Emerging terawatt picosecond CO{sub 2} laser technology and possible applications in accelerator physics
The first terawatt picosecond (TWps) CO{sub 2} laser is under construction at the BNL Accelerator Test Facility (ATF). TWps-CO{sub 2} lasers, having the order of magnitude longer wavelength than the well-known table-top terawatt solid state lasers, offer new opportunities for the strong-field physics research. For processes based on electro quiver motion, such as laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), the advantage of the new class of lasers is due to a gain of two orders of magnitude in the ponderomotive potential for the same peak power. The large average power capability of CO{sub 2} lasers is important for the generation of hard radiation through Compton back-scattering of the laser off energetic electron beams, as well as for other applications. Among them are: LWFA modules of a tentative electron-positron collider, {gamma}-{gamma} (or {gamma}-lepton) collider, a possible table-top source of high-intensity x-rays and gamma rays and the generation of polarized positron beams.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH00016
- OSTI ID:
- 495807
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-64473; CONF-970503-71; ON: DE97006723; TRN: 97:013251
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 17. IEEE particle accelerator conference, Vancouver (Canada), 12-16 May 1997; Other Information: PBD: [1997]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Terawatt picosecond CO{sub 2} laser technology for strong field physics applications
Terawatt picosecond CO{sub 2} laser technology for strong field physics applications