Hernan Quevedo

TL;DR: Simulations indicate that with improvements in the laser-pulse focus quality, acceleration to nearly 10 GeV should be possible with the available pulse energy, and the principal physical barriers to multi-gigaelectronvolt acceleration are overcome.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors measured spall strength as a function of composition and microstructure in three Al materials: a high-purity Al (Al HP), a commercial-pure Al (AA1100) and an alloy of Al containing 3.5% Mg (Al 3Mg).

TL;DR: The plasma astrophysical S factor for the 3He(d,p)4He fusion reaction was measured for the first time at temperatures of few keV, using the interaction of intense ultrafast laser pulses with molecular deuterium clusters mixed with 3He atoms.

TL;DR: The temperatures determined by these two methods agree well, which indicates that (i) the ion energy distribution is not significantly distorted when ions travel in the disassembling plasma; and (ii) the kinetic energy of deuterium ions, especially the "hottest part" responsible for nuclear fusion, is well described by a near-Maxwellian distribution.

TL;DR: The kinetic energy of hot ions from the laser-driven Coulomb explosion of deuterium clusters and the resulting fusion yield in plasmas formed from these exploding clusters has been investigated under a variety of conditions using the Texas Petawatt laser.