The potential of electron beams hinges on their quality, dictating the scope of scientific research and applications they can fuel. While the quality of beams from well-maintained plasma accelerators approaches those of state-of-the-art linacs, plasma photocathodes [1-4] may allow plasma accelerators to produce electron beams many orders of magnitude brighter than state-of-the-art. Beam brightness -- a critical amalgamation of beam current, emittance and energy spread -- is a pivotal parameter e.g. for light sources such as free-electron lasers [5]. This talk will offer insights into concepts, challenges and experimental advancements towards plasma-based accelerators 1000x more compact than linacs, that at the same time can produce electron beams 10,000x brighter than state-of-the-art. This may revolutionize various applications, ranging from cutting-edge light sources to high energy physics and quantum electrodynamics.
[1] Ultracold Electron Bunch Generation via Plasma Photocathode Emission and Acceleration in a Beam-Driven Plasma Blowout, B. Hidding et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 035001 (2012) [2] Single-stage plasma-based correlated energy spread compensation for ultrahigh 6D brightness electron beams, G.G. Manahan, A.F. Habib et al., Nat. Comm. 8, 15705 (2017) [3] Generation and acceleration of electron bunches from a plasma photocathode, A. Deng, O. Karger et al., Nat. Phys. 15, 1156-1160 (2019) [4] Plasma Photocathodes, A.F. Habib., T. Heinemann et al., Annalen der Physik 535, 2200655 (2023) [5] Attosecond-Angstrom free-electron-laser towards the cold beam limit, A.F. Habib et al., Nat. Comm. 14, 1054 (2023)
