Hannover 2016 – scientific programme
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A: Fachverband Atomphysik
A 39: Interaction with VUV and X-ray light
A 39.6: Talk
Friday, March 4, 2016, 12:30–12:45, f303
Nuclear excitation with x-ray free-electron lasers — •Yuanbin Wu, Jonas Gunst, Naveen Kumar, Christoph H. Keitel, and Adriana Pálffy — Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
The direct and secondary nuclear excitation by an x-ray free electron laser interacting with a solid-state nuclear target is analyzed theoretically. When driven at the resonance energy, the x-ray free electron laser can produce direct photoexcitation. However, in this laser-target interaction, the dominant process is the photoelectric effect producing a cold and very dense plasma. In such a plasma, secondary processes such as nuclear excitation by electron capture may also occur [1]. We develop a realistic theoretical model to quantify the magnitude of the secondary excitation taking into account the temporal plasma dynamics after the laser pulse [2]. Numerical results show that depending on the nuclear transition energy and the temperature and charge states reached in the plasma, secondary nuclear excitation by electron capture may exceed by several orders of magnitude the direct photoexcitation, as it is the case for the 4.8 keV transition from the isomeric state of 93Mo, or it can be negligible, as it is the case for the 14.4 keV Mössbauer transition in 57Fe. These findings are most relevant for future nuclear experiments at x-ray free electron laser facilities.
[1] J. Gunst, Y. A. Litvinov, C. H. Keitel, and A. Pálffy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 082501 (2014).
[2] J. Gunst, Y. Wu, N. Kumar, C. H. Keitel, and A. Pálffy, Physics of Plasmas 22, 112706 (2015).