Demonstration of a Circularly Polarized Plasma-Based Soft-X-Ray Laser

Area of Science:

• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Plasma Physics
• X-ray Science

Background:

• Soft-x-ray lasers are crucial tools for various scientific applications.
• Generating circularly polarized soft-x-ray radiation has been a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate the first laser-driven circularly polarized soft-x-ray laser chain.
• To verify the preservation of circular polarization during amplification.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a four-reflector polarizer to circularly polarize a high-order harmonic beam.
• Seeding a 32.8 nm krypton-IX (Kr IX) plasma amplifier with the polarized beam.
• Comparing experimental measurements with Maxwell-Bloch modeling.

Main Results:

• Successful experimental demonstration of a circularly polarized soft-x-ray laser chain.
• Amplified radiation maintained the initial circular polarization of the seed pulse.
• The resulting laser beam exhibited a Gaussian profile with approximately 10^10 photons per shot.

Conclusions:

• The developed technique provides a reliable method for generating circularly polarized soft-x-ray lasers.
• The high photon yield and preserved polarization meet requirements for laboratory-scale experiments.
• This advancement opens new possibilities for photon-demanding applications in various scientific fields.