Research on high-intensity laser physics at the China Institute of Atomic Energy and its applications in nuclear science
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摘要: 强激光技术是当前物理学与核科学的前沿领域，其通过啁啾脉冲放大技术在飞秒至阿秒时间尺度内产生极端光场强度，为研究强场量子电动力学、激光等离子体物理以及极端核环境提供了独特平台。本文系统介绍了中国原子能科学研究院核物理研究所激光核物理研究团队在百太瓦级超快超强激光装置研制、理论机制研究与实验技术等方面的进展，包括高对比度脉冲整形、粒子加速、高亮度偏振γ光源、激光光源研发以及等离子体靶参数诊断等。同时，阐述了强激光在极端等离子体环境模拟、高压物态方程、涡旋γ光与微观核靶相互作用、激光等离子体光谱等相关领域的重要应用。文章最后展望了新的发展方向，强调了强激光技术在推动核工业发展与基础核科学研究方面的重要价值。Abstract: High-intensity laser technology, based on chirped pulse amplification, produces extreme optical fields on ultrashort timescales, providing a powerful platform for studying strong-field quantum electrodynamics, laser-plasma interactions, and extreme nuclear environments. This review summarizes the major progress made by the Laser Nuclear Physics Research Team at the Department of Nuclear Physics, China Institute of Atomic Energy, in developing petawatt-class laser systems, theoretical modeling, diagnostic techniques, and applications in nuclear science and industry. The team successfully commissioned a 100 TW ultrafast ultra-intense laser facility in 2023, featuring advanced high-contrast pulse shaping through cross-polarized wave generation and spectral broadening techniques. Additional innovations include thermally optimized eye-safe micro-lasers with improved bonding structures. Theoretical efforts used particle-in-cell simulations to enhance ion acceleration via Coulomb explosion in multilayer targets, achieving high-quality quasi-monoenergetic proton beams under optimized dual-pulse configurations. A novel approach for generating bright circularly polarized γ-rays was proposed, exploiting vacuum dichroism-assisted vacuum birefringence effects. Diagnostic advancements involved refined Nomarski interferometry for precise gas-jet target profiling and fission-source-gated methods for accurate neutron detector calibration. Key applications encompass plasma-based measurements of astrophysical nuclear reaction factors, vortex γ-photon manipulation of nuclear multipole resonances, laser-driven flyer acceleration for high-pressure equation-of-state studies, and enhanced laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for trace element monitoring in nuclear facilities. These achievements facilitate simulation of stellar nuclear synthesis, advanced radiation sources, materials testing under extreme conditions, and nuclear safety monitoring, laying the foundation for future compact, high-repetition-rate laser systems in energy security and frontier nuclear research.
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图 2 输入光束的光谱(蓝线)，第一个晶体后的 XPW (黑线)，以及两个晶体后的 XPW (红线)
Figure 2. Spectrum of the input beam (blue line), XPW after the first crystal (black line), and XPW after both crystals (red line)[21]
图 3 三种模型的热焦距与输入功率的关系(a)，三种模型激光器的输出镜透射率为 25% 时的输出功率与泵浦功率的函数关系(b)，三种模型激光器的单脉冲能量随时间的变化(c)
Figure 3. Relationship between thermal focal length and input power for three models (a); Functional relationship between output power and pump power at 25% output mirror transmittance for three model lasers (b); Single-pulse energy variation over time for three model lasers (c)[25]
图 4 激光与多层目标之间相互作用的示意图(a)，红色锥体代表激光脉冲，(b)、(c)和(d)对应于不同激光器驱动模式的情况。
Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the interaction between laser and multilayer targets (a); The red cone represents the laser pulse. b, c and d correspond to the cases of different laser driving modes[32]
图 5 不同激光驱动模式下t=60T0时电子（a）、质子（b）和C6+（c）能谱分布
Figure 5. Distribution of electron, proton and C6+ energy spectra at t =60T0 under different laser driving modes[32]
图 6 t =30.0T0 (a)和 60T0(b)两个不同时间的不同 CH 层厚度质子能谱分布
Figure 6. The proton energy spectrum distributions depicted in (a) and (b) correspond to different CH layer thicknesses at two distinct time: t =30.0T0 and 60T0, respectively[32]
图 7 传统的非线性康普顿散射和非线性Breit-Wheeler对产生装置(a)，通过VD辅助VB效应生成圆偏振γ光子束装置(b)
Figure 7. Traditional nonlinear Compton scattering and nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production apparatus (a), circularly polarized γ photon beam apparatus generated via VD-assisted VB effects (b)[40]
图 8 Nomarski干涉仪对等离子体(a)和超音速气体喷射靶(b)进行密度诊断示意图
Figure 8. Schematic of the Nomarski interferometer for density diagnostics of plasma (a) and supersonic gas jet targets (b)[51]
图 9 两个干涉仪不同高度(红色/紫色/蓝色)的像素行(左)，比较马赫-曾德干涉仪(蓝色)和诺马斯基干涉仪(红色)的平均强度(右)
Figure 9. Pixel rows at different heights for two interferometers (red/purple/blue) (left); Comparison of average intensities between the Mach-Zehnder interferometer (blue) and the Nomarski interferometer (red) (right)[51]
图 10 比较Mach-Zehnder 部分(蓝色)和 Nomarski部分(红色)的相同像素的相移抖动
Figure 10. Phase jitter comparison between the Mach-Zehnder section (blue) and the Nomarski section (red) for identical pixels[51]
图 11 252Cf标定实验示意图
Figure 11. Schematic diagram of the 252Cf calibration experiment[55]
图 12 标定的PSD-TOF信号谱(a)，中子标定结果图(b)。绿色线条是根据特定能量中子平均峰面积计算得出的误差条。红色十字标记为2.45 MeV中子的QDC位置，用于视觉定位。
Figure 12. Calibrated PSD-TOF signal spectrum (a), neutron calibration results diagram (b)[55]. The green line is the error bar calculated from the average peak area of neutrons with one specific energy. The red cross is the QDC of the 2.45 MeV neutron to guide the eyes
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