Probing plasma wakefields using electron bunches generated from a laser wakefield accelerator

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/aaabfd· OSTI ID:1523481

Zhang, C. J.  ^[1]; Wan, Y. ^[2]; Guo, B. ^[2]; Hua, J. F. ^[2]; Pai, C-H ^[2]; Li, F.  ^[2]; Zhang, J. ^[2]; Ma, Y. ^[2]; Wu, Y. P. ^[2]; Xu, X. L. ^[3]; Mori, W. B. ^[3]; Chu, H-H ^[4]; Wang, J. ^[5]; Lu, W. ^[2]; Joshi, C. ^[6]

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1. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Dept. of Engineering Physics; Univ. of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Elecctrical Engineering
2. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Dept. of Engineering Physics
3. Univ. of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Univ. of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
4. National Central Univ., Jhong-Li (Taiwan). Dept. of Physics
5. National Central University, Jhong-Li (Taiwan). Dept. of Physics; Academia Sinica, Taipei (Taiwan). Inst. of Atomic and Molecular Sciences; National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan). Dept. of Physics
6. Univ. of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

We show experimental results of probing the electric field structure of plasma wakes by using femtosecond relativistic electron bunches generated from a laser wakefield accelerator. Snapshots of laser-driven linear wakes in plasmas with different densities and density gradients are captured. The spatiotemporal evolution of the wake in a plasma density up-ramp is recorded. Two parallel wakes driven by a laser with a main spot and sidelobes are identified in the experiment and reproduced in simulations. The capability of this new method for capturing the electron- and positron-driven wakes is also shown via 3D particle-in-cell simulations.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: SC0010064; SC0008491; SC0008316; SC0014260
• OSTI ID: 1523481
• Journal Information: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 60, Issue 4; ISSN 0741-3335
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English