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Journal Articles New Journal of Physics Year : 2022

Effect of driver charge on wakefield characteristics in a plasma accelerator probed by femtosecond shadowgraphy

Susanne Schöbel
Richard Pausch
Yen-Yu Chang
  • Function : Author
Sébastien Corde
Jurjen Couperus Cabadağ
Alexander Debus
Hao Ding
Andreas Döpp
F Moritz Foerster
Florian Haberstroh
  • Function : Author
Thomas Heinemann
Bernhard Hidding
Stefan Karsch
Alexander Köhler
Olena Kononenko
Thomas Kurz
Alastair Nutter
  • Function : Author
Klaus Steiniger
Patrick Ufer
  • Function : Author
Alberto Martinez de la Ossa
Ulrich Schramm
Arie Irman

Abstract

Abstract We report on experimental investigations of plasma wave structures in a plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) stage which is driven by electron beams from a preceding laser plasma accelerator. Femtosecond optical probing is utilized to allow for direct visualization of the plasma dynamics inside the target. We compare two regimes in which the driver propagates either through an initially neutral gas, or a preformed plasma. In the first case, plasma waves are observed that quickly damp after a few oscillations and are located within a narrow plasma channel ionized by the driver, having about the same transverse size as the plasma wakefield cavities. In contrast, for the latter robust cavities are recorded sustained over many periods. Furthermore, here an elongation of the first cavity is measured, which becomes stronger with increasing driver beam charge. Since the cavity length is linked to the maximum accelerating field strength, this elongation implies an increased field strength. This observation is supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations performed with PIConGPU. This work can be extended for the investigation of driver depletion by probing at different propagation distances inside the plasma, which is essential for the development of high energy efficiency PWFAs.

Dates and versions

hal-03782854 , version 1 (21-09-2022)

Identifiers

Cite

Susanne Schöbel, Richard Pausch, Yen-Yu Chang, Sébastien Corde, Jurjen Couperus Cabadağ, et al.. Effect of driver charge on wakefield characteristics in a plasma accelerator probed by femtosecond shadowgraphy. New Journal of Physics, 2022, 24 (8), pp.083034. ⟨10.1088/1367-2630/ac87c9⟩. ⟨hal-03782854⟩
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