Y. P. Wu

Physics of Phase Space Matching for Staging Plasma and Traditional Accelerator Components Using Longitudinally Tailored Plasma Profiles

Phase space matching between two plasma-based accelerator (PBA) stages and between a PBA and a traditional accelerator component is a critical issue for emittance preservation. The drastic differences of the transverse focusing strengths as the beam propagates between stages and components may lead to a catastrophic emittance growth even when there is a small energy spread. We propose using the linear focusing forces from nonlinear wakes in longitudinally tailored plasma density profiles to control phase space matching between sections with negligible emittance growth. Several profiles are considered and theoretical analysis and particle-in-cell simulations show how these structures may work in four different scenarios. Good agreement between theory and simulation is obtained, and it is found that the adiabatic approximation misses important physics even for long profiles.

Low emittance electron beam generation from a laser wakefield accelerator using two laser pulses with different wavelengths

Ionization injection triggered by short wavelength laser pulses inside a nonlinear wakeeld driven by a longer wavelength laser is examined via multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We nd that very bright electron beams can be generated through this two-color scheme in either collinear

Femtosecond Probing of Plasma Wakefields and Observation of the Plasma Wake Reversal Using a Relativistic Electron Bunch

We show that a high-energy electron bunch can be used to capture the instantaneous longitudinal and transverse field structures of the highly transient, microscopic, laser-excited relativistic wake with femtosecond resolution. The spatiotemporal evolution of wakefields in a plasma density up ramp is measured and the reversal of the plasma wake, where the wake wavelength at a particular point in space increases until the wake disappears completely only to reappear at a later time but propagating in the opposite direction, is observed for the first time by using this new technique.

Low-energy-spread laser wakefield acceleration using ionization injection with a tightly focused laser in a mismatched plasma channel

An improved ionization injection scheme for laser wakefield acceleration using a tightly focused laser pulse, with intensity near the ionization threshold to trigger the injection in a mismatched plasma channel, has been proposed and examined via 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. In this scheme, the key to achieving a very low energy spread is shortening the injection distance through the fast diffraction of the tightly focused laser. Furthermore, the oscillation of the laser envelope in the mismatched plasma channel can induce multiple low-energy-spread injections with an even distribution in both space and energy. The envelope oscillation can also significantly enhance the energy gain of the injected beams compared to the standard non-evolving wake scenario due to the rephasing between the electron beam and the laser wake. A theoretical model has been derived to precisely predict the injection distance, the ionization degree of injection atoms/ions, the electron yield as well as the ionized charge for given laser–plasma parameters, and such expressions can be directly utilized for optimizing the quality of the injected beam. Through 3D PIC simulations, we show that an injection distance as short as tens of microns can be achieved, which leads to ultrashort fs, few pC electron bunches with a narrow absolute energy spread around 2 MeV (rms). Simulations also show that the initial absolute energy spread remains nearly constant during the subsequent acceleration due to the very short bunch length, and this indicates that further acceleration of the electron bunches up to the GeV level may lead to an electron beam with an energy spread well below 0.5%. Such low-energy-spread electron beams may have potential applications for future coherent light sources driven by laser–plasma accelerators.An enhanced ionization injection scheme using a tightly focused laser pulse with intensity near the ionization potential to trigger the injection process in a mismatched pre-plasma channel has been proposed and examined via multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The core idea of the proposed scheme is to lower the energy spread of trapped beams by shortening the injection distance. We have established theory to precisely predict the injection distance, as well as the ionization degree of injection atoms/ions, electron yield and ionized charge. We have found relation between injection distance and laser and plasma parameters, giving a strategy to control injection distance hence optimizing beam’s energy spread. In the presented simulation example, we have investigated the whole injection and acceleration in detail and found some unique features of the injection scheme, like multi-bunch injection, unique longitudinal phase-space distribution, etc. Ultimate electron beam has a relative energy spread (rms) down to 1.4% with its peak energy 190 MeV and charge 1.7 pC. The changing trend of beam energy spread indicates that longer acceleration may further lower the energy spread down to less than 1%, which may have potential in applications related to future coherent light source driven by laser-plasma accelerators.

Physical Mechanism of the Transverse Instability in Radiation Pressure Ion Acceleration

The transverse stability of the target is crucial for obtaining high quality ion beams using the laser radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) mechanism. In this Letter, a theoretical model and supporting two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are presented to clarify the physical mechanism of the transverse instability observed in the RPA process. It is shown that the density ripples of the target foil are mainly induced by the coupling between the transverse oscillating electrons and the quasistatic ions, a mechanism similar to the oscillating two stream instability in the inertial confinement fusion research. The predictions of the mode structure and the growth rates from the theory agree well with the results obtained from the PIC simulations in various regimes, indicating the model contains the essence of the underlying physics of the transverse breakup of the target.

Capturing relativistic wakefield structures in plasmas using ultrashort high-energy electrons as a probe

A new method capable of capturing coherent electric field structures propagating at nearly the speed of light in plasma with a time resolution as small as a few femtoseconds is proposed. This method uses a few femtoseconds long relativistic electron bunch to probe the wake produced in a plasma by an intense laser pulse or an ultra-short relativistic charged particle beam. As the probe bunch traverses the wake, its momentum is modulated by the electric field of the wake, leading to a density variation of the probe after free-space propagation. This variation of probe density produces a snapshot of the wake that can directly give many useful information of the wake structure and its evolution. Furthermore, this snapshot allows detailed mapping of the longitudinal and transverse components of the wakefield. We develop a theoretical model for field reconstruction and verify it using 3-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. This model can accurately reconstruct the wakefield structure in the linear regime, and it can also qualitatively map the major features of nonlinear wakes. The capturing of the injection in a nonlinear wake is demonstrated through 3D PIC simulations as an example of the application of this new method.

Temporal characterization of ultrashort linearly chirped electron bunches generated from a laser wakefield accelerator

A new method for diagnosing the temporal characteristics of ultrashort electron bunches with linear energy chirp generated from a laser wakefield accelerator is described. When the ionization-injected bunch interacts with the back of the drive laser, it is deflected and stretched along the direction of the electric field of the laser. Upon exiting the plasma, if the bunch goes through a narrow slit in front of the dipole magnet that disperses the electrons in the plane of the laser polarization, it can form a series of bunchlets that have different energies but are separated by half a laser wavelength. Since only the electrons that are undeflected by the laser go through the slit, the energy spectrum of the bunch is modulated. By analyzing the modulated energy spectrum, the shots where the bunch has a linear energy chirp can be recognized. Consequently, the energy chirp and beam current profile of those bunches can be reconstructed. This method is demonstrated through particle-in-cell simulations and experiment.

Colliding ionization injection in a plasma wakefield accelerator

A new scheme of generating high quality electron bunches via ionization injection triggered by an counter propagating laser pulse inside a beam driven plasma wake is proposed and examined via two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. This scheme has two major advantages: first, the injection distance is easily tunable by varying the launching time or the focal position of the laser pulse; second, the electrons in each injected slice are released at nearly the same time. Both factors can significantly reduce the phase space mixing during the ionization injection process (Xu et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 035003, Xu et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.: Accel. Beams 17 061301, Li et al 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 015003), leading to very small energy spreads (~10 keV for slice,~100 keV for the whole bunch) and very small normalized emittance (~few nm). As an example, a 4.5 fs 0.4 pC electron bunch with normalized emittance of 3.3 nm, slice energy spread of 13 keV, absolute energy spread of 80 keV, and a brightness of A m−2rad−2 is obtained under realistic conditions. This scheme may have potential applications for future compact coherent light sources.

Nanoscale Electron Bunching in Laser-Triggered Ionization Injection in Plasma Accelerators

Ionization injection is attractive as a controllable injection scheme for generating high quality electron beams using plasma-based wakefield acceleration. Because of the phase-dependent tunneling ionization rate and the trapping dynamics within a nonlinear wake, the discrete injection of electrons within the wake is nonlinearly mapped to a discrete final phase space structure of the beam at the location where the electrons are trapped. This phenomenon is theoretically analyzed and examined by three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations which show that three-dimensional effects limit the wave number of the modulation to between >2k_{0} and about 5k_{0}, where k_{0} is the wave number of the injection laser. Such a nanoscale bunched beam can be diagnosed by and used to generate coherent transition radiation and may find use in generating high-power ultraviolet radiation upon passage through a resonant undulator.

Generating 10-40 MeV high quality monoenergetic electron beams using a 5 TW 60 fs laser at Tsinghua University

A unique facility for laser plasma physics and advanced accelerator research has been built recently at Tsinghua Universtiy. This system is based on Tsinghua Thomson scattering X-ray source (TTX), which combining an ultrafast TW laser with a synchronized 45MeV high brightness linac. In our recent laser wakefield acceleration experiments, we have obtained 10~40MeV high quality monoenergetic electron beams by running the laser at 5TW peak power. Under certain conditions, very low relative energy spread of a few percent can be achieved. Absolute charge calibration for three different scintillating screens has also been performed using the linac system.