X-ray phase-contrast imaging of strong shocks on OMEGA EP

L Antonelli; W Theobald; F Barbato; S Atzeni; D Batani; R Betti; V Bouffetier; A Casner; L Ceurvorst; D Cao; J J Ruby; K Glize; T Goudal; A Kar; M Khan; A Dearling; M Koenig; P M Nilson; R H H Scott; O Turianska; M Wei; N C Woolsey

doi:10.1063/5.0168059

X-ray phase-contrast imaging of strong shocks on OMEGA EP

Rev Sci Instrum. 2024 Nov 1;95(11):113504. doi: 10.1063/5.0168059.

Authors

L Antonelli¹, W Theobald^{2

3}, F Barbato⁴, S Atzeni⁴, D Batani⁵, R Betti^{2

3

6}, V Bouffetier^{5

7}, A Casner⁵, L Ceurvorst², D Cao², J J Ruby^{2

6}, K Glize⁸, T Goudal⁵, A Kar², M Khan¹, A Dearling¹, M Koenig⁹, P M Nilson², R H H Scott⁸, O Turianska⁵, M Wei², N C Woolsey¹

Affiliations

¹ York Plasma Institute, School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
² Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623-1299, USA.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
⁴ Università di Roma "La Sapienza," 00161 Rome, Italy.
⁵ Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, CEA, CELIA (Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications), UMR 5107, F-33405 Talence, France.
⁶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
⁷ ALBA-CELLS Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 08290 Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona), Spain.
⁸ Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxford, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom.
⁹ LULI-CNRS, École Polytechnique, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, UPMC Univ Paris 06: Sorbonne Universités, F-91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.

PMID: 39526998
DOI: 10.1063/5.0168059

Abstract

The ongoing improvement in laser technology and target fabrication is opening new possibilities for diagnostic development. An example is x-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCI), which serves as an advanced x-ray imaging diagnostic in laser-driven experiments. In this work, we present the results of the XPCI platform that was developed at the OMEGA EP Laser-Facility to study multi-Mbar single and double shocks produced using a kilojoule laser driver. Two-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations agree well with the shock progression and the spherical curvature of the shock fronts. It is demonstrated that XPCI is an excellent method to determine with high accuracy the front position of a trailing shock wave propagating through an expanding CH plasma that was heated by a precursor Mbar shock wave. The interaction between the rarefaction wave and the shock wave results in a clear signature in the radiograph that is well reproduced by radiation-hydrodynamic simulations.