The excitation of wake waves by a relativistic homogeneous electron bunch passing through cold magnetized plasma at equilibrium is studied for arbitrary values of the ratio of bunch density to plasma density. The analysis is based on the assumption that the magnetic field is sufficiently strong ($ω_B\gg ω_p$, where $ω_p$ and $ω_B$ are the electron plasma and cyclotron frequences respectively). The periodic and nonperiodic solutions for the momentum of plasma electrons inside and outside the bunch are analyzed. It was shown that the presence of strong external magnetic field may increase the amplitude of wake waves and the maximum transformer ratio, the latter being reached at densities of bunch lower than that in the absence of magnetic field. The optimum conditions for obtaining the maximum values of the wake field amplitude and of the transformer ratio are found.
We discuss the focusing effect experienced by a long relativistic proton bunch, when propagating in underdense plasma. We show with 2D quasi-static simulations that the response of the plasma to the presence of the bunch provides a focusing force for the protons. We discuss the impact of the finite transverse size of the plasma on the dynamics of the process and we introduce the measurements performed at the AWAKE experiment at CERN.
The acceleration of ions in the interaction of high intensity laser pulses with overdense plasmas is investigated with particle-in-cell simulations. For circular polarization of the laser pulses, high-density ion bunches moving into the plasma are generated at the laser-plasma interaction surface. A simple analytical model accounts for the numerical observations and provides scaling laws for the ion bunch energy and generation time as a function of pulse intensity and plasma density.
It is shown that the requirements for high quality electron bunch generation and trapping from an underdense photocathode in plasma wakefield accelerators can be substantially relaxed through localizing it on a plasma density downramp. This depresses the phase velocity of the accelerating electric field until the generated electrons are in phase, allowing for trapping in shallow trapping potentials. As a consequence the underdense photocathode technique is applicable by a much larger number of accelerator facilities. Furthermore, dark current generation is effectively suppressed.
A novel explanation of the relativistic self-induced transparency effect during superintense laser interaction with an overdense plasma is proposed. We studied it analytically and verified with direct modeling by both PIC and kinetic equation simulations. Based on this treatment, a method of ultrashort high-energy electron bunch generation with durations on a few femtosecond time scale is also proposed and studied via numerical simulation
Using 1D and 2D PIC simulations, we describe and model the backward ejection of electron bunches when a laser pulse reflects off an overdense plasma with a sharp density gradient on its front side. The dependence on the laser intensity and gradient scale length is studied. It is found that during each laser period the incident laser pulse generates a large charge-separation field, or plasma capacitor, which accelerates an attosecond bunch of electrons towards vacuum. This process is maximized for short gradient scale lengths and collapses when the gradient scale length is comparable to the las…
The interaction of ultra-intense laser pulses with an underdense plasma is used in laser-plasma acceleration to create compact sources of ultrashort pulses of relativistic electrons and X-rays. The accelerating structure is a plasma wave, or wakefield, that is excited by the laser ponderomotive force, a force that is usually assumed to depend solely on the laser envelope and not on its exact waveform. Here, we use near-single-cycle laser pulses with a controlled carrier-envelope-phase (CEP) to show that the actual waveform of the laser field has a clear impact on the plasma response. We measur…
The condition for potential description of the wake waves,generated by flat or cylindrical driving electron bunch in cold plasma is derived. The two-dimensional nonlinear equation for potential valid for small values of that is obtained and solved by the separation of variables. Solutions in the form of cnoidal waves,existing behind the moving bunch at small values of vertical coordinate,are obtained.In particular,at some boundary conditions,corresponding to blow-out regime in the underdense plasma,the solution represents by a solitary nonlinear wave. Approximate solution is also obtained usin…
We propose a method to generate femtosecond, relativistic and high-charge electron bunches using few-cycle and tightly focused radially polarized laser pulses. In this scheme, the incident laser pulse reflects off an overdense plasma that injects electrons into the reflected pulse. Particle-In-Cell simulations show that the plasma injects electrons ideally, resulting in a dramatic increase of charge and energy of the accelerated electron bunch in comparison to previous methods. This method can be used to generate femtosecond pC bunches with energies in the 1-10 MeV range using realistic laser …
Synchronized, independently tunable and focused $μ$J-class laser pulses are used to release multiple electron populations via photo-ionization inside an electron-beam driven plasma wave. By varying the laser foci in the laboratory frame and the position of the underdense photocathodes in the co-moving frame, the delays between the produced bunches and their energies are adjusted. The resulting multibunches have ultra-high quality and brightness, allowing for hitherto impossible bunch configurations such as spatially overlapping bunch populations with strictly separated energies, which opens up…
We suggest a novel method for injection of electrons into the acceleration phase of particle accelerators, producing low emittance beams appropriate even for the demanding high energy Linear Collider specifications. In this paper we work out the injection into the acceleration phase of the wake field in a plasma behind a high intensity laser pulse, taking advantage of the laser polarization and focusing. With the aid of catastrophe theory we categorize the injection dynamics. The scheme uses the structurally stable regime of transverse wake wave breaking, when electron trajectory self-intersec…
The understanding of the physics of lasermatter interactions in the strongly relativistic regime is of fundamental importance. In this article, a new mechanism of fast electron generation at the vacuum-solid boundary of intense laser pulse interaction with overdense plasma is described. It is one that has no analogue in classical, non-relativistic laser-plasma interactions. Here, conclusive proof is provided that the key contribution to the fast electron generation is given by the zero points of the vector potential. We demonstrate that the new mechanism leads to scalings for the fast electron…
This dissertation explores the interaction between high-intensity lasers and plasmas to accelerate electrons and produce radiation via experimental and computational efforts. The laser pulses used in this dissertation have ultrashort duration (< 100 fs), near-infrared to mid-infrared wavelength (0.8 $μ$m, 2 $μ$m, or 3.9 $μ$m), millijoules of energy, and high repetition rates (480 Hz or 20 Hz). The plasma sources applied are from solid-density targets (overdense) or gaseous targets (underdense). With the high-repetition-rate capability, statistical methods are employed to optimize certain aspec…
We present a Vlasov, i.e. a kinetic Eulerian simulation study of nonlinear collisionless ion-acoustic shocks and solitons excited by an intense laser interacting with an overdense plasma. The use of the Vlasov code avoids problems with low particle statistics and allows a validation of particle-in-cell results. A simple original correction to the splitting method for the numerical integration of the Vlasov equation has been implemented in order to ensure the charge conservation in the relativistic regime. We show that the ion distribution is affected by the development of a turbulence driven b…
The temporal evolution of the magnetic field associated with electron thermal Weibel instability in optical-field ionized plasmas is measured using ultrashort (1.8 ps), relativistic (45 MeV) electron bunches from a linear accelerator. The self-generated magnetic fields are found to self-organize into a quasi-static structure consistent with a helicoid topology within a few ps and such a structure lasts for tens of ps in underdense plasmas. The measured growth rate agrees well with that predicted by the kinetic theory of plasmas taking into account collisions. Magnetic trapping is identified as…
A density perturbation produced in an underdense plasma was used to improve the quality of electron bunches produced in the laser-plasma wakefield acceleration scheme. Quasi-monoenergetic electrons were generated by controlled injection in the longitudinal density gradients of the density perturbation. By tuning the position of the density perturbation along the laser propagation axis, a fine control of the electron energy from a mean value of 60 MeV to 120 MeV has been demonstrated with a relative energy-spread of 15 +/- 3.6%, divergence of 4 +/- 0.8 mrad and charge of 6 +/- 1.8 pC.
Single-laser scheme for reaching strong field QED regime via direct laser acceleration
GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa（里斯本大学高等技术学院等离子体与核聚变研究所）；Institute of Plasma Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences（捷克科学院等离子体物理研究所）
Negative energy wave phenomena may appear in shear flows in the presence of a wave decay mechanism and external energy supply. We study the appearance of negative energy surface waves in a plasma cylinder in the incompressible limit. The cylinder is surrounded by an axial magnetic field and by a plasma of different density. Considering flow inside and viscosity outside the flux tube, we derive dispersion relations, and obtain analytical solutions for the phase speed and growth rate (increment) of the waves. It is found that the critical speed shear for the occurrence of the dissipative instabi…
In laser-wakefield acceleration, an ultra-intense laser pulse is focused into an underdense plasma in order to accelerate electrons to relativistic velocities. In most cases, the pulses consist of multiple optical cycles and the interaction is well described in the framework of the ponderomotive force where only the envelope of the laser has to be considered. But when using single-cycle pulses, the ponderomotive approximation breaks down, and the actual waveform of the laser has to be taken into account. In this paper, we use near-single cycle laser pulses to drive a laser-wakefield accelerato…
An Electromagnetic (EM) pulse falling on a plasma medium from vacuum can either reflect or propagate inside the plasma depending on whether it is overdense or underdense. In a magnetised plasma, however, there are usually several pass and stop bands for the EM wave depending on the orientation of the magnetic field with respect to the propagation direction. The EM wave while propagating in a plasma can excite electrostatic disturbances in the plasma [1, 2]. In this work Particle - In - Cell simulations have been carried out to illustrate the complete transparency of the EM wave propagation ins…
Petawatt class femtosecond lasers and x-ray free electron lasers (XFEL) open up a new page in research fields related to space and vacuum physics. One of fundamental principles can be explored by these new instruments is the equivalence principle, saying that gravitation and acceleration should be treated equivalently. If it is true this must lead to the appearance of the Unruh effect analogous to Hawking's black hole radiation. It says that a detector moving with a constant acceleration $w$ sees a boson's thermal bath with its temperature $T_w=\hbar w/2πk_B c$. Practical detection of the Unru…
