Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulses
Using particle-in-cell simulations, we study the interaction of few-mJ–few-cycle laser pulses with an underdense plasma at resonant density. In this previously unexplored regime, it is found that group velocity dispersion is a key ingredient of the interaction. The concomitant effects of dispersion...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2014-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/2/023023 |
| _version_ | 1827874227260227584 |
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| author | B Beaurepaire A Lifschitz J Faure |
| author_facet | B Beaurepaire A Lifschitz J Faure |
| author_sort | B Beaurepaire |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Using particle-in-cell simulations, we study the interaction of few-mJ–few-cycle laser pulses with an underdense plasma at resonant density. In this previously unexplored regime, it is found that group velocity dispersion is a key ingredient of the interaction. The concomitant effects of dispersion and plasma nonlinearities cause a deceleration of the wakefield phase velocity, which becomes sub-relativistic. Electron injection in this sub-relativistic wakefield is enhanced and leads to the production of a femtosecond electron bunch with a picocoulomb of charge in the 5–10 MeV energy range. Such an electron bunch is of great interest for application to ultrafast electron diffraction. In addition, in this dispersion dominated regime, it is shown that positively chirped laser pulses can be used as a tuning knob for compensating for plasma dispersion, increasing the laser amplitude during self-focusing and optimizing the trapped charge. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:49:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1230ad3241754030905ff154b06754bd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1367-2630 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:49:15Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Journal of Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-1230ad3241754030905ff154b06754bd2023-08-08T11:23:42ZengIOP PublishingNew Journal of Physics1367-26302014-01-0116202302310.1088/1367-2630/16/2/023023Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulsesB Beaurepaire0A Lifschitz1J Faure2Laboratoire d'Optique Appliquée, ENSTA-CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique, UMR 7639, F-91761 Palaiseau, FranceLaboratoire d'Optique Appliquée, ENSTA-CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique, UMR 7639, F-91761 Palaiseau, FranceLaboratoire d'Optique Appliquée, ENSTA-CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique, UMR 7639, F-91761 Palaiseau, FranceUsing particle-in-cell simulations, we study the interaction of few-mJ–few-cycle laser pulses with an underdense plasma at resonant density. In this previously unexplored regime, it is found that group velocity dispersion is a key ingredient of the interaction. The concomitant effects of dispersion and plasma nonlinearities cause a deceleration of the wakefield phase velocity, which becomes sub-relativistic. Electron injection in this sub-relativistic wakefield is enhanced and leads to the production of a femtosecond electron bunch with a picocoulomb of charge in the 5–10 MeV energy range. Such an electron bunch is of great interest for application to ultrafast electron diffraction. In addition, in this dispersion dominated regime, it is shown that positively chirped laser pulses can be used as a tuning knob for compensating for plasma dispersion, increasing the laser amplitude during self-focusing and optimizing the trapped charge.https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/2/023023 |
| spellingShingle | B Beaurepaire A Lifschitz J Faure Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulses New Journal of Physics |
| title | Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulses |
| title_full | Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulses |
| title_fullStr | Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulses |
| title_short | Electron acceleration in sub-relativistic wakefields driven by few-cycle laser pulses |
| title_sort | electron acceleration in sub relativistic wakefields driven by few cycle laser pulses |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/2/023023 |
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