1. |
- Tabiri, S, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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2. |
- Bravo, L, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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3. |
- Walker, Anthony P, et al.
(author)
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Horizon 2020 EuPRAXIA design study
- 2017
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In: Journal of Physics: Conference Series. - : IOP Publishing. - 1742-6588 .- 1742-6596. ; 874:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Horizon 2020 Project EuPRAXIA ("European Plasma Research Accelerator with eXcellence In Applications") is preparing a conceptual design report of a highly compact and cost-effective European facility with multi-GeV electron beams using plasma as the acceleration medium. The accelerator facility will be based on a laser and/or a beam driven plasma acceleration approach and will be used for photon science, high-energy physics (HEP) detector tests, and other applications such as compact X-ray sources for medical imaging or material processing. EuPRAXIA started in November 2015 and will deliver the design report in October 2019. EuPRAXIA aims to be included on the ESFRI roadmap in 2020.
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4. |
- Abramowicz, H., et al.
(author)
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Conceptual design report for the LUXE experiment
- 2021
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In: European Physical Journal-Special Topics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1951-6355 .- 1951-6401. ; 230:11, s. 2445-2560
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This Conceptual Design Report describes LUXE (Laser Und XFEL Experiment), an experimental campaign that aims to combine the high-quality and high-energy electron beam of the European XFEL with a powerful laser to explore the uncharted terrain of quantum electrodynamics characterised by both high energy and high intensity. We will reach this hitherto inaccessible regime of quantum physics by analysing high-energy electron-photon and photon-photon interactions in the extreme environment provided by an intense laser focus. The physics background and its relevance are presented in the science case which in turn leads to, and justifies, the ensuing plan for all aspects of the experiment: Our choice of experimental parameters allows (i) field strengths to be probed where the coupling to charges becomes non-perturbative and (ii) a precision to be achieved that permits a detailed comparison of the measured data with calculations. In addition, the high photon flux predicted will enable a sensitive search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The initial phase of the experiment will employ an existing 40 TW laser, whereas the second phase will utilise an upgraded laser power of 350 TW. All expectations regarding the performance of the experimental set-up as well as the expected physics results are based on detailed numerical simulations throughout.
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5. |
- Pirozhkov, A. S., et al.
(author)
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Diagnostic of laser contrast using target reflectivity
- 2009
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In: Applied Physics Letters. - : AIP Publishing. - 0003-6951 .- 1077-3118. ; 94:24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using three different laser systems, we demonstrate a convenient and simple plasma based diagnostic of the contrast of high-power short-pulse lasers. The technique is based on measuring the specular reflectivity from a solid target. The reflectivity remains high even at relativistic intensities above 10(19) W/cm(2) in the case of a high-contrast prepulse-free laser. On the contrary, the specular reflectivity drops with increasing intensities in the case of systems with insufficient contrast due to beam breakup and increased absorption caused by preplasma.
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6. |
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7. |
- Brenner, C. M., et al.
(author)
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Dependence of laser accelerated protons on laser energy following the interaction of defocused, intense laser pulses with ultra-thin targets
- 2011
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In: Laser and Particle Beams. - 0263-0346. ; 29:3, s. 345-351
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The scaling of the flux and maximum energy of laser-driven sheath-accelerated protons has been investigated as a function of laser pulse energy in the range of 15-380 mJ at intensities of 10(16)-10(18) W/cm(2). The pulse duration and target thickness were fixed at 40 fs and 25 nm, respectively, while the laser focal spot size and drive energy were varied. Our results indicate that while the maximum proton energy is dependent on the laser energy and laser spot diameter, the proton flux is primarily related to the laser pulse energy under the conditions studied here. Our measurements show that increasing the laser energy by an order of magnitude results in a more than 500-fold increase in the observed proton flux. Whereas, an order of magnitude increase in the laser intensity generated by decreasing the laser focal spot size, at constant laser energy, gives rise to less than a tenfold increase in observed proton flux.
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8. |
- Hussein, A. E., et al.
(author)
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Laser-wakefield accelerators for high-resolution X-ray imaging of complex microstructures
- 2019
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 9:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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9. |
- Green, J. S., et al.
(author)
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Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation
- 2010
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In: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Thin Al foils (50 nm and 6 mu m) were irradiated at intensities of up to 2x10(19) W cm(-2) using high contrast (10(8)) laser pulses. Ion emission from the rear of the targets was measured using a scintillator-based Thomson parabola and beam sampling 'footprint' monitor. The variation of the ion spectra and beam profile with focal spot size was systematically studied. The results show that while the maximum proton energy is achieved around tight focus for both target thicknesses, as the spot size increases the ion flux at lower energies is seen to peak at significantly increased spot sizes. Measurements of the proton footprint, however, show that the off-axis proton flux is highest at tight focus, indicating that a previously identified proton deflection mechanism may alter the on-axis spectrum. One-dimensional particle-in-cell modelling of the experiment supports our hypothesis that the observed change in spectra with focal spot size is due to the competition of two effects: decrease in laser intensity and an increase in proton emission area.
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10. |
- Maitrallain, A., et al.
(author)
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Parametric study of high-energy ring-shaped electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator
- 2022
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In: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 24:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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11. |
- Spesyvtsev, R., et al.
(author)
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Generation of electron high energy beams with a ring-like structure by a dual stage laser wakefield accelerator
- 2019
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In: Relativistic Plasma Waves and Particle Beams as Coherent and Incoherent Radiation Sources III. - : SPIE. - 9781510627383 ; 11036
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The laser wake-field accelerator (LWFA) traditionally produces high brightness, quasi-monoenergetic electron beams with Gaussian-like spatial and angular distributions. In the present work we investigate the generation of ultra-relativistic beams with ring-like structures in the blowout regime of the LWFA using a dual stage accelerator. A density down-ramp triggers injection after the first stage and is used to produce ring-like electron spectra in the 300 - 600 MeV energy range. These well defined, annular beams are observed simultaneously with the on-axis, high energy electron beams, with a divergence of a few milliradians. The rings have quasi-monoenergetic energy spectra with an RMS spread estimated to be less than 5%. Particle-in-cell simulations confirm that off-axis injection provides the electrons with the initial transverse momentum necessary to undertake distinct betatron oscillations within the plasma bubble during their acceleration process.
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12. |
- Streeter, M. J.V., et al.
(author)
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Characterization of laser wakefield acceleration efficiency with octave spanning near-IR spectrum measurements
- 2022
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In: Physical Review Accelerators and Beams. - 2469-9888. ; 25:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on experimental measurements of energy transfer efficiencies in a GeV-class laser wakefield accelerator. Both the transfer of energy from the laser to the plasma wakefield and from the plasma to the accelerated electron beam was diagnosed by simultaneous measurement of the deceleration of laser photons and the acceleration of electrons as a function of plasma length. The extraction efficiency, which we define as the ratio of the energy gained by the electron beam to the energy lost by the self-guided laser mode, was maximized at 19±3% by tuning the plasma density and length. The additional information provided by the octave-spanning laser spectrum measurement allows for independent optimization of the plasma efficiency terms, which is required for the key goal of improving the overall efficiency of laser wakefield accelerators.
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13. |
- Xu, M. H., et al.
(author)
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Enhancement of ion generation in femtosecond ultraintense laser-foil interactions by defocusing
- 2012
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In: Applied Physics Letters. - : AIP Publishing. - 0003-6951 .- 1077-3118. ; 100:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A simple method to enhance ion generation with femtosecond ultraintense lasers is demonstrated experimentally by defocusing laser beams on target surface. When the laser is optimally defocused, we find that the population of medium and low energy protons from ultra-thin foils is increased significantly while the proton cutoff energy is almost unchanged. In this way, the total proton yield can be enhanced by more than 1 order, even though the peak laser intensity drops. The depression of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) effect and the population increase of moderate-energy electrons are believed to be the main reasons for the effective enhancement. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3688027]
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14. |
- Kettle, B., et al.
(author)
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Single-Shot Multi-keV X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Using an Ultrashort Laser-Wakefield Accelerator Source
- 2019
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007. ; 123:25
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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15. |
- Robinson, A. P. L., et al.
(author)
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Spectral modification of laser-accelerated proton beams by self-generated magnetic fields
- 2009
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In: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Target normal measurements of proton energy spectra from ultrathin (50-200 nm) planar foil targets irradiated by 10(19) W cm(-2) 40 fs laser pulses exhibit broad maxima that are not present in the energy spectra from micron thickness targets (6 mu m). The proton flux in the peak is considerably greater than the proton flux observed in the same energy range in thicker targets. Numerical modelling of the experiment indicates that this spectral modification in thin targets is caused by magnetic fields that grow at the rear of the target during the laser-target interaction.
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16. |
- Bradley, L. E., et al.
(author)
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Effect of laser temporal intensity skew on enhancing pair production in laser-electron-beam collisions
- 2021
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In: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 23:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent high-intensity laser experiments (Cole et al 2018 Phys. Rev. X 8 011020; Poder et al 2018 Phys. Rev. X 8 031004) have shown evidence of strong radiation reaction in the quantum regime. Experimental evidence of quantum effects on radiation reaction and electron-positron pair cascades has, however, proven challenging to obtain and crucially depends on maximising the quantum parameter of the electron (defined as the ratio of the electric field it feels in its rest frame to the Schwinger field). The quantum parameter can be suppressed as the electrons lose energy by radiation reaction as they traverse the initial rise in the laser intensity. As a result the shape of the intensity temporal envelope becomes important in enhancing quantum radiation reaction effects and pair cascades. Here we show that a realistic laser pulse with a faster rise time on the leading edge, achieved by skewing the temporal envelope, results in curtailing of pair yields as the peak power is reduced. We find a reduction in pair yields by orders of magnitude in contrast to only small reductions reported previously in large-scale particle-in-cell code simulations (Hojbota et al 2018 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 60 064004). Maximum pairs per electron are found in colliding 1.5 GeV electrons with a laser wakefield produced envelope 7.90 x 10(-2) followed by a short 50 fs Gaussian envelope, 1.90 x 10(-2), while it is reduced to 8.90 x 10(-5), a factor of 100, for an asymmetric envelope.
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17. |
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18. |
- Dickson, L. T., et al.
(author)
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Mechanisms to control laser-plasma coupling in laser wakefield electron acceleration
- 2022
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In: Physical Review Accelerators and Beams. - 2469-9888. ; 25:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Experimental results, supported by precise modeling, demonstrate optimization of a plasma-based injector with intermediate laser pulse energy (<1 J), corresponding to a normalized vector potential a0=2.15, using ionization injection in a tailored plasma density profile. An increase in electron bunch quality and energy is achieved experimentally with the extension of the density downramp at the plasma exit. Optimization of the focal position of the laser pulse in the tailored plasma density profile is shown to efficiently reduce electron bunch angular deviation, leading to a better alignment of the electron bunch with the laser axis. Single peak electron spectra are produced in a previously unexplored regime by combining an early focal position and adaptive optic control of the laser wavefront by optimizing the symmetry of the prefocal laser energy distribution. Experimental results have been validated through particle-in-cell simulations using realistic laser energy, phase distribution, and temporal envelope, allowing for accurate predictions of difficult to model parameters, such as total charge and spatial properties of the electron bunches, opening the way for more accurate modeling for the design of plasma-based accelerators.
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19. |
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