O. Williams

Resonant excitation of coherent Cerenkov radiation in dielectric lined waveguides

We report the observation of coherent Cerenkov radiation in the terahertz regime emitted by a relativistic electron pulse train passing through a dielectric lined cylindrical waveguide. We describe the beam manipulations and measurements involved in repetitive pulse train creation including comb collimation and nonlinear optics corrections. With this technique, modes beyond the fundamental are selectively excited by use of the appropriate frequency train. The spectral characterization of the structure shows preferential excitation of the fundamental and of a higher longitudinal mode.

Quantitative evaluation of single-shot inline phase contrast imaging using an inverse compton x-ray source

Inverse compton scattering (ICS) x-ray sources are of current interest in biomedical imaging. We present an experimental demonstration of inline phase contrast imaging using a single picosecond pulse of the ICS source located at the BNL Accelerator Test Facility. The phase contrast effect is clearly observed. Its qualities are shown to be in agreement with the predictions of theoretical models through comparison of experimental and simulated images of a set of plastic wires of differing composition and size. Finally, we display an application of the technique to a biological sample, confirming the possibility of time-resolved imaging on the picosecond scale.

Plasma Wakefields in the Quasi‐Nonlinear Regime

It has long been noted that the nonlinear “blowout” regime of the PWFA has certain critical aspects for producing high quality beams that are owed to the elimination of electron density and current inside of the beam‐occupied region: time‐independent, linear ion‐focusing, and acceleration independent of transverse position. Unfortunately, in applying this scheme to a linear collider, efficiency considerations strongly encourage use of pulse trains, in which one superimposes the wakes of driving and accelerating beams in turn. This implies that one needs to maintain stable wakes with the ability to maintain a resonant response which, given the presence of wave‐breaking and amplitude dependent frequency, is not straightforward in the nonlinear regime. Here we propose a solution to this problem: operation in the quasi‐nonlinear regime, where one uses beams with relatively low charge and transverse beam size much smaller than a plasma skin‐depth. In this case, the beam density may exceed that of the plasma, p...

Experimental observation of helical microbunching of a relativistic electron beam

Experimental observation of the microbunching of a relativistic electron beam at the second harmonic interaction frequency of a helical undulator is presented. The microbunching signal is observed from the coherent transition radiation of the electron beam and indicates experimental evidence of a dominantly helical electron beam density distribution. This result is in agreement with theoretical and numerical predictions and provides a proof-of-principle demonstration of proposed schemes designed to generate light with orbital angular momentum in high-gain free-electron lasers.

Plasma wakefields in the quasi-nonlinear regime: Experiments at ATF

In this work we present details of planned experiments to investigate certain aspects of the quasi non linear regime (QNL) of plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA). In the QNL regime it is, in principal, possible to combine the benefits of both nonlinear and linear PWFA. That is, beams of high quality can be maintained through acceleration due to the complete ejection of plasma electrons from beam occupied region, while large energy gains can be achieved through use of transformer ratio increasing schemes, such as ramped bunch trains. With the addition of an short focal length PMQ triplet capable of focusing beams to the few micron scale and the ability to generate tunable bunch trains, the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at Brookhaven National Lab offers the unique capabilities to probe these characteristics of the QNL regime.

High Frequency, High Gradient Dielectric Wakefield Acceleration Experiments at SLAC and BNL

Given the recent success of >GV/m dielectric wakefield accelerator (DWA) breakdown experiments at SLAC, and follow-on coherent Cerenkov radiation production at the UCLA Neptune, a UCLA-USC-SLAC collaboration is now implementing a new set of experiments that explore various DWA scenarios. These experiments are motivated by the opportunities presented by the approval of FACET facility at SLAC, as well as unique pulse-train wakefield drivers at BNL. The SLAC experiments permit further exploration of the multi-GeV/m envelope in DWAs, and will entail investigations of novel materials (e.g. CVD diamond) and geometries (Bragg cylindrical structures, slab-symmetric DWAs), and have an over-riding goal of demonstrating >GeV acceleration in {approx}33 cm DWA tubes. In the nearer term before FACETs commissioning, we are planning measurements at the BNL ATF, in which we drive {approx}50-200 MV/m fields with single pulses or pulse trains. These experiments are of high relevance to enhancing linear collider DWA designs, as they will demonstrate potential for efficient operation with pulse trains.

Investigation of X-Ray Harmonics of the Polarized Inverse Compton Scattering Experiment at UCLA

An Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS) experiment, which will investigate nonlinear properties of scattering utilizing a terawatt CO2laser system with various polarizations, is ongoing at the UCLA Neptune Laboratory. When the normalized amplitude of the incident lasers vector potential a0is larger than unity the scattering occurs in the nonlinear region; therefore, higher harmonics are also produced. ICS can be used, e.g., for a polarized positron source by striking a thin target (such as tungsten) with the polarized X-rays. As such, it is critical to demonstrate the production of polarized scattered photons and to investigate the ICS process as it enters the nonlinear regime. We present the description of the experimental set up and equipment utilized, including diagnostics for electron and photon beam detection. We present the current status of the experiment.

Study of X-ray Harmonics of the Polarized Inverse Compton Scattering Experiment at UCLA

We propose an Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS) experiment, which will investigate nonlinear properties of the scattering utilizing the terawatt CO2 laser system with various polarizations in Neptune Laboratory at UCLA. When the normalized amplitude of the vector potential a0 is larger than unity the scattering occurs in the nonlinear region; therefore, higher harmonics are also produced. We present a calculation tool for the Double Differential Spectrum (DDS) distribution and total number of photons produced for both head‐on and 90° scattering. We decided to do the experiment at 90° to avoid complications due to strong diffraction of the incoming laser. We discuss the electron and laser beam parameters for the experiment.

Lasers As Particle Accelerators In Medicine: From Laser‐Driven Protons To Imaging With Thomson Sources

We report our recent progress using a high‐power, picosecond CO2 laser for Thomson scattering and ion acceleration experiments. These experiments capitalize on certain advantages of long‐wavelength CO2 lasers, such as their high number of photons per energy unit and beneficial wavelength‐ scaling of the electrons’ ponderomotive energy and critical plasma frequency. High X‐ray fluxes produced in the interactions of the counter‐propagating laser‐ and electron‐beams for obtaining single‐shot, high‐contrast images of biological objects. The laser, focused on a hydrogen jet, generated a monoenergetic proton beam via the radiation‐pressure mechanism. The energy of protons produced by this method scales linearly with the laser’s intensity. We present a plan for scaling the process into the range of 100‐MeV proton energy via upgrading the CO2 laser. This development will enable an advance to the laser‐driven proton cancer therapy.

Ultra-high brightness electron beams from very-high field cryogenic radiofrequency photocathode sources

Abstract Recent investigations of RF copper structures operated at cryogenic temperatures performed by a SLAC-UCLA collaboration have shown a dramatic increase in the maximum surface electric field, to 500 MV/m. We examine use of these fields to enable very high field cryogenic photoinjectors that can attain over an order of magnitude increase in peak electron beam brightness. We present beam dynamics studies relevant to X-ray FEL injectors, using start-to-end simulations that show the high brightness and low emittance of this source enables operation of a compact FEL reaching a photon energy of 80 keV. The preservation of beam brightness in compression, exploiting micro-bunching techniques is discussed. While the gain in brightness at high field is due to increase of the emission current density, further increases in brightness due to lowering of the intrinsic cathode emittance in cryogenic operation are also enabled. While the original proposal for this type of cryogenic, ultra-high field photoinjector has emphasized S-band designs, there are numerous potential advantages that may be conferred by operation in C-band. We examine issues related to experimental implementation in C-band, and expected performance of this type of device in a future hard X-ray FEL such as MaRIE.