Mass-limited plasmas heated by laser-driven fast electrons as a powerful source of neutron and hard x-ray radiation

To create a plasma with extreme thermodynamic parameters, we propose to heat with a laser-accelerated fast electron beam a target of a size less than the mean free path of the heating particles. The effect of capture of fast electrons generated in an electrically neutral target due to the action of a self-consistent electrostatic field at its boundaries allows us to volumetrically heat a target over multiple flights of fast electrons through it. Using such a heating mode enables control of the target mass to be significantly less than the mass stopping range of the heating particles. Heating a mass-limited target by laser-driven relativistic electrons can produce a plasma with a temperature of ∼10's keV and a density close to its initial solid-state density. Such plasma objects are expected to serve as powerful sources of neutron and hard x-ray radiation.