Imaging of dynamic processes in materials with a laser-wakefield accelerator

Abstract

Betatron x rays generated from laser-wakefield accelerators are a promising source for imaging dynamic processes in materials. Here, we present proof-of-concept imaging of microstructural evolution in a hypermonotectic Al-Bi alloy, which consists of liquid Bi particles in a solid Al matrix. The images capture the elongation and fragmentation of Bi particles upon isothermal annealing. Because of the femtosecond time scale of the betatron source, the images are not subject to motion blur, whereas the accessibility of the source allows for studies of long-term processes such as annealing. The high-resolution data reveal that the evolution of Bi particles is mediated by an interplay of grain-boundary wetting and morphological instability, in stark contrast to an earlier proposal for (inverse) coarsening.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Kang, J. Shalloo, R. J. Higgins, M. J. Dann, S. J.D. Gruse, J. N. Underwood, C. I.D. Antoine, A. F. Arran, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8644-8118 Baird, C. D. Balcazar, M. D. Bourgeois, N. Cardarelli, J. A. Krushelnick, K. Mangles, S. P.D. Murphy, C. D. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3849-3229 Lu, N. Rajeev, P. P. Selwood, M. P. (mpb528@york.ac.uk) Symes, D. R. Ridgers, C. P. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4078-0887 Thomas, A. G.R. Thornton, C. Najmudin, Z. Sanders, P. G. Staublin, P. D. Shahani, A. J. Streeter, M. J.V.
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	Publisher Copyright: © 2025 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.
Dates:	Accepted: 10 November 2025 Published: 3 December 2025
Institution:	The University of York
Academic Units:	The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Physics (York) The University of York > Research Groups (York) > Centre for Women's Studies (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York)
Date Deposited:	22 Dec 2025 15:00
Last Modified:	22 Dec 2025 15:00
Published Version:	https://doi.org/10.1103/jzzn-bsy8
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1103/jzzn-bsy8
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:235872

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Imaging of dynamic processes in materials with a laser-wakefield accelerator

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