Betatron radiation from density tailored plasmas
- Laboratoire d'Optique Appliquee, ENSTA, CNRS UMR7639, Ecole Polytechnique, Chemin de la Huniere, 91761 Palaiseau (France)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
In laser wakefield accelerators, electron motion is driven by intense forces that depend on the plasma density. Transverse oscillations in the accelerated electron orbits produce betatron radiation. The electron motion and the resulting betatron radiation spectrum can therefore be controlled by shaping the plasma density along the orbit of the electrons. Here, a method based on the use of a plasma with a longitudinal density variation (density depression or step) is proposed to increase the transverse oscillation amplitude and the energy of the electrons accelerated in a wakefield cavity. For fixed laser parameters, by appropriately tailoring the plasma profile, the betatron radiation emitted by these electrons is significantly increased in both flux and energy.
- OSTI ID:
- 21120456
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 15, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2918657; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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