Target sensitivity study of density transition-injected electrons in laser wakefield accelerators

C. C. Cobo; C. Arran; N. Bourgeois; L. Calvin; J. Carderelli; N. Cavanagh; C. Colgan; S. J. D. Dann; R. Fitzgarrald; E. Gerstmayr; B. Kettle; E. E. Los; S. P. D. Mangles; P. McKenna; Z. Najmudin; P. P. Rajeev; C. P. Ridgers; G. Sarri; M. J. V. Streeter; D. R. Symes; A. G. R. Thomas; R. Watt; C. D. Murphy

doi:10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.27.111301

Target sensitivity study of density transition-injected electrons in laser wakefield accelerators

C. C. Cobo^*, C. Arran, N. Bourgeois, L. Calvin, J. Carderelli, N. Cavanagh, C. Colgan, S. J. D. Dann, R. Fitzgarrald, E. Gerstmayr, B. Kettle, E. E. Los, S. P. D. Mangles, P. McKenna, Z. Najmudin, P. P. Rajeev, C. P. Ridgers, G. Sarri, M. J. V. Streeter, D. R. SymesA. G. R. Thomas, R. Watt, C. D. Murphy^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

While plasma-based accelerators have the potential to positively impact a broad range of research topics, a route to application will only be possible through improved understanding of their stability. We present experimental results of a laser wakefield accelerator in the nonlinear regime in a helium gas jet target with a density transition produced by a razor blade in the flow. Modifications to the target setup are correlated with variations in the plasma density profile diagnosed via interferometry and the shot-to-shot variations of the density profile for nominally equal conditions are characterized. Through an in-depth sensitivity study using particle-in-cell simulations, the effects of changes in the plasma density profile on the accelerated electron beams are investigated. The results suggest that blade motion is more detrimental to stability than gas pressure fluctuations, and that early focusing of the laser may reduce the deleterious effects of such density fluctuations.

Original language	English
Article number	111301
Journal	Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
Volume	27
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.27.111301
Publication status	Published - 26 Nov 2024

Funding

The project was conducted under the auspices of the University of York’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Fusion Energy. This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant and EP/V044397/ 1 and US NSF Award No. 2108075. This project was undertaken on the Viking Cluster, which is a high performance compute facility provided by the University of York. The authors are grateful for computational support from the University of York’s High Performance Computing Service, Viking, and the Research Computing Team.

Keywords

plasma-based accelerators
laser wakefield accelerator
helium gas
plasma density profile

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Cobo, C. C., Arran, C., Bourgeois, N., Calvin, L., Carderelli, J., Cavanagh, N., Colgan, C., Dann, S. J. D., Fitzgarrald, R., Gerstmayr, E., Kettle, B., Los, E. E., Mangles, S. P. D., McKenna, P., Najmudin, Z., Rajeev, P. P., Ridgers, C. P., Sarri, G., Streeter, M. J. V., ... Murphy, C. D. (2024). Target sensitivity study of density transition-injected electrons in laser wakefield accelerators. Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, 27(11), Article 111301. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.27.111301

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title = "Target sensitivity study of density transition-injected electrons in laser wakefield accelerators",

abstract = "While plasma-based accelerators have the potential to positively impact a broad range of research topics, a route to application will only be possible through improved understanding of their stability. We present experimental results of a laser wakefield accelerator in the nonlinear regime in a helium gas jet target with a density transition produced by a razor blade in the flow. Modifications to the target setup are correlated with variations in the plasma density profile diagnosed via interferometry and the shot-to-shot variations of the density profile for nominally equal conditions are characterized. Through an in-depth sensitivity study using particle-in-cell simulations, the effects of changes in the plasma density profile on the accelerated electron beams are investigated. The results suggest that blade motion is more detrimental to stability than gas pressure fluctuations, and that early focusing of the laser may reduce the deleterious effects of such density fluctuations.",

keywords = "plasma-based accelerators, laser wakefield accelerator, helium gas, plasma density profile",

author = "C. C. Cobo and C. Arran and N. Bourgeois and L. Calvin and J. Carderelli and N. Cavanagh and C. Colgan and S. J. D. Dann and R. Fitzgarrald and E. Gerstmayr and B. Kettle and E. E. Los and S. P. D. Mangles and P. McKenna and Z. Najmudin and P. P. Rajeev and C. P. Ridgers and G. Sarri and M. J. V. Streeter and D. R. Symes and A. G. R. Thomas and R. Watt and C. D. Murphy",

year = "2024",

month = nov,

day = "26",

doi = "10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.27.111301",

language = "English",

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Cobo, CC, Arran, C, Bourgeois, N, Calvin, L, Carderelli, J, Cavanagh, N, Colgan, C, Dann, SJD, Fitzgarrald, R, Gerstmayr, E, Kettle, B, Los, EE, Mangles, SPD, McKenna, P, Najmudin, Z, Rajeev, PP, Ridgers, CP, Sarri, G, Streeter, MJV, Symes, DR, Thomas, AGR, Watt, R & Murphy, CD 2024, 'Target sensitivity study of density transition-injected electrons in laser wakefield accelerators', Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, vol. 27, no. 11, 111301. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.27.111301

TY - JOUR

T1 - Target sensitivity study of density transition-injected electrons in laser wakefield accelerators

AU - Cobo, C. C.

AU - Arran, C.

AU - Bourgeois, N.

AU - Calvin, L.

AU - Carderelli, J.

AU - Cavanagh, N.

AU - Colgan, C.

AU - Dann, S. J. D.

AU - Fitzgarrald, R.

AU - Gerstmayr, E.

AU - Kettle, B.

AU - Los, E. E.

AU - Mangles, S. P. D.

AU - McKenna, P.

AU - Najmudin, Z.

AU - Rajeev, P. P.

AU - Ridgers, C. P.

AU - Sarri, G.

AU - Streeter, M. J. V.

AU - Symes, D. R.

AU - Thomas, A. G. R.

AU - Watt, R.

AU - Murphy, C. D.

PY - 2024/11/26

Y1 - 2024/11/26

N2 - While plasma-based accelerators have the potential to positively impact a broad range of research topics, a route to application will only be possible through improved understanding of their stability. We present experimental results of a laser wakefield accelerator in the nonlinear regime in a helium gas jet target with a density transition produced by a razor blade in the flow. Modifications to the target setup are correlated with variations in the plasma density profile diagnosed via interferometry and the shot-to-shot variations of the density profile for nominally equal conditions are characterized. Through an in-depth sensitivity study using particle-in-cell simulations, the effects of changes in the plasma density profile on the accelerated electron beams are investigated. The results suggest that blade motion is more detrimental to stability than gas pressure fluctuations, and that early focusing of the laser may reduce the deleterious effects of such density fluctuations.

AB - While plasma-based accelerators have the potential to positively impact a broad range of research topics, a route to application will only be possible through improved understanding of their stability. We present experimental results of a laser wakefield accelerator in the nonlinear regime in a helium gas jet target with a density transition produced by a razor blade in the flow. Modifications to the target setup are correlated with variations in the plasma density profile diagnosed via interferometry and the shot-to-shot variations of the density profile for nominally equal conditions are characterized. Through an in-depth sensitivity study using particle-in-cell simulations, the effects of changes in the plasma density profile on the accelerated electron beams are investigated. The results suggest that blade motion is more detrimental to stability than gas pressure fluctuations, and that early focusing of the laser may reduce the deleterious effects of such density fluctuations.

KW - plasma-based accelerators

KW - laser wakefield accelerator

KW - helium gas

KW - plasma density profile

U2 - 10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.27.111301

DO - 10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.27.111301

M3 - Article

SN - 1098-4402

VL - 27

JO - Physical Review Accelerators and Beams

JF - Physical Review Accelerators and Beams

IS - 11

M1 - 111301

ER -

Target sensitivity study of density transition-injected electrons in laser wakefield accelerators

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