Laser Wakefield Acceleration Driven by a Discrete Flying Focus
Abstract
Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) may enable the next generation of TeV-scale lepton colliders. Reaching such energies will likely require multiple LWFA stages to overcome limitations on the energy gain achievable in a single stage. The use of stages, however, introduces challenges such as alignment, adiabatic matching between stages, and a lower average accelerating gradient. Here, we propose a discrete flying focus that can deliver higher energy gain in a single stage, thereby reducing the number of stages required for a target energy. A sequence of laser pulses with staggered focal points and delays drives a plasma wave in which an electron beam experiences a near-constant accelerating gradient over distances beyond those attainable with a conventional pulse. Simulations demonstrate that a discrete flying focus with a total energy of 150 J can transfer 40 GeV per electron to a 50-pC beam in a single 30-cm stage, corresponding to 50 dephasing lengths.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2506.19824,
title = {Laser Wakefield Acceleration Driven by a Discrete Flying Focus},
author = {Jacob R. Pierce and Kyle G. Miller and Fei Li and John P. Palastro and Warren B. Mori},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.19824},
year = {2025}
}