Effect of laser-focusing conditions on propagation and monoenergetic electron production in laser-wakefield accelerators.
The effect of laser-focusing conditions on the evolution of relativistic plasma waves in laser-wakefield accelerators is studied both experimentally and with particle-in-cell simulations. For short focal-length (w_{0}<lambda_{p}) interactions, beam breakup prevents stable propagation of the pulse. High field gradients lead to nonlocalized phase injection of electrons, and thus broad energy spread beams. However, for long focal-length geometries (w_{0}>lambda_{p}), a single optical filament can capture the majority of the laser energy and self-guide over distances comparable to the dephasing length, even for these short pulses (ctau approximately lambda_{p}). This allows the wakefield to evolve to the correct shape for the production of the monoenergetic electron bunches, as measured in the experiment.
Thomas
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AG
Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
Najmudin
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Z
Mangles
S P D
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Murphy
C D
CD
Dangor
A E
AE
Kamperidis
C
C
Lancaster
K L
KL
Mori
W B
WB
Norreys
P A
PA
Rozmus
W
W
Krushelnick
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K