Unraveling the ultrafast plasma dynamics giving rise to the measured evolution filamentary structures using high-resolution X-ray Imaging

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Recent progress in Ultra-High Intensity optical laser systems together with the advent of Free Electron Lasers has enabled the possibility to experimentally study hot dense plasmas with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. This early state of the plasma is prone to several ultrafast phenomena relevant for astrophysical scenarios – such as Gamma-Ray Bursts - and plasma-based technologies – such as Inertial Fusion Energy. Recently, thanks to the a novel high-resolution X-ray imaging system, an experimental campaign hosted at the Linac Coherent Light Source has resolved for the first time the sub-micron scale plasma filaments originated in the interaction of a high intensity laser with a thin solid target. These results open a unique opportunity to unravel the underlying physical mechanisms behind the formation and evolution of these filaments of relevance to the aforementioned scenarios. The proposed PLasma Advanced X-ray Imaging project will leverage these recent developments with improved diagnostics and the help of advanced numerical simulations that will transform the exploration and quantitave identification of the main physical processes that dictate the onset and non-linear evolution of the relativistic plasma filamentation instability. This project will bring together the fields of advanced X-ray imaging and High Energy Density Physics, and is expected to enable the visualization of ultra-fast processes in solid-density plasmas in a similar way as optical imaging is now-a-days routinely used in underdense plasmas. The outcomes of the PLAXI project will shed light on the extreme processes that control energy transport in gamma-ray bursts and fast igniting plasmas, which so far could only be assessed theoretically, paving the way to new plasma-based applications.