Published July 2012 | Version v1
Journal article

Role of the laser pulse-length in producing high-quality electron beams in a homogenous plasma

  • 1. Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai, Mumbai 400098 (India)
  • 2. Department of Physics, University of Mumbai, Mumbai 400098 (India)
  • 3. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085 (India)

Description

In laser wakefield acceleration, the pulse-length of the laser is an important parameter that affects the laser evolution and electron beam injection and acceleration in the bubble regime. Here, we use three-dimensional simulations to find, for a given plasma density, the optimal pulse-length that gives the best quality electron beam. For three different pulse lengths, we study the evolution dynamics of the laser spot-size and quality of the injected electron beam. We find that a pulse-length that is less than the theoretical optimum, τL = λp/√2πc, derived from linear theory, gives the best beam quality. Conversely, our simulations suggest that for a given laser system, with a fixed pulse-length, there is an optimal value of the plasma density that will give the best quality accelerated beams in experiments. For an rms pulse-length of 10 fs (around 24 fs FWHM), this corresponds to a plasma density of around 3.4 × 1018/cm3. For these parameters, we obtain, in a homogenous plasma and with a single laser, an electron beam with an energy of around 700 MeV, an energy-spread less than 2%, and rms normalized emittance of a few π mm-mrad.

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physics of Plasmas
Journal Volume
19
Journal Issue
7
Journal Page Range
p. 073110-073110.8
ISSN
1070-664X
CODEN
PHPAEN

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
44044380
Subject category
S70: PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; S43: PARTICLE ACCELERATORS;
Descriptors DEI
BUBBLES; ELECTRON BEAM INJECTION; ELECTRON BEAMS; EVOLUTION; LASERS; MEV RANGE; PLASMA DENSITY; PULSES; THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS; WAKEFIELD ACCELERATORS
Descriptors DEC
ACCELERATORS; BEAM INJECTION; BEAMS; ENERGY RANGE; LEPTON BEAMS; LINEAR ACCELERATORS; PARTICLE BEAMS

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2012 American Institute of Physics