1
|
van de Wetering JJ, Hooker SM, Walczak R. Multi-GeV wakefield acceleration in a plasma-modulated plasma accelerator. Phys Rev E 2024; 109:025206. [PMID: 38491682 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.109.025206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
We investigate the accelerator stage of a plasma-modulated plasma accelerator (P-MoPA) [Jakobsson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 184801 (2021)0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.127.184801] using both the paraxial wave equation and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. We show that adjusting the laser and plasma parameters of the modulator stage of a P-MoPA allows the temporal profile of pulses within the pulse train to be controlled, which in turn allows the wake amplitude in the accelerator stage to be as much as 72% larger than that generated by a plasma beat-wave accelerator with the same total drive laser energy. Our analysis shows that Rosenbluth-Liu detuning is unimportant in a P-MoPA if the number of pulses in the train is less than ∼30, and that this detuning is also partially counteracted by increased red-shifting, and hence increased pulse spacing, towards the back of the train. An analysis of transverse mode oscillations of the driving pulse train is found to be in good agreement with 2D (Cartesian) PIC simulations. PIC simulations demonstrating energy gains of ∼1.5GeV (∼2.5GeV) for drive pulse energies of 2.4J (5.0J) are presented. Our results suggest that P-MoPAs driven by few-joule, picosecond pulses, such as those provided by high-repetition-rate thin-disk lasers, could accelerate electron bunches to multi-GeV energies at pulse repetition rates in the kilohertz range.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J J van de Wetering
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - S M Hooker
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - R Walczak
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
- Somerville College, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HD, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jonnerby J, von Boetticher A, Holloway J, Corner L, Picksley A, Ross AJ, Shalloo RJ, Thornton C, Bourgeois N, Walczak R, Hooker SM. Measurement of the decay of laser-driven linear plasma wakefields. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:055211. [PMID: 38115527 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.055211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
We present measurements of the temporal decay rate of one-dimensional (1D), linear Langmuir waves excited by an ultrashort laser pulse. Langmuir waves with relative amplitudes of approximately 6% were driven by 1.7J, 50fs laser pulses in hydrogen and deuterium plasmas of density n_{e0}=8.4×10^{17}cm^{-3}. The wakefield lifetimes were measured to be τ_{wf}^{H_{2}}=(9±2) ps and τ_{wf}^{D_{2}}=(16±8) ps, respectively, for hydrogen and deuterium. The experimental results were found to be in good agreement with 2D particle-in-cell simulations. In addition to being of fundamental interest, these results are particularly relevant to the development of laser wakefield accelerators and wakefield acceleration schemes using multiple pulses, such as multipulse laser wakefield accelerators.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Jonnerby
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - A von Boetticher
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - J Holloway
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - L Corner
- Cockcroft Institute of Accelerator Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool WA4 4AD, United Kingdom
| | - A Picksley
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - A J Ross
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - R J Shalloo
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - C Thornton
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - N Bourgeois
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - R Walczak
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| | - S M Hooker
- John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science and Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|