Production of Iodine Isotopes via Ultra-intense Laser Driven Photonuclear Reactions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel laser-driven method to produce iodine isotopes via photonuclear reactions, offering a potentially faster and more efficient alternative to traditional accelerator-based techniques for medical isotope production.

Contribution

The study introduces a laser-driven bremsstrahlung approach to produce iodine isotopes, achieving significant yields and opening new possibilities for medical and astrophysical applications.

Findings

Produced $^{124}$I and $^{123}$I isotopes with high yields per shot.

Demonstrated the feasibility of laser-driven photonuclear reactions for isotope production.

Showed potential for medical isotope generation and astrophysical research.

Abstract

The investigation and production of proton-rich iodine isotopes predominantly rely on conventional accelerator-based methods, typically requiring prolonged irradiation periods to measure or achieve quantifiable yields for isotopic isolation. Bremsstrahlung radiation sources generated by high-power laser-plasma-accelerated electron beams with ultrahigh charge (tens of nanocoulombs) bombarding high-Z targets demonstrate extraordinary photon flux characteristics. An electron beam with a total charge of approximately 47.7 nC (E$_e$ $\gt$ 10.4 MeV) was generated in our experiment by focusing a ultra-intense laser pulse onto a deuterium gas jet. Laser-driven bremsstrahlung was employed to induce $^{127}I$$(\gamma,xn)$ ($x$ = 1,3,4,6-8), and the product yields and the corresponding flux-weighted average cross sections are reported. Our results demonstrate production of medical isotopes, with average yields of $^{124}$I and $^{123}$I at approximately $9.83\pm0.45\times10^{5}$/shot and $2.81\pm0.11\times10^{5}$/shot, respectively. This method, utilizing high-power lasers to generate bremsstrahlung radiation, shows significant potential for medical applications and opens new avenues for studying photonuclear processes in astrophysical contexts.