OVERVIEW OF THE PETAL+ PROJECT: DEVELOPING THE DIAGNOSTICS FOR THE LMJ/PETAL LASER FACILITY

           The LMJ/PETAL facility is located near Bordeaux at CEA-CESTA (France). This unique facility in Europe is open to the academic community. The nanosecond scale LMJ laser beams coupled to the picosecond petawatt scale PETAL laser offers the opportunity to study an experimental program covering topics like inertial fusion for energy, laboratory astrophysics or high energy density physics.
The PETAL+ project, funded by the French Agency for Research (ANR) and managed by the University of Bordeaux addresses the development of the first diagnostics for LMJ/PETAL. SPECTIX (Spectromètre PEtal à Cristal en TransmIssion X) is an X-ray spectrometer using crystals in transmission in a Cauchois-like design. It covers the 7-100 keV energy range. SEPAGE (Spectromètre Electrons Protons A Grandes Energies) is a charged particle spectrometer recording the electron spectrum in the 0.1-150 MeV range and the proton spectrum in the 0.1-200 MeV range using two Thomson Parabola channels. It will also contain a proton radiography module (CRAAC) located close to the target covering proton energies between 1 and 200 MeV. SESAME (Spectromètre ElectronS Angulaire Moyenne Energie) is a set of two identical electron spectrometers that will cover the 5-150 MeV range. The SESAMEs diagnostics will have fixed positions and will be located on the experimental chamber wall, at approximately 6 m from the target, at 0° and 45° from the petawatt axis. Because of the giant electromagnetic pulse generated during experiments using the PETAL laser, passive detectors were preferred to record spectra inside the PETAL+ diagnostics. Thus, imaging plates will be used in the three diagnostics, and the proton radiography module will be equipped with radiochromic films.
All the PETAL+ diagnostics will be located on the equatorial plane of the LMJ experimental chamber (10 m diameter), as well as the PETAL laser beam. SPECTIX and SEPAGE will be inserted inside the chamber close to the experimental target with a dedicated inserter (SID+: Système d’Insertion de Diagnostic PETAL+). The preferred location of SPECTIX will be near the PETAL beam line, and the preferred SEPAGE location will be opposite from the PETAL laser, perpendicular to the target impacted by the petawatt. 
In the talk, I will present the status of the project as well as the new perspective in High-Energy-Density Physics opened by the LMJ/PETAL laser facility.