Igor Pavlishin

Observation of the nonlinear effect in relativistic thomson scattering of electron and laser beams

Thomson scattering of high-power laser and electron beams is a good test of electrodynamics in the high-field region. We demonstrated production of high-intensity X-rays in the head-on collision of a CO2 laser and 60-MeV electron beams at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Accelerator Test Facility. The energy of an X-ray photon was limited at 6.5 keV in the linear (lowest order) Thomson scattering, but the nonlinear (higher order) process produces higher energy X-rays. We measured the angular distribution of the high-energy X-rays and confirmed that it agrees with theoretical predictions.

Efficient extreme ultraviolet plasma source generated by a CO2 laser and a liquid xenon microjet target

We demonstrated efficacy of a CO2-laser-produced xenon plasma in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral region at 13.5nm at variable laser pulse widths between 200ps and 25ns. The plasma target was a 30μm liquid xenon microjet. To ensure the optimum coupling of CO2 laser energy with the plasma, they applied a prepulse yttrium aluminum garnet laser. The authors measured the conversion efficiency (CE) of the 13.5nm EUV emission for different pulse widths of the CO2 laser. A maximum CE of 0.6% was obtained for a CO2 laser pulse width of 25ns at an intensity of 5×1010W∕cm2.

Transmission of high-power CO2 laser pulses through a plasma channel

A 5 J, 180 ps CO2 laser pulse is channeled by a 17 mm long capillary discharge. Plasma dynamic simulations confirm occurrence of optical guiding conditions along a plasma column of a quasiparabolic radial profile with the minimum axial free-electron density ∼1017 cm−3.

Subpicosecond Double Electron Bunch Generation

We have demonstrated creating two compressed electron beam bunches from a single 60‐MeV bunch. Measurements indicate they have comparable bunch lengths (∼100–200 fs) and are separated in energy by ∼1.8 MeV with the higher‐energy bunch preceding the lower‐energy bunch by 0.5–1 ps. A possible explanation for the double‐bunch formation process is also presented.

Plasma-based advanced accelerators at the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility

The Accelerator Test Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL ATF) offers to its users a unique combination of research tools that include a high-brightness 70-MeV electron beam, a mid-infrared (λ = 10 μm) CO2 laser of terawatt power, and a capillary discharge as a plasma source. These cutting-edge technologies have enabled us to launch a new R&D program at the forefronts of advanced accelerators and radiation sources. The main subjects that we are researching are innovative methods of producing wakes in a linear regime using plasma resonance with the electron microbunch train periodic to the laser’s wavelength and so-called “seeded” laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) that is driven and probed by a combination of electron and laser beams. We describe the present status of the ATF experimental program, including simulations and preliminary experiments; in addition, we review previous ATF experiments that were the precursors to the present program. They encompass our demonstration of longitudinal-and transverse-field phasing inside the plasma wave, plasma channeling of intense CO2 laser beams, and the generation of e-beam microbunch trains by the inverse FEL technique.

A Multibunch Plasma Wakefield Accelerator

We investigate a plasma wakefield acceleration scheme where a train of electron microbunches feeds into a high density plasma. When the microbunch train enters such a plasma that has a corresponding plasma wavelength equal to the microbunch separation distance, a strong wakefield is expected to be resonantly driven to an amplitude that is at least one order of magnitude higher than that using an unbunched beam. PIC simulations have been performed using the beamline parameters of the Brookhaven National Laboratory Accelerator Test Facility operating in the configuration of the STELLA inverse free electron laser (IFEL) experiment. A 65 MeV electron beam is modulated by a 10.6 μm CO2laser beam via an IFEL interaction. This produces a train of ∼ 90 microbunches separated by the laser wavelength. In this paper, we present both a simple theoretical treatment and simulation results that demonstrate promising results for the multibunch technique as a plasma-based accelerator.

Plasma wakefield acceleration utilizing multiple election bunches

We investigate various plasma wakefield accelerator schemes that rely on multiple electron bunches to drive a large amplitude plasma wave, which are followed by a witness bunch at a phase where it will sample the high acceleration gradient and gain energy. Experimental verifications of various two bunch schemes are available in the literature; here we provide analytical calculations and numerical simulations of the wakefield dependency and the transformer ratio when M drive bunches and one witness bunch are fed into a high density plasma, where M is between 2 and 10. This is a favorable setup since the bunches can be adjusted such that the transformer ratio and the efficiency of the accelerator are enhanced compared to single bunch schemes. The possibility of a five bunch ILC afterburner to accelerate a witness bunch from 100 GeV to 500 GeV is also examined.

Inverse free electron lasers and laser wakefield acceleration driven by CO2 lasers.

The staged electron laser acceleration (STELLA) experiment demonstrated staging between two laser-driven devices, high trapping efficiency of microbunches within the accelerating field and narrow energy spread during laser acceleration. These are important for practical laser-driven accelerators. STELLA used inverse free electron lasers, which were chosen primarily for convenience. Nevertheless, the STELLA approach can be applied to other laser acceleration methods, in particular, laser-driven plasma accelerators. STELLA is now conducting experiments on laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Two novel LWFA approaches are being investigated. In the first one, called pseudo-resonant LWFA, a laser pulse enters a low-density plasma where nonlinear laser/plasma interactions cause the laser pulse shape to steepen, thereby creating strong wakefields. A witness e-beam pulse probes the wakefields. The second one, called seeded self-modulated LWFA, involves sending a seed e-beam pulse into the plasma to initiate wakefield formation. These wakefields are amplified by a laser pulse following shortly after the seed pulse. A second e-beam pulse (witness) follows the seed pulse to probe the wakefields. These LWFA experiments will also be the first ones driven by a CO2 laser beam.

Plasma Density Measurements in Hydrogen‐Filled and Ablative Discharge Capillaries Based on Stark Broadening of Atomic Hydrogen Spectral Lines

Results of plasma density measurements in ablative and hydrogen‐filled discharge capillaries are presented. The method of plasma density measurement is based on Stark broadening of atomic hydrogen spectral lines in the plasma due to interaction of the hydrogen atoms with free charges. To ensure the measured plasma density corresponds to the internal portion of the discharge volume, we also examine a possibility to collect the plasma light emission with an optical fiber inserted inside the capillary channel. We studied the time dependence of the plasma density relative to the beginning of the discharge with a temporal resolution of 150 ns. The plasma density was found to vary over a range of 1017–1015 cm−3. The dependence of the plasma density upon discharge voltage and hydrogen pressure in the hydrogen‐filled capillary was also studied. The possibility of designing a hybrid ablative hydrogen‐filled capillary that allows us to simplify the high voltage generator scheme and reach high plasma densities is di...

Resonant Plasma Wakefield Experiment: Plasma Simulations and Multibunched Electron Beam Diagnostics

In the multibunch plasma wakefield acceleration experiment at the Brookhaven National Lab’s Accelerator Test Facility a 45 MeV electron beam is initially modulated through the IFEL interaction with a CO2 laser beam at 10.6 μm into a train of short microbunches, which are spaced at the laser wavelength. It is then fed into a high‐density capillary plasma with a density resonant at this spacing (1.0 × 1019cm−3). The microbunched beam can resonantly excite a plasma wakefield much larger than the wakefield excited from the non‐bunched beam. Here we present plasma simulations that confirm the wakefield enhancement and the results of a series of CTR measurements performed of the multibunched electron beam.