Laser wakefield accelerator driven by the super-Gaussian laser beam in the focus

0541082 - ÚFP 2021 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Mašlárová, Dominika - Krůs, Miroslav - Horný, Vojtěch - Psikal, J.
Laser wakefield accelerator driven by the super-Gaussian laser beam in the focus.
Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. Roč. 62, č. 2 (2020), č. článku 024005. ISSN 0741-3335. E-ISSN 1361-6587
Institutional support: RVO:61389021
Keywords : electron injection * laser wakefield acceleration * laser-plasma accelerators * particle-in-cell method * super-Gaussian beam
OECD category: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics)
Impact factor: 2.458, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6587/ab57ee

The injection process is one of the most crucial attributes that determine the final properties of the electron bunch in laser wakefield accelerators. Here, a new injection method is proposed and studied via particle-in-cell simulations for the typical parameters of the bubble regime. The injection is triggered by the laser beam that reaches the super-Gaussian profile in the focus. Such a beam undergoes rapid variations in its intensity distribution during the diffraction process. If this diffraction occurs in underdense plasma, consequent changes in the bubble structure activate a localized transverse injection process. The generated electron bunch is characterized by the short duration (∼2 fs) and low transverse emittance (≤1 mm mrad) while maintaining relatively high charge (∼0.2 nC).
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0318662