[en] The remarkable experimental progress in the studies of collisionless shockwave (CS) in laboratories employing high-power lasers is briefly reviewed. The results show that CS can be generated in laser-produced plasmas due to the micro-turbulence associated with instabilities. CS is one of the most important astronomical phenomena. It has been found in supernova remnants (SNRs), Sun–Earth space, etc. This paper focuses on CS in ways relevant to SNRs. Laboratory astrophysics (LA), a new interdisciplinary frontier of astrophysics, plasma and laser physics, has developed rapidly in recent years. As an accessory to the astronomical observation, LA experimenters can closely study some astronomical events scaled-down to controllable phenomena. (paper)

[en] In the list of ‘repeating pairs’ or ‘doublets’ of earthquakes in China identified by Schaff and Richards using teleseismic waveform cross-correlation, there were 23 repeating pairs located in Liaoning Province. In this study the waveforms of these events were cross-correlated using records from Liaoning Regional Seismograph Network (LRSN), and the ‘repeating events’ in the sense of regional waveform cross-correlation were obtained. The result was compared with that of Schaff and Richards and was used for the assessment of the seismic phase picking and event location practice of LRSN. The result shows that ‘repeating events’ in the sense of teleseismic waveform cross-correlation and those in the sense of regional waveform cross-correlation have significant difference, although with some overlap. However, the overall assessment of the location accuracy and the phase pick errors of LRSN by using these two sets of ‘repeating events’, respectively, provides similar results, while ‘repeating events’ in the sense of regional waveform cross-correlation seem to be better performing in such an assessment. With the assumption that the separation between the ‘repeaters’ be less than 1 km, the uncertainty in routine earthquake location of LRSN is estimated to be below 5 km, with the average of 2 km. In the observational bulletins of LRSN the time error in phase picking is estimated to be within ±1s for 94% Pg readings and for 88% Sg readings.

[en] A new laser propulsion scheme with a high specific impulse is proposed in this paper. An extremely thin polyimide film is used as the propellant to eliminate thermal diffusion and sputter from the target material. It is found that a high specific impulse of 1520 s can be achieved at 10¹¹-W/cm² laser intensity because of economic use of the propellant. The influences of the laser intensity and the ablation area on the specific impulse are also studied in the experiment. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

[en] We provide the first report on the harmonics generated by an intense femtosecond vector beam that is normally incident on a solid target. By using 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) codes, we observe the third and the fifth harmonic signals with the same vector structure as the driving beam, and obtain an attosecond vector beam pulse train. We also show that the conversion efficiencies of the third and the fifth harmonics reach their maxima for a plasma density of four times the critical density due to the plasma resonating with the driving force. This method provides a new means of generating intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) vector beams via ultra-intense laser-driven harmonics. (paper)

[en] We demonstrate a 100-TW-class femtosecond Tr:sapphire laser running at a repetition rate of 0.1 Hz based on a 20 TW/10 Hz laser facility (XL-II). Pumping the new stage amplifier with a 25J green Nd:glass laser, we successfully improve the laser energy to 3.4 J with duration of 29 fs, corresponding to a peak power of 117 TW. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

[en] The intensity of third harmonic emission in air filamentation disturbed by copper fibers and alcohol droplets has been investigated experimentally. Enhancement of the third harmonic emission up to more than one order of magnitude has been observed. The physical mechanism of third harmonic enhancement is attributed to suppression of the destructive interference by comparison of the experimental results and it is closely related to the type, size, and relative position of the obstacles. (rapid communication)

[en] Terahertz (THz) radiation has attracted much attention due to its wide potential applications. Though radiation can be generated with various ways, it is still a big challenge to obtain strong tabletop sources. Plasma, with the advantage of no damage limit, is a promising medium to generate strong THz radiation. This review reports recent advances on strong THz radiation generation from low-density gases and high-density solid targets at different laser intensities. (review)

[en] Harmonics generated by an intense femtosecond Gaussian laser pulse normally incident on a spiral-shaped thin foil target were studied. By using two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation, we observed evident odd harmonics signals in the reflection direction and found that the reflected field has a helical structure determined by the target shape. This method provides a new way to generate an intense ultraviolet vortex with high-order topological charge by use of ultrahigh intense laser-driven harmonics. (paper)

[en] We have studied the propagation dynamics of ultrafast electron pulses by using an improved mean-field model, in which the propagation of the electron pulses across the boundary of the acceleration region is explicitly considered. A large decrease in the speed spread of the electron pulses (we called “boundary kick”) is observed and properly treated leading to a significant improvement in the simulation accuracy, particularly when the density of electrons is very large. We show that our method is consistent with the simulation by the N -particle method, while others can introduce factorial error. (paper)

[en] The dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) at different gas pressures are investigated by use of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation with Monte Carlo collisions included. The pressure-dependent transition from Townsend to filamentary discharge operating in a glow regime has been demonstrated. In the filamentary discharge, four different phases are distinguished: a Townsend phase, a space-charge dominated avalanche phase, a cathode-layer formation, and a decay phase. The evolution of the electric fields, plasma densities, kinetic energy distributions, filament diameters, and breakdown voltages associated with different discharges has been presented. The above simulation results are in good agreement with previous experimental observations, suggesting that such simulation may provide guidance for the control of DBDs. (paper)