Preformed Transient Gas Channels for Laser Wakefield Particle Acceleration

Preformed Transient Gas Channels for Laser Wakefield Particle Acceleration PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 6

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Acceleration of electrons by laser-driven plasma wake fields is limited by the range over which a laser pulse can maintain its intensity. This distance is typically given by the Rayleigh range for the focused laser beam, usually on the order of 0.1 mm to 1 mm. For practical particle acceleration, interaction distances on the order of centimeters are required. Therefore, some means of guiding high intensity laser pulses is necessary. Light intensities on the order of a few times 1017 W/cm2 are required for laser wakefield acceleration schemes using near IR radiation. Gas densities on the order of or greater than 1017 cm−3 are also needed. Laser-atom interaction studies in this density and intensity regime are generally limited by the concomitant problems in beam propagation introduced by the creation of a plasma. In addition to the interaction distance limit imposed by the Rayleigh range, defocusing of the high intensity laser pulse further limits the peak intensity which can be achieved. To solve the problem of beam propagation limitations in laser-plasma wakefield experiments, two potential methods for creating transient propagation channels in gaseous targets are investigated. The first involves creation of a charge-neutral channel in a gas by an initial laser pulse, which then is ionized by a second, ultrashort, high-intensity pulse to create a waveguide. The second method involves the ionization of a gas column by an ultrashort pulse; a transient waveguide is formed by the subsequent expansion of the heated plasma into the neutral gas.

Preformed Transient Gas Channels for Laser Wakefield Particle Acceleration

Preformed Transient Gas Channels for Laser Wakefield Particle Acceleration PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 6

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Book Description
Acceleration of electrons by laser-driven plasma wake fields is limited by the range over which a laser pulse can maintain its intensity. This distance is typically given by the Rayleigh range for the focused laser beam, usually on the order of 0.1 mm to 1 mm. For practical particle acceleration, interaction distances on the order of centimeters are required. Therefore, some means of guiding high intensity laser pulses is necessary. Light intensities on the order of a few times 1017 W/cm2 are required for laser wakefield acceleration schemes using near IR radiation. Gas densities on the order of or greater than 1017 cm−3 are also needed. Laser-atom interaction studies in this density and intensity regime are generally limited by the concomitant problems in beam propagation introduced by the creation of a plasma. In addition to the interaction distance limit imposed by the Rayleigh range, defocusing of the high intensity laser pulse further limits the peak intensity which can be achieved. To solve the problem of beam propagation limitations in laser-plasma wakefield experiments, two potential methods for creating transient propagation channels in gaseous targets are investigated. The first involves creation of a charge-neutral channel in a gas by an initial laser pulse, which then is ionized by a second, ultrashort, high-intensity pulse to create a waveguide. The second method involves the ionization of a gas column by an ultrashort pulse; a transient waveguide is formed by the subsequent expansion of the heated plasma into the neutral gas.

The Future of Accelerator Physics: The Tamura Symposium Proceedings

The Future of Accelerator Physics: The Tamura Symposium Proceedings PDF Author: Toshiki Tajima
Publisher: American Institute of Physics
ISBN: 9781563965418
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 486

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Book Description
Annotation At a time when several new and exciting technical developments are emerging in accelerator physics, yet the discipline is still reeling from the cancellation of the supercollider, 29 papers look at hadron accelerators, electron storage rings, coherent radiation sources, laser acceleration, and advanced concepts. The specific topics include colliding beams in a M:obius accelerator, the correction of emittance modulation by linear coupling, a quasi-periodic undulator, pulse propagation in the laser wakefield accelerator, and cooling particle beams. Reproduced from typescripts. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Plasma Channel Guided Laser Wakefield Accelerator

Plasma Channel Guided Laser Wakefield Accelerator PDF Author: Cameron Guy Robinson Geddes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Demonstration of the Hollow Channel Plasma Wakefield Accelerator

Demonstration of the Hollow Channel Plasma Wakefield Accelerator PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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A plasma wakefield accelerator is a device that converts the energy of a relativistic particle beam into a large-amplitude wave in a plasma. The plasma wave, or wakefield, supports an enormous electricfield that is used to accelerate a trailing particle beam. The plasma wakefield accelerator can therefore be used as a transformer, transferring energy from a high-charge, low-energy particle beam into a high-energy, low-charge particle beam. This technique may lead to a new generation of ultra-compact, high-energy particle accelerators. The past decade has seen enormous progress in the field of plasma wakefield acceleration with experimental demonstrations of the acceleration of electron beams by several gigaelectron-volts. The acceleration of positron beams in plasma is more challenging, but also necessary for the creation of a high-energy electron-positron collider. Part of the challenge is that the plasma responds asymmetrically to electrons and positrons, leading to increased disruption of the positron beam. One solution to this problem, first proposed over twenty years ago, is to use a hollow channel plasma which symmetrizes the response of the plasma to beams of positive and negative charge, making it possible to accelerate positrons in plasma without disruption. In this thesis, we describe the theory relevant to our experiment and derive new results when needed. We discuss the development and implementation of special optical devices used to create long plasma channels. We demonstrate for the first time the generation of meter-scale plasma channels and the acceleration of positron beams therein.

Simulations on Laser Wakefield Acceleration in Plasma Guiding Channel

Simulations on Laser Wakefield Acceleration in Plasma Guiding Channel PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 39

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Energy Research Abstracts

Energy Research Abstracts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Power resources
Languages : en
Pages : 714

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Electrical & Electronics Abstracts

Electrical & Electronics Abstracts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electrical engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 1948

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Phase Space Dynamics in Plasma Based Wakefield Acceleration

Phase Space Dynamics in Plasma Based Wakefield Acceleration PDF Author: Xinlu Xu
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811523819
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 138

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Book Description
This book explores several key issues in beam phase space dynamics in plasma-based wakefield accelerators. It reveals the phase space dynamics of ionization-based injection methods by identifying two key phase mixing processes. Subsequently, the book proposes a two-color laser ionization injection scheme for generating high-quality beams, and assesses it using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. To eliminate emittance growth when the beam propagates between plasma accelerators and traditional accelerator components, a method using longitudinally tailored plasma structures as phase space matching components is proposed. Based on the aspects above, a preliminary design study on X-ray free-electron lasers driven by plasma accelerators is presented. Lastly, an important type of numerical noise—the numerical Cherenkov instabilities in particle-in-cell codes—is systematically studied.

Laser Wakefield Acceleration in Tapered Plasma Channels

Laser Wakefield Acceleration in Tapered Plasma Channels PDF Author: Wolf Rittershofer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Laser Wakefield Acceleration

Laser Wakefield Acceleration PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 6

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Particle accelerators enable scientists to study the fundamental structure of the universe, but have become the largest and most expensive of scientific instruments. In this project, we advanced the science and technology of laser-plasma accelerators, which are thousands of times smaller and less expensive than their conventional counterparts. In a laser-plasma accelerator, a powerful laser pulse exerts light pressure on an ionized gas, or plasma, thereby driving an electron density wave, which resembles the wake behind a boat. Electrostatic fields within this plasma wake reach tens of billions of volts per meter, fields far stronger than ordinary non-plasma matter (such as the matter that a conventional accelerator is made of) can withstand. Under the right conditions, stray electrons from the surrounding plasma become trapped within these "wake-fields", surf them, and acquire energy much faster than is possible in a conventional accelerator. Laser-plasma accelerators thus might herald a new generation of compact, low-cost accelerators for future particle physics, x-ray and medical research. In this project, we made two major advances in the science of laser-plasma accelerators. The first of these was to accelerate electrons beyond 1 gigaelectronvolt (1 GeV) for the first time. In experimental results reported in Nature Communications in 2013, about 1 billion electrons were captured from a tenuous plasma (about 1/100 of atmosphere density) and accelerated to 2 GeV within about one inch, while maintaining less than 5% energy spread, and spreading out less than 1/2 milliradian (i.e. 1/2 millimeter per meter of travel). Low energy spread and high beam collimation are important for applications of accelerators as coherent x-ray sources or particle colliders. This advance was made possible by exploiting unique properties of the Texas Petawatt Laser, a powerful laser at the University of Texas at Austin that produces pulses of 150 femtoseconds (1 femtosecond is 10-15 seconds) in duration and 150 Joules in energy (equivalent to the muzzle energy of a small pistol bullet). This duration was well matched to the natural electron density oscillation period of plasma of 1/100 atmospheric density, enabling efficient excitation of a plasma wake, while this energy was sufficient to drive a high-amplitude wake of the right shape to produce an energetic, collimated electron beam. Continuing research is aimed at increasing electron energy even further, increasing the number of electrons captured and accelerated, and developing applications of the compact, multi-GeV accelerator as a coherent, hard x-ray source for materials science, biomedical imaging and homeland security applications. The second major advance under this project was to develop new methods of visualizing the laser-driven plasma wake structures that underlie laser-plasma accelerators. Visualizing these structures is essential to understanding, optimizing and scaling laser-plasma accelerators. Yet prior to work under this project, computer simulations based on estimated initial conditions were the sole source of detailed knowledge of the complex, evolving internal structure of laser-driven plasma wakes. In this project we developed and demonstrated a suite of optical visualization methods based on well-known methods such as holography, streak cameras, and coherence tomography, but adapted to the ultrafast, light-speed, microscopic world of laser-driven plasma wakes. Our methods output images of laser-driven plasma structures in a single laser shot. We first reported snapshots of low-amplitude laser wakes in Nature Physics in 2006. We subsequently reported images of high-amplitude laser-driven plasma "bubbles", which are important for producing electron beams with low energy spread, in Physical Review Letters in 2010. More recently, we have figured out how to image laser-driven structures that change shape while propagating in a single laser shot. The latter techniques, which use t ...