Mass-resolved momentum imaging of three dichloroethylene isomers by femtosecond laser-induced coulomb explosion

Wada, Yoriko*; Akagi, Hiroshi*; Kumada, Takayuki; Itakura, Ryuji*; Wakabayashi, Tomonari*

Photochem (Internet), 2(3), p.798 - 809, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.3390/photochem2030051

Coulomb explosion experiments using 60 fs laser pulses were conducted for structural characterization of three dichloroethylene isomers. Under laser intensity at 1.8 10 W/cm, mass-resolved momentum imaging (MRMI) for selected fragment ions of Cl and C revealed different patterns for the three isomers. The C ion fragmented from multiply charged trans-1,2-DCE was forced to leave perpendicularly to the direction of the laser polarization, due to recoil forces from adjacent cations. In contrast, the fast ions of C from cis-1,2-DCE exhibited an isotropic distribution, whereas the fast ions of C from 1,1-DCE recoiled along the laser polarization together with the slow C ions, and thereby distinction of the three isomers was demonstrated. Coulomb explosion occurs predominantly at specific orientation, which is useful for potential applications of MRMI analysis to molecular structure assays.

Bromine-isotope selective ionization using field-free alignment of IBr isotopologues with a switched nanosecond laser pulse

Akagi, Hiroshi*; Kumada, Takayuki; Otobe, Tomohito*; Itakura, Ryuji*; Hasegawa, Hirokazu*; Oshima, Yasuhiro*

Chemistry Letters, 49(4), p.416 - 418, 2020/04

https://doi.org/10.1246/cl.200024

Decontamination of radioactive concrete waste and reuse of aggregate using pulsed power technology

Sakamoto, Hiroyuki*; Akagi, Yosuke*; Yamada, Kazuo*; Tachi, Yukio; Fukuda, Daisuke*; Ishimatsu, Koichi*; Matsuda, Mikiya*; Saito, Nozomi*; Uemura, Jitsuya*; Namihira, Takao*; et al.

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai Wabun Rombunshi, 17(2), p.57 - 66, 2018/05

https://doi.org/10.3327/taesj.J16.037

Concrete debris contaminated with radioactive cesium and other nuclides have been generated from the accident in the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant and there will be generated due to the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in the future. Although conventional decontamination techniques are effective for flat concrete surfaces such as floors and walls, it is not clear what techniques to apply for decontaminating radioactive concrete debris. In this study, focusing on a pulsed power discharge technique, fundamental experimental works were carried out. Decontamination of concrete by applying the aggregate recycling technique using the pulsed power discharge technique was evaluated by measuring radioactivity of aggregate and sludge separated from the contaminated concrete. The results suggest that the separation into aggregate and sludge of the contaminated concrete debris could achieve decontamination and volume reduction of the radioactive concrete debris.

Plasma-mirror frequency-resolved optical gating for simultaneous retrieval of a chirped vacuum-ultraviolet waveform and time-dependent reflectivity

Itakura, Ryuji*; Kumada, Takayuki; Nakano, Motoyoshi*; Akagi, Hiroshi*

High Power Laser Science and Engineering, 4, p.e18_1 - e18_5, 2016/06

https://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2016.18

We demonstrate that the methodology of frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) is applicable to time-resolved reflection spectroscopy of a plasma mirror in the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) region. Our recent study has shown that a VUV waveform can be retrieved from a VUV reflection spectrogram of a plasma mirror formed on a fused silica (FS) surface by irradiation with an intense femtosecond laser pulse. Simultaneously, the increase in the reflectivity with respect to the Fresnel reflection of the unexcited FS surface can be obtained as a time-dependent reflectivity of the plasma mirror. In this study, we update the FROG analysis procedure using the least-square generalized projections algorithm. This procedure can reach convergence much faster than the previous one and has no aliasing problem. It is demonstrated that a significantly chirped VUV pulse as long as 1 ps can be precisely characterized.

Photoelectron diffraction from laser-aligned molecules with X-ray free-electron laser pulses

Nakajima, Kyo*; Teramoto, Takahiro*; Akagi, Hiroshi; Fujikawa, Takashi*; Majima, Takuya*; Minemoto, Shinichiro*; Ogawa, Kanade*; Sakai, Hirofumi*; Togashi, Tadashi*; Tono, Kensuke*; et al.

Scientific Reports (Internet), 5, p.14065_1 - 14065_11, 2015/09

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep14065

We report on the measurement of deep inner-shell 2p X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) patterns from laser-aligned I molecules using X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulses. The XPD patterns of the I molecules, aligned parallel to the polarization vector of the XFEL, were well matched with our theoretical calculations. Further, we propose a criterion for applying our molecular-structure-determination methodology to the experimental XPD data. In turn, we have demonstrated that this approach is a significant step toward the time-resolved imaging of molecular structures.

Isotope-selective ionization utilizing field-free alignment of isotopologues with a train of femtosecond laser pulses

Akagi, Hiroshi; Kasajima, Tatsuya*; Kumada, Takayuki; Itakura, Ryuji; Yokoyama, Atsushi; Hasegawa, Hirokazu*; Oshima, Yasuhiro*

Physical Review A, 91(6), p.063416_1 - 063416_7, 2015/06

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.91.063416

We propose a strategy of isotope-selective ionization for a binary mixture of isotopologues of homonuclear diatomic molecules, utilizing field-free alignment with a train of femtosecond laser pulses. Field-free alignment can be achieved simultaneously for two isotopologues consisting of two atoms with the same atomic mass number or , utilizing a pulse train with their time interval of T = T() = T(), where T() and T() are the rotational revival times of the isotopologues. We demonstrate experimentally that a train of four alignment pulses with their interval of T ( = 14, = 15) creates transiently aligned N and anti-aligned N just before T/2 after the last pulse, and vice versa just after T/2. Highly isotope-selective N ionization is achieved at these timings with another femtosecond laser pulse, which induces the non-resonant multiphoton ionization with the cross section remarkably depending on the angle between the molecular axis and the laser electric field direction. The ion yield ratio I(N)/I(N) ranges from 0.49 to 2.00, which is wider than the range obtained with single alignment pulse.

Frequency-resolved optical gating for characterization of VUV pulses using ultrafast plasma mirror switching

Itakura, Ryuji; Kumada, Takayuki; Nakano, Motoyoshi*; Akagi, Hiroshi

Optics Express (Internet), 23(9), p.10914 - 10924, 2015/05

https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.23.010914

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method for characterizing vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) pulses based on time-resolved reflection spectroscopy of fused silica pumped by an intense laser pulse. Plasma mirror reflection is used as an ultrafast optical switch, which enables us to measure frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) traces. The VUV temporal waveform can be retrieved from the measured FROG trace using principal component generalized projections algorithm with modification. The temporal profile of the plasma mirror reflectivity is also extracted simultaneously.

Femtosecond laser ablation dynamics of fused silica extracted from oscillation of time-resolved reflectivity

Kumada, Takayuki; Akagi, Hiroshi; Itakura, Ryuji; Otobe, Tomohito; Yokoyama, Atsushi

Journal of Applied Physics, 115(10), p.103504_1 - 103504_9, 2014/03

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4867438

Femtosecond laser ablation dynamics of fused silica is examined via time-resolved reflectivity measurements. After optical breakdown was caused by irradiation of a pump pulse, the reflectivity oscillated with a period of 63 ps for a wavelength 795 nm. The period was reduced by half for 398 nm. We ascribe the oscillation to the interference between the probe pulses reflected from the front and rear surfaces of the photo-excited molten fused silica layer.

Separation of ionization and subsequent electronic excitation for formation of electronically excited ethanol cation in intense laser fields

Ikuta, Tomoya*; Hosaka, Koichi*; Akagi, Hiroshi; Yokoyama, Atsushi; Yamanouchi, Kaoru*; Kannari, Fumihiko*; Itakura, Ryuji

Journal of Physics B; Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 44(19), p.191002_1 - 191002_5, 2011/10

https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-4075/44/19/191002

Ionization and subsequent electronic excitation occurring within the same laser pulse (400 nm, 96 fs, 1.318 TW/cm) are separately investigated by measuring in coincidence an electron and a product ion produced from CHOH. We reveal that the nascent population in the electronically excited CHOH prepared by the ionization decreases as the laser intensity increases, while the subsequent electronic excitation is enhanced through the resonant electronic transitions. Ionization and electronic excitation mechanisms are described based on the electronic state distributions of CHOH.

C-selective infrared multiple photon dissociation of -propiolactone by a free electron laser

Miyomoto, Yoshiki*; Majima, Tetsuro*; Arai, Shigeyoshi*; Katsumata, Keiichi*; Akagi, Hiroshi; Maeda, Akihiko*; Hata, Hiroo*; Kuramochi, Koji*; Kato, Yoshiyasu*; Tsukiyama, Koichi*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 269(2), p.180 - 184, 2011/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2010.10.026