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

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters

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 (> 1019 A/ 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.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR). Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
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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