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Laser wakefield acceleration driven by a discrete flying focus

Jacob R. Pierce1,*, Kyle G. Miller2, Fei Li3, John P. Palastro2,†, and Warren B. Mori1

  • *Contact author: jacobpierce@physics.ucla.edu
  • †Contact author: jpal@lle.rochester.edu
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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 28, 101303 – Published 24 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qts4-8kgf

Abstract

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) may enable the next generation of TeV-scale lepton colliders. Reaching such energies will likely require multiple LWFA stages to overcome limitations on the energy gain achievable in a single stage. The use of stages, however, introduces challenges such as alignment, adiabatic matching between stages, and a lower average accelerating gradient. Here, we propose a discrete flying focus that can deliver higher energy gain in a single stage, thereby reducing the number of stages required for a target energy. A sequence of laser pulses with staggered focal points and delays drives a plasma wave in which an electron beam experiences a near-constant accelerating gradient over distances beyond those attainable with a conventional pulse. Simulations demonstrate that a discrete flying focus with a total energy of 150 J can transfer 40 GeV per electron to a 50-pC beam in a single 30-cm stage, corresponding to 50 dephasing lengths.

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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 28, 101303– Published 24 October, 2025
  • Received 20 June 2025
  • Accepted 17 September 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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