Related papers: Optical design for increased interaction length in…
Guiding relativistically intense laser pulses in low-density plasmas enables extended acceleration lengths in laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs), allowing for the production of multi-GeV electron beams. Quantitative interpretation of such…
This dissertation explores the interaction between high-intensity lasers and plasmas to accelerate electrons and produce radiation via experimental and computational efforts. The laser pulses used in this dissertation have ultrashort…
In this paper, we propose a novel design of dielectric laser-driven accelerator (DLA) utilizing evanescent electric field of racetrack ring resonator structures. Driven by laser light with the correctly designed optical phase window,…
Direct laser acceleration has proven to be an efficient source of high-charge electron bunches and high brilliance X-rays. However, an analytical description of the acceleration in the interaction with varying plasma density targets is…
Understanding the target dynamics during its interaction with a relativistic ultrashort laser pulse is a challenging fundamental multi-physics problem involving at least atomic and solid-state physics, plasma physics, and laser physics.…
Particle accelerators represent an indispensable tool in science and industry. However, the size and cost of conventional radio-frequency accelerators limit the utility and reach of this technology. Dielectric laser accelerators (DLAs)…
We demonstrate a silicon-based electron accelerator that uses laser optical near fields to both accelerate and confine electrons over extended distances. Two dielectric laser accelerator (DLA) designs were tested, each consisting of two…
Three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are used to investigate the interaction of ultrahigh intensity lasers ($> 10^{20}$ W/cm$^{-2}$) with matter at overcritical densities. Intense laser pulses are shown to penetrate up…
We report on an experimental study on the interaction of a high-contrast 40 fs duration 2.5 TW laser pulse with an argon cluster target. A high-charge, homogeneous, large divergence electron beam with moderate kinetic energy (~2 MeV) is…
Dielectric laser-driven accelerators (DLAs) can provide high accelerating gradients in the GV/m range due to their having higher breakdown thresholds than metals, which opens the way for the miniaturization of the next generation of…
This paper describes the first experimental demonstration of the guiding of a relativistic electron beam in a solid target using two co-linear, relativistically intense, picosecond laser pulses. The first pulse creates a magnetic field…
In laser illuminated dielectric accelerators (DLA) high acceleration gradients can be achieved, due to high damage thresholds of the materials at optical frequencies. This is a necessity in developing more compact particle accelerator…
Vertical excursion fixed-field alternating gradient accelerators can be designed with tunes that are invariant with respect to momentum and trajectories that are scaled images of each other displaced only in the vertical direction. This is…
The interaction of ultraintense laser pulses with solids is largely affected by the plasma gradient at the vacuum-solid interface, which modifies the absorption and ultimately, controls the energy distribution function of heated electrons.…
We propose a new approach to high-intensity relativistic laser-driven electron acceleration in a plasma. Here, we demonstrate that a plasma wave generated by a stimulated forward-scattering of an incident laser pulse can be in the longest…
We report on an experimental measurement of the pulse front tilt (PFT) of spatiotemporally focused femtosecond laser pulses in the focal plane in both air and bulk transparent materials, which is achieved by examination of the interference…
By using Dazzler system and tilting compressor grating, we provide an effective way of using the laser group delay dispersion (GDD) to continuously steer the high energy electron beam which is accelerated by asymmetric laser-wakefield. The…
We demonstrate laser-plasma acceleration of high charge electron beams to the ~10 MeV scale using ultrashort laser pulses with as little energy as 10 mJ. This result is made possible by an extremely dense and thin hydrogen gas jet. Total…
Understanding the interaction of kilojoule, picosecond laser pulse with long-scale length preplasma or homogeneous near critical density (NCD) plasma is crucial for guiding experiments at national short-pulse laser facilities. Using full…
We describe recent advances in the study of particle acceleration using dielectric near-field structures driven by infrared lasers, which we refer to as Dielectric Laser Accelerators. Implications for high energy physics and other…