Ultrabright Electron Bunch Injection in a Plasma Wakefield Driven by a Superluminal Flying Focus Electron Beam

Li, F.; Dalichaouch, T.  N.; Pierce, J.  R.; Xu, X.; Tsung, F.  S.; Lu, W.; Joshi, C.; Mori, W.  B.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.128.174803

Ultrabright Electron Bunch Injection in a Plasma Wakefield Driven by a Superluminal Flying Focus Electron Beam

Journal Article · Fri Apr 29 00:00:00 UTC 2022 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.128.174803· OSTI ID:1871596

^[1]; ^[1]; Pierce, J. R. ^[1]; ^[2]; Tsung, F. S. ^[1]; Lu, W. ^[3]; Joshi, C. ^[1]; ^[1]

Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)

Here, we propose a new method for self-injection of high-quality electron bunches in the plasma wakefield structure in the blowout regime utilizing a “flying focus” produced by a drive beam with an energy chirp. In a flying focus the speed of the density centroid of the drive bunch can be superluminal or subluminal by utilizing the chromatic dependence of the focusing optics. We first derive the focal velocity and the characteristic length of the focal spot in terms of the focal length and an energy chirp. We then demonstrate using multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations that a wake driven by a superluminally propagating flying focus of an electron beam can generate GeV-level electron bunches with ultralow normalized slice emittance (~30 nm rad), high current (~17 kA), low slice energy spread (~0.1%), and therefore high normalized brightness (> 10¹⁹A/ m² /rad²) in a plasma of density ~10¹⁹ cm^–3. The injection process is highly controllable and tunable by changing the focal velocity and shaping the drive beam current. Nearterm experiments at FACET II where the capabilities to generate tens of kA, < 10 fs drivers are planned, could potentially produce beams with brightness near 10²⁰ A / m² / rad².

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR). Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-76SF00515; SC0010064

OSTI ID:: 1871596

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1866143

Journal Information:: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 17 Vol. 128; ISSN 0031-9007

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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