Related papers: Towards the Optimisation of Direct Laser Accelerat…
Acceleration of electrons in vacuum directly by intense laser fields, often termed vacuum laser acceleration (VLA), holds great promise for the creation of compact sources of high-charge, ultrashort, relativistic electron bunches. However,…
Experiments were performed to study electron acceleration by intense sub-picosecond laser pulses propagating in sub-mm long plasmas of near critical electron density (NCD). Low density foam layers of 300-500 um thickness were used as…
The development of a directional, small-divergence, and short-duration picosecond x-ray probe beam with an energy greater than 50 keV is desirable for high energy density science experiments. We therefore explore through particle-in-cell…
We examine the impact of several factors on electron acceleration by a laser pulse and the resulting electron energy gain. Specifically, we consider the role played by: 1) static longitudinal electric field; 2) static transverse electric…
We propose a new approach to high-intensity 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 a longest acceleration…
We study hollow plasma channels with smooth boundaries for laser-driven electron acceleration in the bubble regime. Contrary to the uniform plasma case, the laser forms no optical shock and no etching at the front. This increases the…
A long laser beam propagating through an underdense plasma produces a positively charged ion channel by expelling plasma electrons in the transverse direction. We consider the dynamics of a test electron in a resulting two-dimensional…
We present an experimental demonstration of high conversion efficiency Betatron x-ray radiation from petawatt laser irradiated near critical plasmas. Direct laser acceleration serves as the dominant regime when laser pulse of ~5e20 W/cm2…
Many current laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) experiments are carried out in a regime where the laser pulse length is on the order of or longer than the wake wavelength and where ionization injection is employed to inject electrons into…
The concept of Dielectric Laser Acceleration (DLA) provides highest gradients among non-plasma particle accelerators. However, stable beam transport and staging have not been shown experimentally yet. We present a scheme that confines the…
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…
Quasi-phase matched direct laser acceleration (DLA) of electrons can be realized with guided, radially polarized laser pulses in density-modulated plasma waveguides. A 3-D particle-in-cell model has been developed to describe the…
A new electron acceleration mechanism is identified that develops when a relativistically intense laser irradiates the wedge of an over-dense plasma. This induces a diffracted electromagnetic wave with a significant longitudinal electric…
The accelerating gradients in conventional linear accelerators are currently limited to 100 MV per meter. Plasma-based accelerators have the ability to sustain accelerating gradients which are several orders of magnitude greater than that…
Propagation distances of intense laser pulses and high-charge electron beams through the plasma are, respectively, limited by diffraction and self-deceleration. This imposes severe constraints on the performance of the two major advanced…
Contact and projection electron radiography of static targets was demonstrated using a laser plasma accelerator driven by a kilojoule, picosecond class laser as a source of relativistic electrons with an average energy of 20 MeV. Objects…
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-plasma accelerators present a promising alternative to conventional accelerators. To fully exploit the extreme amplitudes of the plasma fields and produce high-quality beams, precise control over electron injection into the…
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…
A high-intensity laser beam propagating through a dense plasma drives a strong current that robustly sustains a strong quasi-static Mega Tesla-level azimuthal magnetic field. The transverse laser field efficiently accelerates electrons in…