Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator
Laser wakefield acceleration relies on the excitation of a plasma wave due to the ponderomotive force of an intense laser pulse. However, plasma wave trains in the wake of the laser have scarcely been studied directly in experiments. Here we use few-cycle shadowgraphy in conjunction with interferome...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2020
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| _version_ | 1826264647119929344 |
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| author | Ding, H Döpp, A Gilljohann, M Götzfried, J Schindler, S Wildgruber, L Cheung, G Hooker, SM Karsch, S |
| author_facet | Ding, H Döpp, A Gilljohann, M Götzfried, J Schindler, S Wildgruber, L Cheung, G Hooker, SM Karsch, S |
| author_sort | Ding, H |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Laser wakefield acceleration relies on the excitation of a plasma wave due to the ponderomotive force of an intense laser pulse. However, plasma wave trains in the wake of the laser have scarcely been studied directly in experiments. Here we use few-cycle shadowgraphy in conjunction with interferometry to quantify plasma waves excited by the laser within the density range of GeV-scale accelerators, i.e., a few 10(18)cm−3. While analytical models suggest a clear dependency between the nonlinear plasma wavelength and the peak potential a0, our study shows that the analytical models are only accurate for driver strength a 0≲1. Experimental data and systematic particle-in-cell simulations reveal that nonlinear lengthening of the plasma wave train depends not solely on the laser peak intensity but also on the waist of the focal spot. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:11:14Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:2a9b06ee-41ba-400c-9546-ddea2d2e20a6 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:11:14Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:2a9b06ee-41ba-400c-9546-ddea2d2e20a62022-03-26T12:26:12ZNonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield acceleratorJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:2a9b06ee-41ba-400c-9546-ddea2d2e20a6EnglishSymplectic ElementsAmerican Physical Society2020Ding, HDöpp, AGilljohann, MGötzfried, JSchindler, SWildgruber, LCheung, GHooker, SMKarsch, SLaser wakefield acceleration relies on the excitation of a plasma wave due to the ponderomotive force of an intense laser pulse. However, plasma wave trains in the wake of the laser have scarcely been studied directly in experiments. Here we use few-cycle shadowgraphy in conjunction with interferometry to quantify plasma waves excited by the laser within the density range of GeV-scale accelerators, i.e., a few 10(18)cm−3. While analytical models suggest a clear dependency between the nonlinear plasma wavelength and the peak potential a0, our study shows that the analytical models are only accurate for driver strength a 0≲1. Experimental data and systematic particle-in-cell simulations reveal that nonlinear lengthening of the plasma wave train depends not solely on the laser peak intensity but also on the waist of the focal spot. |
| spellingShingle | Ding, H Döpp, A Gilljohann, M Götzfried, J Schindler, S Wildgruber, L Cheung, G Hooker, SM Karsch, S Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator |
| title | Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator |
| title_full | Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator |
| title_fullStr | Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator |
| title_short | Nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator |
| title_sort | nonlinear plasma wavelength scalings in a laser wakefield accelerator |
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