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Neutron beams have various applications, ranging from nuclear physics to medical and security. Laser-driven neutron sources are a compact technique for generating neutron beams from laser-accelerated particles. A high-power laser is directed at a target (pitcher), where it produces an ion beam with target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA). Subsequently, the ion beam propagates towards a second target (catcher), in which nuclear reactions convert the beam partially into a beam of neutrons [Alvarez 2014]. While this pitcher-catcher scheme is usually introduced with laser-accelerated ions, it has recently been shown, that an electron beam can also exhibit a high conversion efficiency. The conversion rate of electrons into neutrons exhibits a linear relashinship with the electron energy, leading to conversion rates of up to 25% at 350 MeV [Scheuren 2024]. However, the total number of neutrons is constrained by the accelerated charge. Our simulations demonstrate the potential enhancement of the charge in laser-wakefield acceleration by using orbital angular momentum beams (OAM). Utilizing such beams, the wakefield changes from a point-like equillibirum to a ring-shaped wakefield, thereby enhancing the accelerated charge up to nC.
[Alvarez 2014]: J. Alvarez et al: Laser Driven Neutron Sources: Characteristics, Applications and Prospects. Physics Procedia (2014)
[Scheuren 2024]: Stefan Scheuren et al: Scaling of laboratory neutron sources based on laser wakefield-accelerated electrons using Monte Carlo simulations. Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2024)
