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Physics of High-Charge Electron Beams in Laser-Plasma Wakefields

J. Götzfried1,2, A. Döpp1,2,*, M. F. Gilljohann1,2, F. M. Foerster1, H. Ding1,2, S. Schindler1,2, G. Schilling1, A. Buck2, L. Veisz2,3 et al.

S. Karsch1,2,†

  • 1Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Am Coulombwall 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
  • 2Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
  • 3Department of Physics, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden

  • *a.doepp@physik.uni-muenchen.de
  • †stefan.karsch@physik.uni-muenchen.de
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Phys. Rev. X 10, 041015 – Published 21 October, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.10.041015

Abstract

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) and its particle-driven counterpart, particle or plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA), are commonly treated as separate, though related, branches of high-gradient plasma-based acceleration. However, novel proposed schemes are increasingly residing at the interface of both concepts where the understanding of their interplay becomes crucial. Here, we present a comprehensive study of this regime, which we may term laser-plasma wakefields. Using datasets of hundreds of shots, we demonstrate the influence of beam loading on the spectral shape of electron bunches. Similar results are obtained using both 100-TW-class and few-cycle lasers, highlighting the scale invariance of the involved physical processes. Furthermore, we probe the interplay of dual electron bunches in the same or in two subsequent plasma periods under the influence of beam loading. We show that, with decreasing laser intensity, beam loading transitions to a beam-dominated regime, where the first bunch acts as the main driver of the wakefield. This transition is evidenced experimentally by a varying acceleration of a low-energy witness beam with respect to the charge of a high-energy drive beam in a spatially separate gas target. Our results also present an important step in the development of LWFA using controlled injection in a shock front. The electron beams in this study reach record performance in terms of laser-to-beam energy transfer efficiency (up to 10%), spectral charge density (regularly exceeding 10  pC MeV−1), and angular charge density (beyond 300  pC μsr−1 at 220 MeV). We provide an experimental scaling for the accelerated charge per terawatt (TW) of laser power, which approaches 2 nC at 300 TW. With the expanding availability of petawatt-class (PW) lasers, these beam parameters will become widely accessible. Thus, the physics of laser-plasma wakefields is expected to become increasingly relevant, as it provides new paths toward low-emittance beam generation for future plasma-based colliders or light sources.

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Special Collection on Laser-Plasma Particle Acceleration

Physical Review X showcases the scientific vitality and diversity of the field of laser-plasma particle acceleration with a carefully curated collection of articles.

Popular Summary

The size, investment, and maintenance costs of high-energy electron accelerators often prevent their widespread dissemination. Wakefield accelerators, in which bunches of electrons surf the electric field of a plasma wave, offer a solution by providing orders-of-magnitude greater energy gain per distance. A new generation of lasers and advanced plasma targets that provide better control over the bunch formation have led to a tenfold-to-hundredfold increase in the amount of charge that can be accelerated, however, the highly charged electron bunch strongly influences its own dynamics. Here, we present a detailed experimental and numerical analysis of the physics in this novel regime of wakefield acceleration.

Wakefield accelerators come in two types: In a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA), the plasma wave is driven by intense laser pulses, whereas particle beams are the driving force in a plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA). We argue that the case of nanocoulomb charge bunches can be understood as an intermediary between these two types, with the laser and electrons contributing to the wake formation. As a result, the beam energy and spectral shape of electrons accelerated in this wakefield change depending on the beam charge.

Expanding on these basic findings, we also study the interaction between two subsequent electron bunches and its ramifications for generating electron beams with extremely high beam quality. In such dual-bunch wakefields, initially driven by a laser, experimental data and simulations show that the high-charge bunches even drive an externally seeded PWFA once the laser intensity has sufficiently decreased.

A profound understanding of high-charge effects in wakefield accelerators is essential for the development of petawatt-laser-driven LWFAs as well as beam-driven PWFAs, and will potentially open a path toward their adoption for demanding applications such as plasma-based colliders or free-electron lasers.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. X 10, 041015– Published 21 October, 2020
  • Received 27 March 2020
  • Revised 9 June 2020
  • Accepted 1 September 2020
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