Related papers: Optimization of laser-plasma injector via beam loa…
Laser-electron beam collisions that aim to generate electron-positron pairs require laser intensities $I \gtrsim 10^{21} ~\textrm{W/cm}^2$, which can be obtained by focusing a 1-PW optical laser to a spot smaller than 10 $~\mu$m. Spatial…
Erbium (Er) ions are the gain medium of choice for fiber-based amplifiers and lasers, offering a long excited-state lifetime, slow gain relaxation, low amplification nonlinearity and noise, and temperature stability compared to…
We report on systematic and high-precision measurements of dephasing, an effect that fundamentally limits the performance of laser wakefield accelerators. Utilizing shock-front injection, a technique providing stable, tunable and…
The physics of energy transfer between the laser and the plasma in laser wakefield accelerators is studied. We find that wake excitation by arbitrary laser shapes can be parameterized using the total pulse energy and pulse depletion length.…
Wakefield wavelengths associated with solid-state plasmas greatly limit the accelerating length. An alternative approach employs 2D carbon-based nanomaterials, like graphene or carbon nanotubes (CNTs), configured into structured targets.…
The production of high-quality electron bunches in Laser Wake Field Acceleration relies on the possibility to inject ultra-low emittance bunches in the plasma wave. In this paper we present a new bunch injection scheme in which electrons…
The optimal parameters for nuclear excitation by electron capture in plasma environments generated by the interaction of ultra-strong optical lasers with solid matter are investigated theoretically. As a case study we consider a 4.85 keV…
Despite the successful demonstration of compact free electron lasers (FELs) driven by laser wakefield accelerators (LWFAs), the pursuit of further enhancements in high-gain compact FELs presents a challenge due to the limitations in…
A new, maximum proton energy, $e$, scaling law with the laser pulse energy, $E_L$ has been derived from the results of 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Utilizing numerical modelling, protons are accelerated during interactions of the…
In situ generation of a high-energy, high-current, spin-polarized electron beam is an outstanding scientific challenge to the development of plasma-based accelerators for high-energy colliders. In this Letter we show how such a…
We report on the depletion and power amplification of the driving laser pulse in a strongly-driven laser wakefield accelerator. Simultaneous measurement of the transmitted pulse energy and temporal shape indicate an increase in peak power…
We investigate the extension of self-injecting laser wakefield experiments to the regime that will be accessible with the next generation of petawatt class ultra-short pulse laser systems. Using linear scalings, current experimental trends…
We use particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to study the effects of variations of the incoming 400 GeV proton bunch parameters on the amplitude and phase of the wakefields resulting from a seeded self-modulation (SSM) process. We find that…
A numerical study on ion acceleration in electrostatic shock waves is presented, with the aim of determining the best plasma configuration to achieve quasi-monoenergetic ion beams in laser-driven systems. It was recently shown that tailored…
We report on laser-based ion acceleration using freely suspended liquid crystal film targets, formed with thicknesses varying from 100 $nm$ to 2 $\mu m$ for this experiment. Optimization of Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) of…
Beam driven ionisation injection is characterised for a variety of high-Z dopant. We discuss the region of extraction and why the position where electrons are captured influences the final quality of the internally-injected bunch. The beam…
An experimental study on 55fs laser driven plasma accelerator using mixed gas-jet target with varying plasma density is used to identify the role of different acceleration mechanisms, viz. Direct Laser Acceleration (DLA) and wakefield. At…
Particle acceleration using ultraintense, ultrashort laser pulses is one of the most attractive topics in relativistic laser-plasma research. We report proton/ion acceleration in the intensity range of 5x1019 W/cm2 to 3.3x1020 W/cm2 by…
The scaling laws for laser wakefield acceleration in the nonlinear, self-guided regime [Lu et al. Phys. Rev. Spec. Top. Accel. Beams 10, 061301 (2007)] are examined in detail using the quasi-3D version of the particle-in-cell code OSIRIS.…
The radiation pressure of next generation ultra-high intensity ($>10^{23}$ W/cm$^{2}$) lasers could efficiently accelerate ions to GeV energies. However, nonlinear quantum-electrodynamic effects play an important role in the interaction of…