Compact Cryogenic Source of Periodic Hydrogen and Argon Droplet Beams for Relativistic Laser-Plasma Generation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact cryogenic device that produces stable, periodic hydrogen and argon droplet streams, serving as precise, mass-limited targets for high-power laser plasma experiments, demonstrated with multi-Terawatt laser irradiation.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, highly stable cryogenic droplet source optimized for synchronization with high-power laser pulses in plasma research.

Findings

Successful generation of stable hydrogen and argon droplet streams

Effective synchronization with multi-Terawatt laser pulses

Potential for improved laser-plasma experimental precision

Abstract

We present a cryogenic source of periodic streams of micrometer-sized hydrogen and argon droplets as ideal mass-limited target systems for fundamental intense laser-driven plasma applications. The highly compact design combined with a high temporal and spatial droplet stability makes our injector ideally suited for experiments using state-of-the-art high-power lasers in which a precise synchronization between the laser pulses and the droplets is mandatory. We show this by irradiating argon droplets with multi-Terawatt pulses.