Photo credit: © École polytechnique – J.Barande
The lectures will cover the following topics:
See lecture descriptions below.
I will describe the models that are commonly used in inertial fusion simulations (such as the radiative opacity and equation of state) together with the independent experimental tests that have been done to validate them.
An introduction to plasma-based optics suitable for building and manipulating ultra-high-power lasers, including gratings, photonic crystals, lenses, and Raman and Brillouin plasma amplifiers.
My lecture will cover the basic 0-D and 1-D physics principles that govern ICF. I will emphasize the physics constraints that dictate the length and time scales of laboratory ICF, how ICF ignition has been achieved, and why ICF implosions are designed the way that they are. I will also start with a brief historical sketch of the evolution of the field of ICF research from 1960 until today.
I will cover relativistic HHG, starting with single electron dynamics in a relativistic plane wave and progressing to overdense plasma mirrors, relativistic HHG, coherent synchrotron emission, attosecond pulses, and a path to the Schwinger limit. This will include both theory and experiments.
Laser proton acceleration has evolved since the discovery of target normal sheat acceleration, when tailored target transparency enables efficient energy transfer. Basics as well as latest developments and applications will be discussed.
Laboratory Astrophysics concerns the study of astrophysically relevant processes in controlled laboratory conditions. This requires the careful design of experiments that can isolate and probe the essential physical mechanisms under investigation. I will review the history of the field, a selection of methods that are applied, and future frontiers in the field.
This course will discuss the kinetic simulation of plasmas, with a special focus on the Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method. It will be accompanied by a practical hands-on session.
This course is an introduction to laser-driven plasma wakefield acceleration. Starting with first-principles, we will go through the basic theory of this technology, provide practical considerations and remaining challenges, and discuss the applications.
A short seminar on existing work applying machine learning to laser-plasma interactions and on how developments in other disciplines can be translated to laser plasma research. The second part will be a practical session where the students will perform Bayesian Optimisation and training of Deep learning models using BoTorch and PyTorch python packages.
In this lecture, I will review the main strong-field QED processes that take place when strong electromagnetic fields develop in or are applied to plasmas. I will also discuss how these processes can impact the overall plasma dynamics. Laboratory and astrophysical exemples will be given.
See weekly schedule here.
