Related papers: Enhanced laser-driven electron beam acceleration d…
We report the first experimental observation of carrier-envelope phase-driven energy bunching in laser wakefield acceleration. Using a few-cycle (~9 fs), multi-terawatt laser pulse and ionization injection in a helium-nitrogen gas mixture,…
Laser wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) have electric fields that are orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional accelerators, promising an attractive, small-scale alternative for next-generation light sources and lepton colliders.…
At Shanghai Jiao Tong University, we have established a research laboratory for advanced acceleration research based on high-power lasers and plasma technologies. In a primary experiment based on the laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA)…
We propose to use tightly focused lasers to generate high quality electron beams in laser wakefield accelerators. In this scheme, the expansion of the laser beam after the focal position enlarges the size of wakefield bubble, which reduces…
The extraordinary ability of space-charge waves in plasmas to accelerate charged particles at gradients that are orders of magnitude greater than in current accelerators has been well documented. We develop a phenomenological framework for…
Ionization injection triggered by short wavelength laser pulses inside a nonlinear wakefield driven by a longer wavelength laser is examined via multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We find that very bright electron beams can be…
Experimental results, supported by precise modelling, demonstrate optimisation of a plasma-based injector with intermediate laser pulse energy ($<1$ J), corresponding to a normalised vector potential $a_0 = 2.15$, using ionisation injection…
All-optical controlled injection and acceleration of electrons in a laser wakefield has recently been achieved (Faure et al, Nature v. 444 p. 737, 2006). Injection was made using a second counterpropagating laser pulse with the same…
Matched beam loading in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), characterizing the state of flattening of the acceleration electric field along the bunch, leads to the minimization of energy spread at high bunch charges. Here, we demonstrate…
The study of laser wakefield electron acceleration (LWFA) using mid-IR laser drivers is a promising path for future laser driven electronaccelerators, when compared to traditional near-IR laser drivers uperating at 0.8-1 {\mu}m central…
Plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) is a novel acceleration technique with promising prospects for both particle colliders and light sources. However, PWFA research has so far been limited to a few large-scale accelerator facilities…
We present significant advances in Laser Wakefield Acceleration (LWFA) operating at a 1 kHz repetition rate, employing a sub-TW, few-femtosecond laser and a continuously flowing hydrogen gas target. We conducted the first comprehensive…
We show through experiments that a transition from laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) regime to a plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) regime can drive electrons up to energies close to the GeV level. Initially, the acceleration mechanism…
A new injection scheme using the interference of two coaxial laser pulses is proposed for generating high quality beams in laser wakefield accelerators. In this scheme, a relatively loosely focused laser pulse drives the plasma wakefield,…
Simulations of ionization induced injection in a laser driven plasma wakefield show that high-quality electron injectors in the 50-200 MeV range can be achieved in a gas cell with a tailored density profile. Using the PIC code Warp with…
Ultra-low emittance (tens of nm) beams can be generated in a plasma accelerator using ionization injection of electrons into a wakefield. An all-optical method of beam generation uses two laser pulses of different colors. A long-wavelength…
The AWAKE experiment aims to demonstrate preservation of injected electron beam quality during acceleration in proton-driven plasma waves. The short bunch duration required to correctly load the wakefield is challenging to meet with the…
We report on the first results of laser plasma wakefield acceleration driven by ultrashort mid-infrared laser pulses (\lambda= 3.9 \mu m, 100 fs, 0.25 TW), which enable near- and above-critical density interactions with moderate-density gas…
We present numerical simulations results on the injection and acceleration of a 10 MeV, 10 pC electrons beam in a plasma wave generated in a gas cell by a 2J, 45 fs laser beam. This modeling is related to the ESCULAP project in which the…
The extreme electric fields created in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions could generate energetic ions far more compactly than traditional accelerators. Despite this promise, laser-plasma accelerators have remained stagnant at…