Matched Guiding and Controlled Injection in Dark-Current-Free, 10-GeV-Class, Channel-Guided Laser-Plasma Accelerators
We measure the high-intensity laser propagation throughout meter-scale, channel-guided laser-plasma accelerators by adjusting the length of the plasma channel on a shot-by-shot basis, showing high-quality guiding of 500 TW laser pulses over 30 cm in a hydrogen plasma of density n_{0}≈1×10^{17} cm^{-3}. We observed transverse energy transport of higher-order modes in the first ≈12 cm of the plasma channel, followed by quasimatched propagation, and the gradual, dark-current-free depletion of laser energy to the wake. We quantify the laser-to-wake transfer efficiency limitations of currently available petawatt-class lasers and demonstrate via simulation how control over the laser mode can significantly improve beam parameters. Using 21.3 J of laser energy, and triggering localized electron injection, we observed electron bunches with single, quasimonoenergetic peaks up to 9.2 GeV with charge extending beyond 10 GeV.
Authors
- J. van Tilborg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7028-7735)
- C. Benedetti
- A. Picksley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5334-1509)
- C. G. R. Geddes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3763-9743)
- B. Miao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5647-4067)
- A. J. Gonsalves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2567-7582)
- E. Rockafellow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8935-8628)
- J. E. Shrock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1147-2145)
- Hai-En Tsai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8667-5468)
- K. Nakamura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9842-7114)
- C. B. Schroeder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9610-0166)
- R. Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4142-2047)
- Howard M. Milchberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0338-3636)
- E. Esarey
- Joy Stackhouse
Institutions
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
- University of California System (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2024-12-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.133.255001
- Citations
- 68
- Primary Topic
- Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 44.85
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Office of Science
- Advanced Research Projects Agency
- High Energy Physics
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory