Abstract
We describe a simple scheme, truncated-channel injection, to inject electrons directly into the wakefield driven by a high-intensity laser pulse guided in an all-optical plasma channel. We use this approach to generate dark-current-free 1.2 GeV, 4.5% relative energy spread electron bunches with 120 TW laser pulses guided in a 110 mm-long hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized plasma channel. Our experiments and particle-in-cell simulations show that high-quality electron bunches were only obtained when the drive pulse was closely aligned with the channel axis, and was focused close to the density down ramp formed at the channel entrance. Start-to-end simulations of the channel formation, and electron injection and acceleration show that increasing the channel length to 410 mm would yield 3.65 GeV bunches, with a slice energy spread .
- Received 24 July 2023
- Revised 11 October 2023
- Accepted 7 November 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.245001
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal "citation, and DOI.
© 2023 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
synopsis
Creating Fast Bunches of Electrons with Lasers
Published 12 December 2023
The judicious shaping of a tube of plasma by one laser enhances the properties of electron bunches accelerated by another.
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