title: Low emittance, high brilliance relativistic electron beams from a laser-plasma accelerator.
abstract: Progress in laser wakefield accelerators indicates their suitability as a driver of compact free-electron lasers (FELs). High brightness is defined by the normalized transverse emittance, which should be less than 1π mm mrad for an x-ray FEL. We report high-resolution measurements of the emittance of 125 MeV, monoenergetic beams from a wakefield accelerator. An emittance as low as 1.1±0.1π mm mrad is measured using a pepper-pot mask. This sets an upper limit on the emittance, which is comparable with conventional linear accelerators. A peak transverse brightness of 5×10¹⁵ A m⁻¹ rad⁻¹ makes it suitable for compact XUV FELs.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Shanks
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Manahan
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ersfeld
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Anania
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cipiccia
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Issac
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Raj
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vieux
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wiggins
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jaroszynski