| 1. |
- Behm, K. T., et al.
(författare)
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A spectrometer for ultrashort gamma-ray pulses with photon energies greater than 10 MeV
- 2018
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Ingår i: Review of Scientific Instruments. - : AIP Publishing. - 1089-7623 .- 0034-6748. ; 89:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2018 Author(s). We present a design for a pixelated scintillator based gamma-ray spectrometer for non-linear inverse Compton scattering experiments. By colliding a laser wakefield accelerated electron beam with a tightly focused, intense laser pulse, gamma-ray photons up to 100 MeV energies and with few femtosecond duration may be produced. To measure the energy spectrum and angular distribution, a 33 × 47 array of cesium-iodide crystals was oriented such that the 47 crystal length axis was parallel to the gamma-ray beam and the 33 crystal length axis was oriented in the vertical direction. Using an iterative deconvolution method similar to the YOGI code, modeling of the scintillator response using GEANT4 and fitting to a quantum Monte Carlo calculated photon spectrum, we are able to extract the gamma ray spectra generated by the inverse Compton interaction.
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| 2. |
- Cole, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Experimental Evidence of Radiation Reaction in the Collision of a High-Intensity Laser Pulse with a Laser-Wakefield Accelerated Electron Beam
- 2018
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Ingår i: Physical Review X. - 2160-3308. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The dynamics of energetic particles in strong electromagnetic fields can be heavily influenced by the energy loss arising from the emission of radiation during acceleration, known as radiation reaction. When interacting with a high-energy electron beam, today's lasers are sufficiently intense to explore the transition between the classical and quantum radiation reaction regimes. We present evidence of radiation reaction in the collision of an ultrarelativistic electron beam generated by laser-wakefield acceleration (μ 500 MeV) with an intense laser pulse (a0 > 10). We measure an energy loss in the postcollision electron spectrum that is correlated with the detected signal of hard photons (γ rays), consistent with a quantum description of radiation reaction. The generated γ rays have the highest energies yet reported from an all-optical inverse Compton scattering scheme, with critical energy > 30 MeV.
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| 3. |
- Del Sorbo, D., et al.
(författare)
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Spin polarization of electrons by ultraintense lasers
- 2017
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Ingår i: Physical Review A. - 2469-9934 .- 2469-9926. ; 96:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electrons in plasmas produced by next-generation ultraintense lasers (I > 5 x 10(22)W/cm(2)) can be spin polarized to a high degree (10%-70%) by the laser pulses on a femtosecond time scale. This is due to electrons undergoing spin-flip transitions as they radiate gamma-ray photons, preferentially spin polarizing in one direction. Spin polarization can modify the radiation reaction force on the electrons, which differs by up to 30% for opposite spin polarizations. Consequently, the polarization of the radiated gamma-ray photons is also modified: the relative power radiated in the sigma and pi components increases and decreases by up to 30%, respectively, potentially reducing the rate of pair production in the plasma by up to 30%.
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| 4. |
- Hussein, A. E., et al.
(författare)
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Laser-wakefield accelerators for high-resolution X-ray imaging of complex microstructures
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) are high acceleration-gradient plasma-based particle accelerators capable of producing ultra-relativistic electron beams. Within the strong focusing fields of the wakefield, accelerated electrons undergo betatron oscillations, emitting a bright pulse of X-rays with a micrometer-scale source size that may be used for imaging applications. Non-destructive X-ray phase contrast imaging and tomography of heterogeneous materials can provide insight into their processing, structure, and performance. To demonstrate the imaging capability of X-rays from an LWFA we have examined an irregular eutectic in the aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) system. The lamellar spacing of the Al-Si eutectic microstructure is on the order of a few micrometers, thus requiring high spatial resolution. We present comparisons between the sharpness and spatial resolution in phase contrast images of this eutectic alloy obtained via X-ray phase contrast imaging at the Swiss Light Source (SLS) synchrotron and X-ray projection microscopy via an LWFA source. An upper bound on the resolving power of 2.7 ± 0.3 μm of the LWFA source in this experiment was measured. These results indicate that betatron X-rays from laser wakefield acceleration can provide an alternative to conventional synchrotron sources for high resolution imaging of eutectics and, more broadly, complex microstructures.
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| 5. |
- Kettle, B., et al.
(författare)
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Single-Shot Multi-keV X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Using an Ultrashort Laser-Wakefield Accelerator Source
- 2019
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007. ; 123:25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Single-shot absorption measurements have been performed using the multi-keV x rays generated by a laser-wakefield accelerator. A 200 TW laser was used to drive a laser-wakefield accelerator in a mode which produced broadband electron beams with a maximum energy above 1 GeV and a broad divergence of ≈15 mrad FWHM. Betatron oscillations of these electrons generated 1.2±0.2×106 photons/eV in the 5 keV region, with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 300 1. This was sufficient to allow high-resolution x-ray absorption near-edge structure measurements at the K edge of a titanium sample in a single shot. We demonstrate that this source is capable of single-shot, simultaneous measurements of both the electron and ion distributions in matter heated to eV temperatures by comparison with density functional theory simulations. The unique combination of a high-flux, large bandwidth, few femtosecond duration x-ray pulse synchronized to a high-power laser will enable key advances in the study of ultrafast energetic processes such as electron-ion equilibration.
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| 6. |
- Maitrallain, A., et al.
(författare)
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Parametric study of high-energy ring-shaped electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator
- 2022
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Ingår i: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 24:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Laser wakefield accelerators commonly produce on-axis, low-divergence, high-energy electron beams. However, a high charge, annular shaped beam can be trapped outside the bubble and accelerated to high energies. Here we present a parametric study on the production of low-energy-spread, ultra-relativistic electron ring beams in a two-stage gas cell. Ring-shaped beams with energies higher than 750 MeV are observed simultaneously with on axis, continuously injected electrons. Often multiple ring shaped beams with different energies are produced and parametric studies to control the generation and properties of these structures were conducted. Particle tracking and particle-in-cell simulations are used to determine properties of these beams and investigate how they are formed and trapped outside the bubble by the wake produced by on-axis injected electrons. These unusual femtosecond duration, high-charge, high-energy, ring electron beams may find use in beam driven plasma wakefield accelerators and radiation sources.
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| 7. |
- Mangles, S. P. D., et al.
(författare)
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On the stability of laser wakefield electron accelerators in the monoenergetic regime
- 2007
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Ingår i: Physics of Plasmas. - : AIP Publishing. - 1070-664X .- 1089-7674. ; 14:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effects of plasma density and laser energy on the stability of laser produced monoenergetic electron beams are investigated. Fluctuations in the principal beam parameters, namely, electron energy, energy-spread, charge, and pointing, are demonstrated to be minimized at low densities. This improvement in stability is attributed to the reduced time for pulse evolution required before self-injection occurs; i.e., that the pulse is closest to the matched conditions for these densities. It is also observed that electrons are only consistently produced above a density-dependent energy threshold. These observations are consistent with there being a threshold intensity (a(0)greater than or similar to 3) required for the occurrence of self-injection after accounting for pulse compression. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.
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| 8. |
- Mangles, S. P. D., et al.
(författare)
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Self-injection threshold in self-guided laser wakefield accelerators
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physical Review Special Topics. Accelerators and Beams. - 1098-4402. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A laser pulse traveling through a plasma can excite large amplitude plasma waves that can be used to accelerate relativistic electron beams in a very short distance-a technique called laser wakefield acceleration. Many wakefield acceleration experiments rely on the process of wave breaking, or self-injection, to inject electrons into the wave, while other injection techniques rely on operation without self-injection. We present an experimental study into the parameters, including the pulse energy, focal spot quality, and pulse power, that determine whether or not a wakefield accelerator will self-inject. By taking into account the processes of self-focusing and pulse compression we are able to extend a previously described theoretical model, where the minimum bubble size k(p)r(b) required for trapping is not constant but varies slowly with density and find excellent agreement with this model.
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| 9. |
- Ridgers, C. P., et al.
(författare)
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Signatures of quantum effects on radiation reaction in laser-electron-beam collisions
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Plasma Physics. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0022-3778 .- 1469-7807. ; 83:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two signatures of quantum effects on radiation reaction in the collision of a similar to GeV electron beam with a high intensity (>3 x 10(20) W cm(-2)) laser pulse have been considered. We show that the decrease in the average energy of the electron beam may be used to measure the Gaunt factor g for synchrotron emission. We derive an equation for the evolution of the variance in the energy of the electron beam in the quantum regime, i.e. quantum efficiency parameter eta (sic) 1. We show that the evolution of the variance may be used as a direct measure of the quantum stochasticity of the radiation reaction and determine the parameter regime where this is observable. For example, stochastic emission results in a 25 % increase in the standard deviation of the energy spectrum of a GeV electron beam, 1 fs after it collides with a laser pulse of intensity 10(21) W cm(-2). This effect should therefore be measurable using current high-intensity laser systems.
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| 10. |
- Sarri, Gianluca, et al.
(författare)
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A table-top laser-based source of short, collimated, ultra-relativistic positron beams
- 2013
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Ingår i: Laser Acceleration of Electrons, Protons, and Ions II; and Medical Applications of Laser-Generated Beams of Particles II; and Harnessing Relativistic Plasma Waves III. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9780819495815 - 0819495816 ; , s. 87790Z-1-87790Z-7
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- An ultra-relativistic electron beam passing through a thick, high-Z solid target triggers an electromagnetic cascade, whereby a large number of high energy photons and electron-positron pairs are produced. By exploiting this physical process, we present here the first experimental evidence of the generation of ultra-short, highly collimated and ultra-relativistic positron beams following the interaction of a laser-wakefield accelerated electron beam with high-Z solid targets. Clear evidence has also been obtained of the generation of GeV electron-positron jets with variable composition depending on the solid target material and thickness. The percentage of positrons in the overall leptonic beam has been observed to vary from a few per cent up to almost fifty per cent, implying a quasi-neutral electron-positron beam. We anticipate that these beams will be of direct relevance to the laboratory study of astrophysical leptonic jets and their interaction with the interstellar medium
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