durch
Prof.Zulfikar Najmudin(The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London)
→
Europe/Berlin
Beschreibung
Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is a promising technology for producing high-energy particle beams in a compact and cost-effective way. In LWFA, an intense laser pulse is used to create a plasma wave that accelerates charged particles to relativistic energies. Many laboratories have now reported laser wakefield accelerators operating at greater than GeV energy level. However, challenges remain in making the beams produced from accelerators of sufficient quality for many applications and for extending the energy range of the acceleration. In this talk, we will focus on the staging of LWFA, which refers to the use of multiple laser pulses to generate and control the plasma wave. Staging can enhance the controllability of the acceleration process whilst maintaining a high average rate of acceleration. We have investigated several different aspects of the staging process, including coupling of both laser beams and electron beams preserving the beams properties whilst maintaining a compact footprint. In particular, we will discuss the use of plasma mirrors to couple laser beams at intensities exceeding 10^20 W/cm^2, and the ability of those reflected beams to drive a wakefield, and the effect on the target density profile on the quality of the electron beam as it traverses between gas cells. Finally we discuss simulations which show the level of acceleration that is possible with the Astra Gemini laser system at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory.
