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Wan Y, Tata S, Seemann O, Levine EY, Kroupp E, Malka V. Real-time visualization of the laser-plasma wakefield dynamics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj3595. [PMID: 38306435 PMCID: PMC10836718 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj3595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
The exploration of new acceleration mechanisms for compactly delivering high-energy particle beams has gained great attention in recent years. One alternative that has attracted particular interest is the plasma-based wakefield accelerator, which is capable of sustaining accelerating fields that are more than three orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional radio-frequency accelerators. In this device, acceleration is generated by plasma waves that propagate at nearly light speed, driven by intense lasers or charged particle beams. Here, we report on the direct visualization of the entire plasma wake dynamics by probing it with a femtosecond relativistic electron bunch. This includes the excitation of the laser wakefield, the increase of its amplitude, the electron injection, and the transition to the beam-driven plasma wakefield. These experimental observations provide first-hand valuable insights into the complex physics of laser beam-plasma interaction and demonstrate a powerful tool that can largely advance the development of plasma accelerators for real-time operation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wan
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
- School of Physics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Sheroy Tata
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Omri Seemann
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Eitan Y. Levine
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Eyal Kroupp
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Victor Malka
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
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Kaluza MC. Unveiling the inner structure of electron pulses generated from a laser-wakefield accelerator. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2023; 12:225. [PMID: 37696783 PMCID: PMC10495313 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01269-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
A novel diagnostic method has been used to gain deeper insight into the transverse structure and its evolution of electron pulses generated from a laser-wakefield accelerator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte C Kaluza
- Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743, Jena, Germany.
- Helmholtz-Institute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany.
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Wan Y, Tata S, Seemann O, Levine EY, Smartsev S, Kroupp E, Malka V. Femtosecond electron microscopy of relativistic electron bunches. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2023; 12:116. [PMID: 37164977 PMCID: PMC10172298 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01142-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The development of plasma-based accelerators has enabled the generation of very high brightness electron bunches of femtosecond duration, micrometer size and ultralow emittance, crucial for emerging applications including ultrafast detection in material science, laboratory-scale free-electron lasers and compact colliders for high-energy physics. The precise characterization of the initial bunch parameters is critical to the ability to manipulate the beam properties for downstream applications. Proper diagnostic of such ultra-short and high charge density laser-plasma accelerated bunches, however, remains very challenging. Here we address this challenge with a novel technique we name as femtosecond ultrarelativistic electron microscopy, which utilizes an electron bunch from another laser-plasma accelerator as a probe. In contrast to conventional microscopy of using very low-energy electrons, the femtosecond duration and high electron energy of such a probe beam enable it to capture the ultra-intense space-charge fields of the investigated bunch and to reconstruct the charge distribution with very high spatiotemporal resolution, all in a single shot. In the experiment presented here we have used this technique to study the shape of a laser-plasma accelerated electron beam, its asymmetry due to the drive laser polarization, and its beam evolution as it exits the plasma. We anticipate that this method will significantly advance the understanding of complex beam-plasma dynamics and will also provide a powerful new tool for real-time optimization of plasma accelerators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wan
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel.
| | - Sheroy Tata
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Omri Seemann
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Eitan Y Levine
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Slava Smartsev
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Eyal Kroupp
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Victor Malka
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
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4
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Mapping the self-generated magnetic fields due to thermal Weibel instability. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2211713119. [PMID: 36469770 PMCID: PMC9897480 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2211713119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of the seed magnetic field that is amplified by the galactic dynamo is an open question in plasma astrophysics. Aside from primordial sources and the Biermann battery mechanism, plasma instabilities have also been proposed as a possible source of seed magnetic fields. Among them, thermal Weibel instability driven by temperature anisotropy has attracted broad interests due to its ubiquity in both laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. However, this instability has been challenging to measure in a stationary terrestrial plasma because of the difficulty in preparing such a velocity distribution. Here, we use picosecond laser ionization of hydrogen gas to initialize such an electron distribution function. We record the 2D evolution of the magnetic field associated with the Weibel instability by imaging the deflections of a relativistic electron beam with a picosecond temporal duration and show that the measured [Formula: see text]-resolved growth rates of the instability validate kinetic theory. Concurrently, self-organization of microscopic plasma currents is observed to amplify the current modulation magnitude that converts up to ~1% of the plasma thermal energy into magnetic energy, thus supporting the notion that the magnetic field induced by the Weibel instability may be able to provide a seed for the galactic dynamo.
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5
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Zhang C, Hua J, Wu Y, Fang Y, Ma Y, Zhang T, Liu S, Peng B, He Y, Huang CK, Marsh KA, Mori WB, Lu W, Joshi C. Measurements of the Growth and Saturation of Electron Weibel Instability in Optical-Field Ionized Plasmas. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 125:255001. [PMID: 33416364 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.125.255001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The temporal evolution of the magnetic field associated with electron thermal Weibel instability in optical-field ionized plasmas is measured using ultrashort (1.8 ps), relativistic (45 MeV) electron bunches from a linear accelerator. The self-generated magnetic fields are found to self-organize into a quasistatic structure consistent with a helicoid topology within a few picoseconds and such a structure lasts for tens of picoseconds in underdense plasmas. The measured growth rate agrees well with that predicted by the kinetic theory of plasmas taking into account collisions. Magnetic trapping is identified as the dominant saturation mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaojie Zhang
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Jianfei Hua
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yipeng Wu
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Yu Fang
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yue Ma
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Tianliang Zhang
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Shuang Liu
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Bo Peng
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yunxiao He
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chen-Kang Huang
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Ken A Marsh
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Warren B Mori
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Wei Lu
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chan Joshi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
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Zhang CJ, Hua JF, Wan Y, Pai CH, Guo B, Zhang J, Ma Y, Li F, Wu YP, Chu HH, Gu YQ, Xu XL, Mori WB, Joshi C, Wang J, Lu W. Femtosecond Probing of Plasma Wakefields and Observation of the Plasma Wake Reversal Using a Relativistic Electron Bunch. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2017; 119:064801. [PMID: 28949606 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.119.064801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We show that a high-energy electron bunch can be used to capture the instantaneous longitudinal and transverse field structures of the highly transient, microscopic, laser-excited relativistic wake with femtosecond resolution. The spatiotemporal evolution of wakefields in a plasma density up ramp is measured and the reversal of the plasma wake, where the wake wavelength at a particular point in space increases until the wake disappears completely only to reappear at a later time but propagating in the opposite direction, is observed for the first time by using this new technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- C J Zhang
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - J F Hua
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Y Wan
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - C-H Pai
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - B Guo
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - J Zhang
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Y Ma
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - F Li
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Y P Wu
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - H-H Chu
- Department of Physics, National Central University, Jhong-Li 32001, Taiwan
| | - Y Q Gu
- Science and Technology on Plasma Physics Laboratory, Laser Fusion Research Center, CAEP, Mianyang 621900, China
| | - X L Xu
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - W B Mori
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - C Joshi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - J Wang
- Department of Physics, National Central University, Jhong-Li 32001, Taiwan
- Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - W Lu
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- IFSA Collaborative Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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