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Parametric mapping of the efficiency–instability relation in plasma-wakefield accelerators

O. G. Finnerud*, C. A. Lindstrøm, and E. Adli

  • *Contact author: o.g.finnerud@fys.uio.no
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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 28, 071301 – Published 7 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/72qb-517d

Abstract

High efficiency is essential for plasma-wakefield accelerators to be a cost-effective alternative in high-power applications, such as a linear collider. However, in a plasma-wakefield accelerator, the beam-breakup instability can be seeded by a transverse offset between the driver and trailing bunch. This instability, which rapidly increases the oscillation amplitude of the trailing bunch, grows with higher power-transfer efficiency from the driver to the trailing bunch [V. Lebedev et al., Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 20, 121301 (2017)]. In this paper, we use particle-in-cell simulations to investigate the efficiency–instability relation that constrains the driver-to-trailing-bunch power-transfer efficiency in beam-driven plasma accelerators. We test the relation using a grid of simulations across all parameters that affect the beam-breakup instability, assuming a uniform accelerating field (optimal beam loading) and no ion motion. We find that the previously proposed efficiency–instability relation represents a lower limit on the strength of the instability for a given efficiency. For each normalized wake radius, only a certain accelerating field reaches this lowest value of the transverse instability; deviating from this point can increase the growth rate by several orders of magnitude. Finally, we highlight how the oscillation-amplitude growth of the trailing bunch can be reduced or damped with an initial uncorrelated energy spread and the presence of ion motion.

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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 28, 071301– Published 7 July, 2025
  • Received 17 January 2025
  • Accepted 2 June 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the 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.

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