학술논문
Extremely Dense Gamma-Ray Pulses in Electron Beam-Multifoil Collisions
Document Type
Working Paper
Author
Sampath, Archana; Davoine, Xavier; Corde, Sébastien; Gremillet, Laurent; Gilljohann, Max; Sangal, Maitreyi; Keitel, Christoph H.; Ariniello, Robert; Cary, John; Ekerfelt, Henrik; Emma, Claudio; Fiuza, Frederico; Fujii, Hiroki; Hogan, Mark; Joshi, Chan; Knetsch, Alexander; Kononenko, Olena; Lee, Valentina; Litos, Mike; Marsh, Kenneth; Nie, Zan; O'Shea, Brendan; Peterson, J. Ryan; Claveria, Pablo San Miguel; Storey, Doug; Wu, Yipeng; Xu, Xinlu; Zhang, Chaojie; Tamburini, Matteo
Source
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 064801 (2021)
Subject
Language
Abstract
Sources of high-energy photons have important applications in almost all areas of research. However, the photon flux and intensity of existing sources is strongly limited for photon energies above a few hundred keV. Here we show that a high-current ultrarelativistic electron beam interacting with multiple submicrometer-thick conducting foils can undergo strong self-focusing accompanied by efficient emission of gamma-ray synchrotron photons. Physically, self-focusing and high-energy photon emission originate from the beam interaction with the near-field transition radiation accompanying the beam-foil collision. This near field radiation is of amplitude comparable with the beam self-field, and can be strong enough that a single emitted photon can carry away a significant fraction of the emitting electron energy. After beam collision with multiple foils, femtosecond collimated electron and photon beams with number density exceeding that of a solid are obtained. The relative simplicity, unique properties, and high efficiency of this gamma-ray source open up new opportunities for both applied and fundamental research including laserless investigations of strong-field QED processes with a single electron beam.
Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, matches published article
Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, matches published article