities and the practical challenges of extending these methods to laser-driven platforms. The higher strain-rates accessed at the NIF mean that there is more strain-rate enhancement to strength, and the experimental configuration means that this enhancement is more readily seen in the data. This is enabled by the capability of avoiding peak-compression attenuation through the sample thickness with a designed hold period made possible by the pulse-shaping capability of NIF. We propose that this combination of experimental conditions and an enhanced analysis method enables the strain-rate enhancement to strength to be studied, and potentially for this to inform physics models at smaller scales than the continuum.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Collisionless Larmor coupling and blob formation in a laser-plasma expanding into a magnetized ambient plasma

Collisionless Larmor coupling is a fundamental process in space and astrophysical plasmas that enables momentum transfer between an expanding plasma and a magnetized ambient medium. Here, in this paper, we report on the laboratory experimental study of Larmor coupling leading to the formation of a plasma blob associated with a laser-driven, super-Alfvénic plasma flow on the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles. The high-repetition rate enables systematic spatial and temporal scans of the plasma evolution using Doppler spectroscopy, as well as measurements of the magnetic field, electrostatic field, and self-emission of both debris and ambient ions using filtered imaging. We observe the self-focusing of the laser-produced plasma and the formation of a secondary diamagnetic cavity associated with a blob composed of background ions. Doppler spectroscopy reveals the transverse velocity distribution of the background ions, providing direct evidence of ion energization via Larmor coupling. The systematic spatial and temporal scans enabled by the high-repetition-rate experiment allow for a detailed characterization of the ion dynamics. These experimental observations are supported by numerical simulations that provide more insight into the kinetic-scale physics associated with blob formation as well as the role of the ambient plasma density.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Modeling thermal radiation waves in silica plasmas for the Mooncat NIF experiment

The Mooncat experiment on the National Ignition Facility uses a laser-driven hohlraum to create a thermal radiation wave in a titanium-doped silica plasma. The titanium dopant enables absorption spectroscopy measurements to infer the temperature of the wave as it propagates. This measurement can be used to constrain multi-physics simulation codes to better understand when simulations do not match an experiment. In this paper, we present radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of the thermal radiation wave in the first full-platform shots of the Mooncat experiment. We examine the important parameters of the simulation, focusing on the radiation temperature source, the material model of the silica plasma as it pertains to radiation transport, and lateral leakage through a beryllium tube enclosing the silica. We compare different simulation modeling strategies to an analytic model of diffusive radiation transport and find that the simulation agrees with the analytic model when it is sufficiently simplified. These simulations show how radiation energy couples to matter to develop a shock wave in a radiative heat wave, an important topic in astrophysics and nuclear fusion plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Spherical compression of an applied magnetic field in inertial confinement fusion

Applying an external magnetic field to laser-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions is a promising approach for enhancing fusion yield. The field is compressed with the plasma, producing a magnetized hotspot that anisotropically suppresses thermal losses and traps alpha particles, making performance sensitive to the compressed field orientation. Here, we derive a simple, readily applicable analytic model that enables rapid evaluation of the compressed field topology and show that ablation into the hotspot amplifies the central field, while the ablated ice near the hotspot edge develops a decaying, radially bent field, with a discontinuity in the field direction. The radially bent field renders thermal insulation at the hotspot edge negligible and largely independent of the applied field strength, whereas insulation in the hotspot core still depends strongly on the applied field. Applying the model to non-axial initial field configurations, we find that an initially applied mirror field provides the greatest suppression, followed by the standard axial field.

Physics - Plasma physics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Size scaling of acceleration phase energetics and its effects on direct-drive DT-layered implosions

A fundamental question in inertial confinement fusion is how implosion performance, and therefore ignition thresholds and fusion gain, evolve with target size. In laser-driven direct drive fusion, the scaling of laser-drive performance with size is critical to this evolution and to extrapolating results from the 30-kJ OMEGA laser-fusion experiments to ignition-class facilities such as the National Ignition Facility. Beyond the well-known adverse effects of cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) on drive performance, here we demonstrate that effects related to the non-scaling physics of thermal conduction and electron–ion energy equilibration exert an influence on drive behavior with scale that equals or surpasses that of CBET. We find that a significant portion of the lost implosion performance with increasing scale is due to the loss of shell implosion velocity. Here, we show that while modest modifications to hydro-scaled designs can recover most of the lost implosion velocity, a full hydro-equivalent performance extrapolation is difficult to achieve without CBET mitigation or subcooling below the triple point of DT.

Patel, D. [University of Rochester, NY (United Sta↗
DOE OSTI2026

The inertial confinement fusion experimental platform and diagnostics for studies of nuclear reactions relevant to nuclear astrophysics

High energy density plasmas generated in laser-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions provide unparalleled laboratory conditions for studying stellar-relevant nuclear reactions: plasma environment; hot and dense; uniquely high achievable neutron flux. These experiments have the potential to address long-standing questions about plasma effects on nuclear reactions hitherto experimentally inaccessible, including nuclear rates with thermally distributed reactants, plasma screening, and reactions involving nuclei in excited states. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) and OMEGA lasers are two primary facilities for executing experiments of this type. Existing and future nuclear diagnostics, along with supporting diagnostics to characterize the platform, enable exploitation of these plasmas for such nuclear astrophysics-relevant experiments. Here, this review describes the nuclear diagnostic capabilities currently available for these types of experiments at the NIF and OMEGA, including neutron time-of-flight spectrometers, charged-particle detectors, gamma detectors and radiochemistry diagnostics, and briefly summarizes other available diagnostic capabilities used for platform characterization. Enabling tools not yet available are also identified, including a rapid radioactive sample retrieval system, a low-energy neutron spectrometer and a high-efficiency gamma spectrometer.

National Ignition Facility↗
DOE OSTI2025

Observation of kinetic mix enhancement in thin-shell OMEGA implosions

Recent separated reactant experiments for thin-shell (6 µ⁢m) shock-driven implosions on OMEGA have demonstrated significant mix from a buried deuterated layer of the shell into the hot spot. Time resolved D 3 He-p reaction history data demonstrate a (50 ± 20)⁢ ps shift earlier in peak nuclear emission for separated reactant experiments relative to control, in contrast to past experimental data for thicker, 20 µ⁢m shells with no laser burn through that show a 75 ps delay due to the time required for hydrodynamic instabilities to develop. This contrast suggests that the mix mechanism was not hydrodynamic. Ion kinetic simulations utilizing fall line analyses show much closer agreement with mix yield and temperature than diffusion models, predicting a D 3 He-p mix yield of 1.7 × 10 9 as compared to the experimental value of 9.3⁢ (±2.1) × 10 8 . This is three orders of magnitude closer than the fall line analysis from a hydrodynamic simulation with an inline diffusive mix model, which suggests minimal mix and D 3 He-p yields of 5×10 5 . This makes kinetic mechanisms the only feasible explanation for the mix seen, demonstrating impact of a non-standard mix mechanism. An analytical model of this kinetic mix mechanism suggests that it can remain significant in situations when the shell expands significantly to low densities, and diffusive models predict negligible mix. Finally, kinetic mix will impact multiple types of high energy density, laser-driven fusion experiments including high-adiabat direct drive cryoexperiments, nuclear cross section experiments, and thin-shell polar direct drive experiments used to tune heat conduction models.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Shock compression of liquid helium to 360 GPa

Data for the shock equation of state of helium are obtained up to 360⁢G⁡Pa, nearly doubling the pressure of previous experimental measurements. The helium samples are first precompressed to 2.7 g⁡c⁢m −3 in a diamond anvil cell prior to laser-driven shock compression at the Omega Laser Facility. Time-resolved Doppler velocimetry and pyrometry reveal significant reflectivity and greater compressibility compared to the predictions of existing broad-range tabular equation of state models, which may be caused by the onset of ionization. These experimental observations, however, are largely captured with molecular-dynamics simulations based on density functional theory, affirming the ability of first-principles techniques to capture complex physics, while enabling critical insight for the behavior of warm dense helium in Jovian interiors and white dwarf atmospheres.

Physics - Plasma physics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Direct measurement of electron heating in electron-only reconnection in a laboratory mini-magnetosphere

We report on the experimental observation of electron heating in electron-only magnetic reconnection in laser-driven laboratory mini-magnetosphere on the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles. In this experiment, a fast-flowing plasma impacts a pulsed magnetic dipole embedded within LAPD’s magnetized ambient plasma, creating an ion-scale magnetosphere and driving electron-only magnetic reconnection between the background and dipole field lines. The electron velocity distribution is measured across the reconnection region using noncollective Thomson scattering, enabling determination of electron temperature and density. Significant electron heating is observed in the electron diffusion region, increasing from an initial temperature of 1.8 to 9.5 eV, corresponding to a 40% local conversion of Poynting flux into electron enthalpy flux. Particle-in-cell simulations that provide insights into the heating mechanisms are also presented.

Rovige, Lucas [Department of Physics and Astronomy↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dynamical phase transition in a strongly hybridized phonon-triplon chain

In this article, we study a dimerized spin-1/2 chain, such as CuGeO 3 , hosting triplon excitations coupled to optical phonons under weak terahertz laser driving. Both phonons and triplons weakly lose energy into the surrounding baths, forming a non-equilibrium steady state. In the strong phonon-triplon coupling regime, phonons near the two-triplon continuum hybridize strongly with triplons. Using mean-field Lindblad dynamics, we show that strong hybridization induces sharp first-order phase transitions—either single or simultaneous double—in the emission spectrum, mainly due to nonlinearities in the chain and the instantaneous breaking of spatial inversion symmetry, as captured by the phonon displacement. Using mean-field Floquet analysis of harmonic modes in both sectors, we analytically confirm the existence of these phase transitions. Furthermore, we map the complete steady-state phase diagram by varying key control parameters and provide experimentally relevant parameters for observing these transitions in laser-driven CuGeO 3 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

Temperature and conductivity in shock compressed bridgmanite MgSiO 3 up to 2 TPa

The melting behavior and transport properties of MgSiO 3 at multi-megabar pressures remain poorly constrained despite their importance for high-pressure silicate physics. Here we report the first direct measurements of temperature and optical reflectivity in shock-compressed bridgmanite (MgSiO 3 ) using laser-driven decaying shock compression combined with velocimetry and optical pyrometry. Temperature and reflectivity data spanning approximately 4000–60 000 K were used to constrain the MgSiO 3 melting curve and to infer its electrical conductivity. We find that the MgSiO 3 melting curve becomes shallower than that of iron above 400 GPa, yielding lower melting temperatures in planetary mantles than predicted by several previous theoretical estimates. Across the solid-liquid transition, the inferred electrical conductivity increases significantly, reaching ∼2000 Ω cm −1 . These results provide experimental benchmarks for theoretical models of silicate melting and transport under extreme pressure-temperature conditions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-pressure melt dynamics in shock-compressed titanium

In this work we study the high-pressure melting behavior of titanium using laser-driven shock compression with in situ femtosecond x-ray diffraction and molecular-dynamics simulations based on a machine-learned interatomic potential. The MD simulations predict the solid-liquid coexistence on the Hugoniot in the ∼111−124GPa range. Experimentally, we observe the first evidence of liquid at 86 GPa. We also observe pronounced microstructural changes with pressure, with strong grain refinement associated with the emergence of liquid, within the solid-liquid coexistence (∼110−126GPa). Above 126 GPa, we observe the persistence of residual levels of highly textured crystalline Ti to ∼180GPa, well above the expected melt completion pressure. We discuss the accuracy that current laser-shock experimental platforms have at determining the melt onset and completion pressures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Shock compression of diamond single crystals to 120 GPa: Refractive index and nonlinear photoelasticity

The optical response of transparent solids at extreme conditions is important for both fundamental science and many applications. Strong transparent solids are of particular interest for use as optical windows in dynamic compression experiments. Due to diamond’s exceptional strength and optical properties, laser-driven shock experiments and plate impact experiments were carried out to examine the diamond optical response for shock wave compression along two different crystal orientations. Using laser interferometry at 532 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths, optical transparency was observed and refractive indices were determined for [100] diamond at stresses up to 119 GPa and for [111] diamond at stresses up to 87 GPa. From these results, the nonlinear photoelastic response for [100] and [111] diamond was determined, revealing significant dependence on both crystal orientation and laser wavelength. To enable [100] diamond as an interferometry window in dynamic compression experiments, the requisite window corrections were determined for 532 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths. Because of diamond’s excellent x-ray transparency, the present findings will be particularly useful for incorporating [100] diamonds as windows in dynamic compression experiments involving x-ray diffraction or other x-ray diagnostics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

Plasma flow generation and particle acceleration from expanding magnetic bubbles

Impulsive plasma dynamics in the laboratory are often driven by rising electric currents, yet their quantitative plasma response has not been well established. By means of fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations and laser-driven capacitor-coil experiments, we show that a rising current expels plasma, forming an expanding magnetic bubble and accelerating particles. The expansion front velocity scales with the Alfvén speed determined by the magnetic field at its inner edge and the plasma density at its outer edge. This mechanism establishes impulsive current drive as a fundamental way that generates plasma flows and accelerates particles in laboratory plasmas, with potential relevance to astrophysics.

Zhang, Yang [Princeton University, NJ (United Stat↗
DOE OSTI2025

Laser, vacuum and gas reaction chamber for operando measurements at NSLS-II's 28-ID-2

We present a laser reaction chamber that we have developed for in situ/operando X-ray diffraction measurements at the NSLS-II 28-ID-2 X-ray powder diffraction beamline. This chamber allows for rapid and dynamic sample heating under specialized gas environments, spanning ambient conditions down to vacuum pressures. We demonstrate the capabilities of this setup through two applications: laser-driven heating in polycrystalline iron oxide and in single-crystal WTe 2 . Our measurements reveal the ability to resolve chemical reaction kinetics over minutes with 1 s time resolution. This setup advances opportunities for in situ/operando X-ray diffraction studies of both bulk and single-crystal materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Laboratory tests of laser control of electron beams for future colliders

Laser-driven Compton backscattering (CBS) has been proposed as method for controlling the intensity of colliding bunches in the FCC-ee so as to avoid the flip-flop instability caused by intensity asymmetry in colliding bunches. Laser-based collimation has also been proposed as an indestructible collimator for high-intensity electron beams. We have initiated a laboratory-based test program of these concepts with the E344 experiment at FACET-II. In this paper, we describe simulations of laser–beam interactions at FACET-II and the relevant scaling for FCC-ee. We also describe the experimental setup and diagnostics that will be used to make the measurements at FACET-II.

accelerator physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Particle Beam Acceleration Using 3 Petawatt Laser Pulses

The Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) is presently operational at the Gerard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS) at the University of Michigan. ZEUS is a significant upgrade of the previous high power laser systems at CUOS and consists of two beamlines thatoperate in perfect synchronization. The 500 TW beamline became operational in 2023, 2 PW operation started in 2025 and full 3 PW power levels will be available in 2026. It is presently the highest power laser system in the US. In this grant the high field science group at CUOS has leveraged this unique high power laser facility to investigate laser wake field acceleration (LWFA) in ultra-high power laser plasma interactions and have shown how this can scale for future electron–positron colliders at high energy. The dual beam experimental configuration enables flexibility for many frontier experiments in laser-driven acceleration research, in particular, enabling extended channelling/acceleration experiments, positron generation/acceleration experiments and proof-of-principle transverse pumping “dephasingless” electron acceleration experiment and theory. LWFA may be able to miniaturize particle accelerators for high energy physics and also enable new sources of ultrafast, extreme brightness and precise x-rays for a wide variety of applications. In laser wake field acceleration, an electron bunch “surfs” on the electron plasma wave (the “wake field”) generated by the ponderomotive force of an intense laser. The plasma wave has a strong longitudinal electric field that stays in phase with the relativistic driver. A relativistic charged particle may, therefore, remain in phase with the accelerating field over long distances and gain ultra-relativistic energies. The accelerating electric field strength that the plasma wave can support can be many orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional accelerators, which makes laser wakefield acceleration an exciting prospect as an advanced accelerator concept. In this research project we have investigated the scaling of this mechanism to laser powers of 2 PW and have measured the x-ray emission and radio frequency emission resulting from the acceleration process. We have also performed theoretical investigation of mechanisms to scale laser driven accelerators to much higher energy using dephasingless acceleration processes.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Microscopy X-ray imaging enriched with small angle X-ray scattering for few nanometer resolution reveals shock waves and compression in intense short pulse laser irradiation of solids

Understanding how laser pulses compress solids into high-energy-density states requires diagnostics that simultaneously resolve macroscopic geometry and nanometer-scale structure. Here we present a combined X-ray imaging (XRM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) approach that bridges this diagnostic gap. Using the Matter in Extreme Conditions end station at LCLS, we irradiated 25 μm copper wires with 45 fs, 0.9 J, 800 nm pulses at 3.5 × 10 19 W/cm 2 while probing with 8.2 keV XFEL pulses. XRM visualizes the evolution of ablation, compression, and inward-propagating fronts with ∼ 200 nm resolution, while SAXS quantifies their nanometer-scale sharpness via the time-resolved evolution of scattering streaks. The joint analysis reveals that an initially smooth compression steepens into a nanometer-sharp shock front after t sh ≈ (18 ± 3) ps, consistent with an analytical steepening model and hydrodynamic simulations. The front reaches a velocity of c sh ≈ 25 k m / s and a lateral width of several tens of microns, demonstrating direct observation of shock formation and decay at solid density for the first time with few-nanometer precision. This integrated XRM–SAXS method establishes a quantitative, multi-scale diagnostic of laser-driven shocks in dense plasmas relevant to inertial confinement fusion, warm dense matter, and planetary physics.

Kluge, Thomas [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendor↗