Related papers: Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wa…
Laser wakefield accelerators rely on the extremely high electric fields of nonlinear plasma waves to trap and accelerate electrons to relativistic energies over short distances. When driven strongly enough, plasma waves break, trapping a…
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…
A new regime of proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration is discovered, in which the plasma nonlinearity increases the phase velocity of the excited wave compared to that of the protons. If the beam charge is much larger than minimally…
Beam-driven plasma-wakefield acceleration (PWFA) has emerged as a transformative technology with the potential to revolutionize the field of particle acceleration, especially toward compact accelerators for high-energy and high-power…
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…
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…
The one-dimensional wakefield generation equations are solved for increasing levels of non-linearity, to demonstrate how they contribute to the overall behaviour of a non-linear wakefield in a plasma. The effect of laser guiding is also…
The rapid progress that plasma wakefield accelerators are experiencing is now posing the question as to whether they could be included in the design of the next generation of high-energy electron-positron colliders. However, the typical…
We present few-femtosecond shadowgraphic snapshots taken during the non-linear evolution of the plasma wave in a laser wakefield accelerator with transverse synchronized few-cycle probe pulses. These snapshots can be directly associated…
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…
In the frame of laser-driven wakefield acceleration, the main characteristics oflaser propagation and plasma wave excitation are described, with an emphasis onthe role of propagation distance for electron acceleration. To…
Autoresonant phase-locking of the plasma wakefield to the beat frequency of two driving lasers offers advantages over conventional wakefield acceleration methods, since it requires less demanding laser parameters and is robust to variations…
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…
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…
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…
Nonlinear effects responsible for elongation of the plasma wave period are numerically studied with the emphasis on two-dimensionality of the wave. The limitation on the wakefield amplitude imposed by detuning of the wave and the driver is…
A laser pulse traveling through a plasma can excite large amplitude plasma waves that can be used to accelerate relativistic electron beams in a very short distance---a technique called laser wakefield acceleration. Many wakefield…
Plasma accelerators can sustain very high acceleration gradients. They are promising candidates for future generations of particle accelerators for several scientific, medical and technological applications. Current plasma based…
In an electron wakefield accelerator, an intense laser pulse or charged particle beam excites plasma waves. Under proper conditions, electrons from the background plasma are trapped in the plasma wave and accelerated to ultra-relativistic…
Laser wakefield accelerator experiments have made enormous progress over the past $\sim 20$ years, but their promise to revolutionize high-energy particle sources is only beginning to be realized. To make the next step toward engineering…