학술논문

Dephasingless laser wakefield acceleration in the bubble regime.
Document Type
Article
Source
Scientific Reports. 12/2/2023, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p1-9. 9p.
Subject
*LASER plasma accelerators
*LASER pulses
*ULTRASHORT laser pulses
*LIGHT sources
*LASERS
*ELECTRON impact ionization
*ULTRA-short pulsed lasers
*ELECTRIC fields
Language
ISSN
2045-2322
Abstract
Laser wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) have electric fields that are orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional accelerators, promising an attractive, small-scale alternative for next-generation light sources and lepton colliders. The maximum energy gain in a single-stage LWFA is limited by dephasing, which occurs when the trapped particles outrun the accelerating phase of the wakefield. Here, we demonstrate that a single space–time structured laser pulse can be used for ionization injection and electron acceleration over many dephasing lengths in the bubble regime. Simulations of a dephasingless laser wakefield accelerator driven by a 6.2-J laser pulse show 25 pC of injected charge accelerated over 20 dephasing lengths (1.3 cm) to a maximum energy of 2.1 GeV. The space–time structured laser pulse features an ultrashort, programmable-trajectory focus. Accelerating the focus, reducing the focused spot-size variation, and mitigating unwanted self-focusing stabilize the electron acceleration, which improves beam quality and leads to projected energy gains of 125 GeV in a single, sub-meter stage driven by a 500-J pulse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]