Related papers: Towards the Optimisation of Direct Laser Accelerat…
We examine the impact of the ion dynamics on laser-driven electron acceleration in an initially empty channel irradiated by an ultra-high intensity laser pulse with $I > 10^{22}$ W/cm$^2$. The negative charge of the accelerated electrons…
Particle acceleration in dielectric microstructures powered by infrared lasers, or "dielectric laser acceleration" (DLA), is a promising area of advanced accelerator research with the potential to enable more affordable and higher-gradient…
Laser-plasma acceleration (LPA) is a compact technique to accelerate electron bunches to highly relativistic energies, making it a promising candidate to power radiation sources for industrial or medical applications. We report on the…
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…
We present experimental results of vacuum laser acceleration (VLA) of electrons using radially polarized laser pulses interacting with a plasma mirror. Tightly focused radially polarized laser pulses have been proposed for electron…
High-energy-density flows through dense matter are needed for effective progress in the production of laser-driven intense sources of energetic particles and radiation, in driving matter to extreme temperatures creating state regimes…
Magnetic Vortex Acceleration (MVA) from near critical density targets is one of the promising schemes of laser-driven ion acceleration. 3D particle-in-cell simulations are used to explore a more extensive laser-target parameter space than…
We study the direct acceleration of a free electron in infinite vacuum along the axis of a pulsed radially-polarized laser beam. We find that net energy transfer from laser pulse to electron is maximized with the tightest focusing. We show…
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…
We present methods and preliminary observations of two pulse Direct Laser Acceleration in a Laser-Driven Plasma Accelerator. This acceleration mechanism uses a second co-propagating laser pulse to overlap and further accelerate electrons in…
While laser-plasma accelerators have demonstrated a strong potential in the acceleration of electrons up to giga-electronvolt energies, few experimental tools for studying the acceleration physics have been developed. In this paper, we…
Laser powered dielectric structures achieve high-gradient particle acceleration by taking advantage of modern laser technology capable of producing electric fields in excess of 10GV/m. These fields can drive the bulk dielectric beyond its…
Laser Plasma Accelerators (LPA) can sustain GeV/m accelerating fields offering outstanding new possibilities for compact applications. Despite the impressive recent developments, the LPA beam quality is still significantly lower than in the…
The extreme electric fields created in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions could generate energetic ions far more compactly than traditional accelerators. Despite this promise, laser-plasma accelerators have remained stagnant at…
A comparative analysis of two types of dielectric laser accelerators (DLA) based on periodic (grating) and flat dielectric structures to accelerate electrons in the energy range from 300 keV to 3 GeV is presented. The main attention is paid…
Laser plasma acceleration at kilohertz repetition rate has recently been shown to work in two different regimes, with pulse lengths of either 30 fs or 3.5 fs. We now report on a systematic study in which a large range of pulse durations and…
Laser-accelerated electron beams have been created at a kHz repetition rate from the {\it reflection} of intense ($\sim10^{18}$ W/cm$^2$), $\sim$40 fs laser pulses focused on a continuous water-jet in an experiment at the Air Force Research…
We measure the emission of energetic electrons from the interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and a solid density plasma in the relativistic regime. We detect an electron beam that only appears with few-cycle pulses (< 10 fs) and…
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…
The laser invention more than fifty years ago was a major scientific revolution. Among the different possible gain media, the Free Electron Lasers (FEL) uses free electrons in the periodic permanent magnetic field of an undulator, covering…