Plasma wakefields driven by an incoherent combination of laser pulses: a path towards high-average power laser-plasma accelerators

Journal Article · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4878620· OSTI ID:1163658

Benedetti, C.; Schroeder, C. B.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.

he wakefield generated in a plasma by incoherently combining a large number of low energy laser pulses (i.e.,without constraining the pulse phases) is studied analytically and by means of fully-self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations. The structure of the wakefield has been characterized and its amplitude compared with the amplitude of the wake generated by a single (coherent) laser pulse. We show that, in spite of the incoherent nature of the wakefield within the volume occupied by the laser pulses, behind this region the structure of the wakefield can be regular with an amplitude comparable or equal to that obtained from a single pulse with the same energy. Wake generation requires that the incoherent structure in the laser energy density produced by the combined pulses exists on a time scale short compared to the plasma period. Incoherent combination of multiple laser pulses may enable a technologically simpler path to high-repetition rate, high-average power laser-plasma accelerators and associated applications.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: Accelerator & Fusion Research Division
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1163658
• Report Number(s): LBNL-6704E
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 21
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
lasma wakefields
incoherent combination of laser pulses
high-average power laser-plasma accelerators