Particle accelerators are used in a wide variety of fields, ranging from medicine and biology to high-energy physics. The accelerating fields in conventional accelerators are limited to a few tens of MeV m(-1), owing to material breakdown at the walls of the structure. Thus, the production of energetic particle beams currently requires large-scale accelerators and expensive infrastructures. Laser-plasma accelerators have been proposed as a next generation of compact accelerators because of the huge electric fields they can sustain (>100 GeV m(-1)). However, it has been difficult to use them efficiently for applications because they have produced poor-quality particle beams with large energy spreads, owing to a randomization of electrons in phase space. Here we demonstrate that this randomization can be suppressed and that the quality of the electron beams can be dramatically enhanced. Within a length of 3 mm, the laser drives a plasma bubble that traps and accelerates plasma electrons. The resulting electron beam is extremely collimated and quasi-monoenergetic, with a high charge of 0.5 nC at 170 MeV.

A laser-plasma accelerator producing monoenergetic electron beams

Laser-driven accelerators, in which particles are accelerated by the electric field of a plasma wave (the wakefield) driven by an intense laser, have demonstrated accelerating electric fields of hundreds of GV m-1 (refs 1–3) These fields are thousands of times greater than those achievable in conventional radio-frequency accelerators, spurring interest in laser accelerators4,5 as compact next-generation sources of energetic electrons and radiation To date, however, acceleration distances have been severely limited by the lack of a controllable method for extending the propagation distance of the focused laser pulse The ensuing short acceleration distance results in low-energy beams with 100 per cent electron energy spread1,2,3, which limits potential applications Here we demonstrate a laser accelerator that produces electron beams with an energy spread of a few per cent, low emittance and increased energy (more than 109 electrons above 80 MeV) Our technique involves the use of a preformed plasma density channel to guide a relativistically intense laser, resulting in a longer propagation distance The results open the way for compact and tunable high-brightness sources of electrons and radiation

https://escholarship.org/content/qt9c55r46s/qt9c55r46s.pdf?t=lnras5

High-quality electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator using plasma-channel guiding

High-power lasers that fit into a university-scale laboratory can now reach focused intensities of more than 10(19) W cm(-2) at high repetition rates. Such lasers are capable of producing beams of energetic electrons, protons and gamma-rays. Relativistic electrons are generated through the breaking of large-amplitude relativistic plasma waves created in the wake of the laser pulse as it propagates through a plasma, or through a direct interaction between the laser field and the electrons in the plasma. However, the electron beams produced from previous laser-plasma experiments have a large energy spread, limiting their use for potential applications. Here we report high-resolution energy measurements of the electron beams produced from intense laser-plasma interactions, showing that--under particular plasma conditions--it is possible to generate beams of relativistic electrons with low divergence and a small energy spread (less than three per cent). The monoenergetic features were observed in the electron energy spectrum for plasma densities just above a threshold required for breaking of the plasma wave. These features were observed consistently in the electron spectrum, although the energy of the beam was observed to vary from shot to shot. If the issue of energy reproducibility can be addressed, it should be possible to generate ultrashort monoenergetic electron bunches of tunable energy, holding great promise for the future development of 'table-top' particle accelerators.

Monoenergetic beams of relativistic electrons from intense laser–plasma interactions

Gigaelectron volt (GeV) electron accelerators are essential to synchrotron radiation facilities and free-electron lasers, and as modules for high-energy particle physics. Radiofrequency-based accelerators are limited to relatively low accelerating fields (10–50 MV m−1), requiring tens to hundreds of metres to reach the multi-GeV beam energies needed to drive radiation sources, and many kilometres to generate particle energies of interest to high-energy physics. Laser-wakefield accelerators1,2 produce electric fields of the order 10–100 GV m−1 enabling compact devices. Previously, the required laser intensity was not maintained over the distance needed to reach GeV energies, and hence acceleration was limited to the 100 MeV scale3,4,5. Contrary to predictions that petawatt-class lasers would be needed to reach GeV energies6,7, here we demonstrate production of a high-quality electron beam with 1 GeV energy by channelling a 40 TW peak-power laser pulse in a 3.3-cm-long gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide8,9.

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GeV electron beams from a centimetre-scale accelerator

The advent of ultraintense laser pulses generated by the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) along with the development of high-fluence laser materials has opened up an entirely new field of optics. The electromagnetic field intensities produced by these techniques, in excess of ${10}^{18}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{W}∕{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, lead to relativistic electron motion in the laser field. The CPA method is reviewed and the future growth of laser technique is discussed, including the prospect of generating the ultimate power of a zettawatt. A number of consequences of relativistic-strength optical fields are surveyed. In contrast to the nonrelativistic regime, these laser fields are capable of moving matter more effectively, including motion in the direction of laser propagation. One of the consequences of this is wakefield generation, a relativistic version of optical rectification, in which longitudinal field effects could be as large as the transverse ones. In addition to this, other effects may occur, including relativistic focusing, relativistic transparency, nonlinear modulation and multiple harmonic generation, and strong coupling to matter and other fields (such as high-frequency radiation). A proper utilization of these phenomena and effects leads to the new technology of relativistic engineering, in which light-matter interactions in the relativistic regime drives the development of laser-driven accelerator science. A number of significant applications are reviewed, including the fast ignition of an inertially confined fusion target by short-pulsed laser energy and potential sources of energetic particles (electrons, protons, other ions, positrons, pions, etc.). The coupling of an intense laser field to matter also has implications for the study of the highest energies in astrophysics, such as ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, with energies in excess of ${10}^{20}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$. The laser fields can be so intense as to make the accelerating field large enough for general relativistic effects (via the equivalence principle) to be examined in the laboratory. It will also enable one to access the nonlinear regime of quantum electrodynamics, where the effects of radiative damping are no longer negligible. Furthermore, when the fields are close to the Schwinger value, the vacuum can behave like a nonlinear medium in much the same way as ordinary dielectric matter expanded to laser radiation in the early days of laser research.

/pdf/optics-in-the-relativistic-regime-4n43x5jaaf.pdf

Optics in the relativistic regime

An overview is given of the physics issues relevant to the plasma wakefield accelerator, the plasma beat-wave accelerator, the laser wakefield accelerator, including the self-modulated regime, and wakefield accelerators driven by multiple electron or laser pulses. Basic properties of linear and nonlinear plasma waves are discussed, as well as the trapping and acceleration of electrons in the plasma wave. Formulas are presented for the accelerating field and the energy gain in the various accelerator configurations. The propagation of the drive electron or laser beams is discussed, including limitations imposed by key instabilities and methods for optically guiding laser pulses. Recent experimental results are summarized.

Overview of plasma-based accelerator concepts

Several features of intense, short-pulse (/spl lsim/1 ps) laser propagation in gases undergoing ionization and in plasmas are reviewed, discussed, and analyzed. The wave equations for laser pulse propagation in a gas undergoing ionization and in a plasma are derived. The source-dependent expansion method is discussed, which is a general method for solving the paraxial wave equation with nonlinear source terms. In gases, the propagation of high-power (near the critical power) laser pulses is considered including the effects of diffraction, nonlinear self-focusing, ionization, and plasma generation. Self-guided solutions and the stability of these solutions are discussed. In plasmas, optical guiding by relativistic effects, ponderomotive effects, and preformed density channels is considered. The self consistent plasma response is discussed, including plasma wave effects and instabilities such as self-modulation. Recent experiments on the guiding of laser pulses in gases and in plasmas are briefly summarized.

Self-focusing and guiding of short laser pulses in ionizing gases and plasmas

A two-dimensional, axisymmetric, relativistic fluid model describing the propagation of intense laser pulses in plasmas is formulated and numerically evaluated. Relativistic guiding is ineffective in preventing the diffractive spreading of short laser pulses and long pulses become modulated due to relativistic and wake-field effects. Laser pulses can be propagated over many Rayleigh lengths by use of a performed plasma density channel or by tailoring the pulse profile. Ultrahigh axial electric fields can be generated behind the laser pulse.

Propagation and guiding of intense laser pulses in plasmas

Several features of vacuum laser acceleration are reviewed, analyzed, and discussed, including electron acceleration by two crossed laser beams and acceleration by a higher-order Gaussian beam. In addition, the vacuum beat wave accelerator (VBWA) concept is proposed and analyzed. It is shown that acceleration by two crossed beams is correctly described by the Lawson-Woodward (LW) theorem, i.e., no net energy gain results for a relativistic electron interacting with the laser fields over an infinite interaction distance. Finite net energy gains can be obtained by placing optical components near the laser focus to limit the interaction region. The specific case of a higher-order Gaussian beam reflected by a mirror placed near focus is analyzed in detail. It is shown that the damage threshold of the mirror is severely limiting, i.e., substantial energy gains require very high electron injection energies. The VBWA, which uses two copropagating laser beams of different frequencies, relies on nonlinear ponderomotive forces, thus violating the assumptions of the LW theorem. Single-particle simulations confirm that substantial energy gains are possible and that optical components are not needed near the focal region.

Laser acceleration of electrons in vacuum

A coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by LASCO exhibits evidence that its magnetic field geometry is that of a flux rope. The dynamical properties throughout the fields of view of C2 and C3 telescopes are examined. The results are compared with theoretical predictions based on a model of solar flux ropes. It is shown that the LASCO observations are consistent with a two-dimensional projection of a three-dimensional magnetic flux rope with legs that remain connected to the Sun.

Jonathan Krall

Papers

Overview of plasma-based accelerator concepts

Self-focusing and guiding of short laser pulses in ionizing gases and plasmas

Propagation and guiding of intense laser pulses in plasmas

Laser acceleration of electrons in vacuum

Evidence of an erupting magnetic flux rope: LASCO coronal mass ejection of 1997 April 13