Related papers: Optimizing Laser Wakefield Acceleration in the Non…
An ultra-short (about 30 fs) petawatt laser pulse focused with a wide focal spot (about 100 microns) in a rarefied plasma (electron density of order 10^{17} per cm^3) excites a nonlinear plasma wakefield which can accelerate injected…
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…
We revisit the matching conditions for self-guided laser pulse propagation in plasma and refine their formulation to maximize the energy of electrons produced via laser wakefield acceleration. Bayesian optimization, combined with…
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…
Self-focusing and guiding of ultra-short (pulse duration: L<lambda_P: plasma wavelength), intense laser pulses in underdense plasma relevant to laser wakefield electron acceleration has been studied numerically. The analysis considers…
The electric field in laser-driven plasma wakefield acceleration is orders of magnitude higher than conventional radio-frequency cavities, but the energy gain is limited by dephasing between the ultra-relativistic electron bunch and the…
We report on an experimental demonstration of laser wakefield electron acceleration using a sub-TW power laser by tightly focusing 30-fs laser pulses with only 8 mJ pulse energy on a 100 \mu m scale gas target. The experiments are carried…
Laser wakefield acceleration, characterized by the extremely high electric field gradient exceeding 100GV/m, is regarded as a compact and cost affordable technology for the next generation of particle colliders and light sources. However,…
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…
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…
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…
A scheme of laser wakefield acceleration, when a relatively rare and long bunch of non-relativistic or weakly-relativistic electrons is initially in front of the laser pulse, is suggested and considered. The motion of test electrons is…
We demonstrate laser wakefield acceleration of quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches up to 15 MeV at 1 kHz repetition rate with 2.5 pC charge per bunch and a core with < 7 mrad beam divergence. Acceleration is driven by 5 fs, < 2.7 mJ laser…
We present a novel electron injection scheme for plasma wakefield acceleration. The method is based on recently proposed technique of fast electron generation via laser-solid interaction: a femtosecond laser pulse with the energy of tens of…
Laser-driven plasma accelerators can generate accelerating gradients three orders of magnitude larger than radio-frequency accelerators and have achieved beam energies above 1 GeV in centimetre long stages. However, the pulse repetition…
The emergence of multi-petawatt laser facilities is expected to push forward the maximum energy gain that can be achieved in a single stage of a LWFA to tens of GeV, which begs the question - is it likely to impact particle physics by…
A density perturbation produced in an underdense plasma was used to improve the quality of electron bunches produced in the laser-plasma wakefield acceleration scheme. Quasi-monoenergetic electrons were generated by controlled injection in…
Self-guided femtosecond laser pulses propagating in low-pressure gas can generate plasma filaments, establishing a new framework for plasma wakefield acceleration. Unlike conventional schemes relying on mechanically confined or preformed…
The effect of laser focusing conditions on the evolution of relativistic plasma waves in laser wakefield accelerators is studied both experimentally and with particle-in-cell simulations. For short focal length ($w_0 < \lambda_p$)…
We present the first demonstration of multi-GeV laser wakefield acceleration in a fully optically formed plasma waveguide, with an acceleration gradient as high as 25 GeV/m. The guide was formed via self-waveguiding of <15 J, 45 fs (<~300…