7th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE2024)

With the development of laser technology, there has been a growing interest in employing intense lasers for nuclear physics research, for example, the studies on laser-driven nuclei excitation. While X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) have been extensively studied and applied in fields such as atomic and molecular physics, chemistry, and biology, their utilization in nuclear physics research remains limited. In this work, we investigate the process of nuclear excitation induced by XFELs interacting with ⁸³Kr clusters. Upon laser-cluster interaction, nanoscale plasma is formed, providing a conducive environment for various nuclear excitation processes, including nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC), nuclear excitation by inelastic electron scattering (NEIES), nuclear excitation by electron transition (NEET), and photonexcitation. By adjusting laser parameters, we can manipulate the primary excitation mechanisms occurring within the clusters. With a XFEL pulse of photon energy 18 keV, intensity 10²⁰ W/cm², and pulse duration 20 fs (FWHM), about 4 isomers generated in 10000 clusters.
 

Nuclear Excitation,X-ray Free Electron Lasers