Decoding sources of energy variability in a laser-plasma accelerator

0543589 - FZÚ 2022 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Maier, A.R. - Delbos, N. M. - Eichner, T. - Hübner, L. - Jalas, S. - Jeppe, L. - Jolly, Spencer W. - Kirchen, M. - Leroux, Vincent - Messner, P. - Schnepp, M. - Trunk, M. - Walker, P.A. - Werle, C. - Winkler, P.
Decoding sources of energy variability in a laser-plasma accelerator.
Physical Review X. Roč. 10, č. 3 (2020), č. článku 031039. ISSN 2160-3308. E-ISSN 2160-3308
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT EF15_008/0000162
Grant - others:ELI Beamlines(XE) CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_008/0000162
Institutional support: RVO:68378271
Keywords : laser-plasma accelerator * relativistic electron beams
OECD category: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics)
Impact factor: 15.762, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access

Laser-plasma acceleration promises compact sources of high-brightness relativistic electron beams. However, the limited stability often associated with laser-plasma acceleration has previously prevented a detailed mapping of the drive laser and electron performance and represents a major obstacle towards advancing laser-plasma acceleration for applications. Here, we correlate drive laser and electron-beam parameters with high statistics to identify and quantify sources of electron energy drift and jitter. Based on our fmdings, we provide a parametrization to predict the electron energy drift with subpercent accuracy for many hours from measured laser parameters, which opens a path for performance improvements by active stabilization. Our results arc enabled by the first stable 24-h operation of a laser-plasma accelerator and the statistics from 100 000 consecutive electron beams, which, by itself, marks an important milestone.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0320789