Irradiation of a thin metallic wire with an intense femtosecond laser pulse creates a strong discharge wave that travels as a narrow pulse along the wire surface. This traveling discharge efficiently emits secondary radiation with spectral characteristics that are mostly defined by the wire geometry. Several examples of designs are considered here in the context of generation of intense terahertz radiation with controllable characteristics for various scientific and technological applications. The proposed setup may be easily realized, and it has the merits of robustness, versatility, and high conversion efficiency (reaching several percent) of laser energy to terahertz radiation.

Using a plane–plane resonator composed of silicon carbide mirrors, we achieve for the first time multi-pass amplification of a 46.9 nm laser pumped by capillary discharge. In terms of the temporal characteristics, for an initial argon pressure of 17 Pa, triple-pass amplification of the laser is obtained at a delay time between the pre-pulse and the main pulse currents of 40 µs, and quadruple-pass amplification is obtained at a delay time of 50 µs. The experimental results show that the gain duration of the plasma column is more than 6 ns. In terms of spatial characteristics, the spot of the output laser has a reduced full width at half maximum divergence compared with that from a laser without a resonator.

Charge-changing processes of low-charged ions, used in hydrogen plasma probing by the heavy ion beam probe method, are considered. Along with the ionization of beam ions by plasma electrons and protons, the charge-exchange processes of ions on H atoms and protons are also studied. It is shown that charge exchange of beam ions on plasma protons and H atoms, which is rarely taken into account, plays an important role in beam–plasma interaction. New data on the cross sections and rates of ionization and charge-exchange processes are presented for Tl⁺ and Tl²⁺ ions, which are frequently used for plasma diagnostics. Calculations are performed for hydrogen plasma temperatures T_e = 1 eV–10 keV and densities N_e = 10¹²–10¹⁴ cm^-3 at relatively low and high ion-beam velocities v_b = 0.2 and 1.0 a.u., respectively. Special attention is paid to the determination of the electron temperatures at which the charge-exchange processes on H atoms and protons are important. Multiple ionization of beam ions by plasma electrons and protons is briefly discussed.

A novel experimental method is proposed for observing plasma dynamics subjected to magnetic fields based on a newly developed cylindrical theta-pinch device. By measuring simultaneously the temporal profiles of multiple parameters including the drive current, luminosity, plasma density, and plasma temperature, it provides a basis for observing the plasma dynamics of the theta pinch, such as shock transport and magnetohydrodynamic instability. We show that the plasma evolution can be distinguished as three phases. First, in the radial implosion phase, the trajectories of the current sheath and shock wave are ascertained by combining experimental data with a snowplow model (Lee model) in a self-consistent way. Second, in the axial flow phase, we demonstrate that m = 0 (sausage) instability associated with the plasma axial flow suppresses the plasma end-loss. Third, in the newly observed anomalous heating phase, the lower-hybrid-drift instability may develop near the current sheath, which induces anomalous resistivity and enhanced plasma heating. The present experimental data and novel method offer better understanding of plasma dynamics in the presence of magnetic fields, thereby providing important support for relevant research in magneto-inertial fusion.

Although they are polymorphic (multiphase) materials, both copper and silver are reliable Hugoniot standards, and thus it is necessary to establish an accurate analytic model of their principal Hugoniots. Here we present analytic forms of their principal Hugoniots, as well as those of iridium and platinum, two “pusher” standards for shock-ramp experiments, over a wide range of pressures. They are based on our new analytic model of the principal Hugoniot [Burakovsky et al., J. Appl. Phys. 132, 215109 (2022)]. Comparison of the four Hugoniots with experimental and independent theoretical data (such data exist to very high pressures for both copper and silver) demonstrates excellent agreement. Hence, the new model for copper and silver can be considered as providing the corresponding Hugoniot standards over a wide pressure range. We also suggest an approach for calculating the Grüneisen parameter along the Hugoniot and apply it to copper as a prototype, and our results appear to be in good agreement with the available data.

Diagnosis of fluids is extremely significant at high temperatures and high pressures. As an advanced imaging technique, high-energy proton radiography has great potential for application to the diagnosis of high-density fluids. In high-energy proton radiography, an angular collimator can control the proton flux and thus enable material diagnosis and reconstruction of density. In this paper, we propose a multi-material diagnostic method using angular collimators. The method is verified by reconstructing the density distribution from the proton flux obtained via theoretical calculations and numerical simulations. We simulate a 20 GeV proton imaging system using the Geant4 software toolkit and obtain the characteristic parameters of single-material objects. We design several concentric spherical objects to verify the method. We discuss its application to detonation tests. The results show that this method can determine the material and boundary information about each component of a multi-material object. Thus, it can be used to diagnose a mixed material and reconstruct densities in a detonation.

To produce fusion reactions efficiently, thermonuclear plasmas have to reach extremely high temperatures, which is incompatible with their coming into contact with material surfaces. Confinement of plasmas using magnetic fields has progressed significantly in the last years, particularly in the tokamak configuration. Unfortunately, all tokamak devices, and particularly metallic ones, are plagued by catastrophic events called disruptions. Many disruptions are preceded by anomalies in the radiation patterns, particularly in ITER-relevant scenarios. These specific forms of radiation emission either directly cause or reveal the approaching collapse of the configuration. Detecting the localization of these radiation anomalies in real time requires an innovative and specific elaboration of bolometric measurements, confirmed by visible cameras and the inversion of sophisticated tomographic algorithms. The information derived from these measurements can be interpreted in terms of local power balances, which suggest a new quantity, the radiated power divided by the plasma internal energy, to determine the criticality of the plasma state. Combined with robust indicators of the temperature profile shape, the identified anomalous radiation patterns allow determination of the sequence of macroscopic events leading to disruptions. A systematic analysis of JET campaigns at high power in deuterium, full tritium, and DT, for a total of almost 2000 discharges, proves the effectiveness of the approach. The warning times are such that, depending on the radiation anomaly and the available actuators, the control system of future devices is expected to provide enough notice to enable deployment of effective prevention and avoidance strategies.

A material described as lutetium–hydrogen–nitrogen (Lu-H-N in short) was recently claimed to have “near-ambient superconductivity” [Dasenbrock-Gammon et al., Nature 615, 244–250 (2023)]. If this result could be reproduced by other teams, it would be a major scientific breakthrough. Here, we report our results of transport and structure measurements on a material prepared using the same method as reported by Dasenbrock-Gammon et al. Our x-ray diffraction measurements indicate that the obtained sample contains three substances: the face-centered-cubic (FCC)-1 phase (Fm-3m) with lattice parameter a = 5.03 Å, the FCC-2 phase (Fm-3m) with a lattice parameter a = 4.755 Å, and Lu metal. The two FCC phases are identical to the those reported in the so-called near-ambient superconductor. However, we find from our resistance measurements in the temperature range from 300 K down to 4 K and the pressure range 0.9–3.4 GPa and our magnetic susceptibility measurements in the pressure range 0.8–3.3 GPa and the temperature range down to 100 K that the samples show no evidence of superconductivity. We also use a laser heating technique to heat a sample to 1800 °C and find no superconductivity in the produced dark blue material below 6.5 GPa. In addition, both samples remain dark blue in color in the pressure range investigated.