We used the PW high-repetition laser facility VEGA-3 at Centro de Láseres Pulsados in Salamanca, with the goal of studying the generation of radioisotopes using laser-driven proton beams. Various types of targets have been irradiated, including in particular several targets containing boron to generate α-particles through the hydrogen–boron fusion reaction. We have successfully identified γ-ray lines from several radioisotopes created by irradiation using laser-generated α-particles or protons including 43Sc, 44Sc, 48Sc, 7Be, 11C and 18F. We show that radioisotope generation can be used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate α-particle generation in laser-driven proton–boron fusion experiments. We also show the production of 11C radioisotopes, $\approx 6 \times 10^{6}$, and of 44Sc radioisotopes, $\approx 5 \times 10^{4}$ per laser shot. This result can open the way to develop laser-driven radiation sources of radioisotopes for medical applications.

Porous materials have peculiar characteristics that are relevant for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Among them, chemically produced foams are proved to be able to smooth the laser inhomogeneities and to increase the coupling of the laser with the target. Foams realized with other elements and techniques may prove useful as well for ICF applications. In this work, we explore the potential of a novel class of porous materials for ICF, namely, carbon nanofoams produced with the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique, by means of hydrodynamic numerical simulations. By comparison with a simulation of solid-density carbon, PLD nanofoams show a higher pressure at the shock front, which could make them potential good candidates as ablators for a capsule for direct-drive fusion.

A number of laser facilities coming online all over the world promise the capability of high-power laser experiments with shot repetition rates between 1 and 10 Hz. Target availability and technical issues related to the interaction environment could become a bottleneck for the exploitation of such facilities. In this paper, we report on target needs for three different classes of experiments: dynamic compression physics, electron transport and isochoric heating, and laser-driven particle and radiation sources. We also review some of the most challenging issues in target fabrication and high repetition rate operation. Finally, we discuss current target supply strategies and future perspectives to establish a sustainable target provision infrastructure for advanced laser facilities.

With the aim of addressing the material gap issue between model and real systems in heterogeneous catalysis, we exploited Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) to produce Pd clusters supported on ultrathin alumina films (Pd/Al2O3/NiAl(001) and Pd/Al2O3-x/HOPG). The structural properties have been investigated by in situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) in ultra high vacuum (UHV). At first, Pd clusters were deposited by evaporation and by PLD on Al2O3 surfaces grown by thermal oxidation of NiAl(001). The system shows thermal stability up to 650 K. By PLD we deposited Pd clusters with a good size control obtained by varying the background gas pressure and the target-to-substrate distance. We then realized a

Pd/Al2O3-x/HOPG system where both Pd clusters and the alumina film are produced by PLD showing that, by exploiting the same deposition technique, it is possible to synthesize both a model system addressable by in situ STM and a thick film (∼100 μm) closer to realistic systems.

Recent particle-in-cell simulations of the stimulated Brillouin backscattering (SBBS) of electromagnetic radiation have shown that even at sub-relativistic intensities (Iλ2 = 1016 Wμm2/cm2) non-drifting solitary waves, “solitons” for short, are easily produced, and remain almost unchanged all along the simulation time, typically for several thousands of optical cycles. They appear in the form of stable local concentrations of electromagnetic radiation trapped inside quasi-neutral density holes. The plasma density inhomogeneity associated with their presence disrupts the resonant SBBS amplification. The cavitation process is accompanied by strong electron and ion heating. The physical characteristics of such solitons are discussed and they are compared with the theoretical predictions of an analytical model for localized solution of the Maxwell equations in warm plasma.

Effective ion acceleration of picosecond-duration well-collimated bunches in the strong relativistic interaction of a short laser pulse with a thin solid target has been experimentally demonstrated. In this work, with reference to the sharp rear solid–vacuum interface, where ion energization takes place, the one-dimensional Poisson–Boltzmann equation is analytically solved on a finite spatial interval whose extension is determined by requiring electron energy conservation, resulting in the consistent spatial distributions of the hot electrons created by the laser and of the corresponding electrostatic potential. Then, the equation of motions for an ensemble of test ions, initially distributed in a thin layer of the rear target surface, with different initial conditions, is solved and the energy spectrum corresponding to a given initial ion distribution is determined.

Low-frequency, relativistic, subcycle solitary waves are found in two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) numerical simulations, as a result of the interaction of ultrashort, high-intensity laser pulses with plasmas. Moreover, nondrifting, subcycle relativistic electromagnetic solitons have been obtained as solutions of the hydrodynamic equations for an electron–ion warm plasma, by assuming the quasi-neutrality character of the plasma response. In addition, the formation of long-living macroscopic soliton-like structures has been experimentally observed by means of the proton imaging diagnostics. Several common features result from these investigations, as, for example, the quasi-neutral plasma response to the soliton radiation, in the long-term evolution of the system, which leads to the almost complete expulsion of the plasma from the region where the electromagnetic radiation is concentrated, even at subrelativistic field intensity. The results of the theoretical investigations are reviewed with special attention to these similarities.