High Efficiency Uniform Wakefield Acceleration of a Positron Beam Using Stable Asymmetric Mode in a Hollow Channel Plasma

Abstract

Plasma wakefield acceleration in the blowout regime is particularly promising for high-energy acceleration of electron beams because of its large acceleration gradients, high energy transfer efficiency and excellent beam quality. However, no equivalent regime for positron acceleration in plasma wakes has been discovered to-date. We show that after a short propagation distance, an asymmetric electron beam drives a stable wakefield in a hollow plasma channel that can be both accelerating and focusing for a positron beam. A high charge positron bunch placed at a suitable distance behind the drive bunch can beam-load or flatten the longitudinal wakefield and enhance the transverse focusing force, leading to high-efficiency and narrow energy spread acceleration of the positrons. Three-dimensional quasi-static particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations show that over 30% energy extraction efficiency from the wake to the positrons and 1% level energy spread can be simultaneously obtained, and further optimization is feasible.