Speaker
Description
We will present results aimed at enabling a novel dual (neutron and x-ray) interrogation method, based on ultra-intense lasers irradiating solid targets. The objective is to
perform dense material probing, while also supporting imaging of high speed events. The concept is to produce both a bright X-ray source
appropriate for high-resolution radiography from thin primary (pitcher) targets optimized for proton acceleration, and high-yield neutron sources with a secondary (catcher) target. We will present results obtained both at Apollon (France) and ELI-NP (Romania), characterizing the neutrons generated at the PW level at and demonstrating that their yield is adequate for material probing, as well as characterizing the produced X-rays in the same regime. The latter are the first quantitative measurements of X-ray spectra and angular distribution in the novel ultra-relativistic regime of very short pulse durations (20 fs) and ultra-high intensity (10^22 W/cm^2).
