  Photo-transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste induced by high-charge
relativistic electron beam (e-beam) from laser plasma accelerator is
demonstrated. Collimated relativistic e-beam with a high charge of
approximately 100 nC is produced from high-intensity laser interaction with
near-critical-density (NCD) plasma. Such e-beam impinges on a high-Z convertor
and then radiates energetic bremsstrahlung photons with flux approaching
10^{11} per laser shot. Taking long-lived radionuclide ^{126}Sn as an example,
the resulting transmutation reaction yield is the order of 10^{9} per laser
shot, which is two orders of magnitude higher than obtained from previous
studies. It is found that at lower densities, tightly focused laser irradiating
relatively longer NCD plasmas can effectively enhance the transmutation
efficiency. Furthermore, the photo-transmutation is generalized by considering
mixed-nuclide waste samples, which suggests that the laser-accelerated
high-charge e-beam could be an efficient tool to transmute long-lived nuclear
waste.
