Longitudinal gas-density profilometry for plasma-wakefield acceleration targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaper, Lucas; Goldberg, Lars; Kleinwächter, Tobias; Schwinkendorf, Jan-Patrick; Osterhoff, Jens

2014-03-01

Precise tailoring of plasma-density profiles has been identified as one of the critical points in achieving stable and reproducible conditions in plasma wakefield accelerators. Here, the strict requirements of next generation plasma-wakefield concepts, such as hybrid-accelerators, with densities around 1017 cm-3 pose challenges to target fabrication as well as to their reliable diagnosis. To mitigate these issues we combine target simulation with fabrication and characterization. The resulting density profiles in capillaries with gas jet and multiple in- and outlets are simulated with the fluid code OpenFOAM. Satisfactory simulation results then are followed by fabrication of the desired target shapes with structures down to the 10 μm level. The detection of Raman scattered photons using lenses with large collection solid angle allows to measure the corresponding longitudinal density profiles at different number densities and allows a detection sensitivity down to the low 1017 cm-3 density range at high spatial resolution. This offers the possibility to gain insight into steep density gradients as for example in gas jets and at the plasma-to-vacuum transition.

High-quality electron beam generation in a proton-driven hollow plasma wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Xia, G.; Lotov, K. V.; Sosedkin, A. P.; Hanahoe, K.; Mete-Apsimon, O.

2017-10-01

Simulations of proton-driven plasma wakefield accelerators have demonstrated substantially higher accelerating gradients compared to conventional accelerators and the viability of accelerating electrons to the energy frontier in a single plasma stage. However, due to the strong intrinsic transverse fields varying both radially and in time, the witness beam quality is still far from suitable for practical application in future colliders. Here we demonstrate the efficient acceleration of electrons in proton-driven wakefields in a hollow plasma channel. In this regime, the witness bunch is positioned in the region with a strong accelerating field, free from plasma electrons and ions. We show that the electron beam carrying the charge of about 10% of 1 TeV proton driver charge can be accelerated to 0.6 TeV with a preserved normalized emittance in a single channel of 700 m. This high-quality and high-charge beam may pave the way for the development of future plasma-based energy frontier colliders.

Plasma Wake-field Acceleration in the Blow-out Regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barov, Nikolai; Rosenzweig, James

1999-11-01

Recent experiments at Argonne National Laboratory, investigating the blow-out regime of the plasma wake-field accelerator, are discussed. These experiments achieved stable underdense (beam denser than the ambient plasma density) beam transport, and measured average acceleration of 25 MV/m, corresponding to peak wave fields of over 60 MVm. A comparison of the results to simulation is given, and the physics of the system is discussed. Potential for improvements in performance and achieved acceleration gradient, as well as accelerated beam quality are examined within the context of the next generation of experiments at the Fermilab Test Facility. The status of these experiments will be given.

Probing plasma wakefields using electron bunches generated from a laser wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, C. J.; Wan, Y.; Guo, B.; Hua, J. F.; Pai, C.-H.; Li, F.; Zhang, J.; Ma, Y.; Wu, Y. P.; Xu, X. L.; Mori, W. B.; Chu, H.-H.; Wang, J.; Lu, W.; Joshi, C.

2018-04-01

We show experimental results of probing the electric field structure of plasma wakes by using femtosecond relativistic electron bunches generated from a laser wakefield accelerator. Snapshots of laser-driven linear wakes in plasmas with different densities and density gradients are captured. The spatiotemporal evolution of the wake in a plasma density up-ramp is recorded. Two parallel wakes driven by a laser with a main spot and sidelobes are identified in the experiment and reproduced in simulations. The capability of this new method for capturing the electron- and positron-driven wakes is also shown via 3D particle-in-cell simulations.

High-efficiency acceleration in the laser wakefield by a linearly increasing plasma density

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dong, Kegong; Wu, Yuchi; Zhu, Bin

The acceleration length and the peak energy of the electron beam are limited by the dephasing effect in the laser wakefield acceleration with uniform plasma density. Based on 2D-3V particle in cell simulations, the effects of a linearly increasing plasma density on the electron acceleration are investigated broadly. Comparing with the uniform plasma density, because of the prolongation of the acceleration length and the gradually increasing accelerating field due to the increasing plasma density, the electron beam energy is twice higher in moderate nonlinear wakefield regime. Because of the lower plasma density, the linearly increasing plasma density can also avoidmore » the dark current caused by additional injection. At the optimal acceleration length, the electron energy can be increased from 350 MeV (uniform) to 760 MeV (linearly increasing) with the energy spread of 1.8%, the beam duration is 5 fs and the beam waist is 1.25 μm. This linearly increasing plasma density distribution can be achieved by a capillary with special gas-filled structure, and is much more suitable for experiment.« less

Staging optics considerations for a plasma wakefield acceleration linear collider

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindstrøm, C. A.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.; Delahaye, J. P.; Hogan, M. J.; Joshi, C.; Muggli, P.; Raubenheimer, T. O.; Yakimenko, V.

2016-09-01

Plasma wakefield acceleration offers acceleration gradients of several GeV/m, ideal for a next-generation linear collider. The beam optics requirements between plasma cells include injection and extraction of drive beams, matching the main beam beta functions into the next cell, canceling dispersion as well as constraining bunch lengthening and chromaticity. To maintain a high effective acceleration gradient, this must be accomplished in the shortest distance possible. A working example is presented, using novel methods to correct chromaticity, as well as scaling laws for a high energy regime.

Excitation of wakefields in a relativistically hot plasma created by dying non-linear plasma wakefields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sahai, A. A.; Katsouleas, T. C.; Gessner, S.

2012-12-21

We study the various physical processes and their timescales involved in the excitation of wakefields in relativistically hot plasma. This has relevance to the design of a high repetition-rate plasma wakefield collider in which the plasma has not had time to cool between bunches in addition to understanding the physics of cosmic jets in relativistically hot astrophysical plasmas. When the plasma is relativistically hot (plasma temperature near m{sub e}c{sup 2}), the thermal pressure competes with the restoring force of ion space charge and can reduce or even eliminate the accelerating field of a wake. We will investigate explicitly the casemore » where the hot plasma is created by a preceding Wakefield drive bunch 10's of picoseconds to many nanoseconds ahead of the next drive bunch. The relativistically hot plasma is created when the excess energy (not coupled to the driven e{sup -} bunch) in the wake driven by the drive e{sup -} bunch is eventually converted into thermal energy on 10's of picosecond timescale. We will investigate the thermalization and diffusion processes of this non-equilibrium plasma on longer time scales, including the effects of ambi-polar diffusion of ions driven by hot electron expansion, possible Columbic explosion of ions producing higher ionization states and ionization of surrounding neutral atoms via collisions with hot electrons. Preliminary results of the transverse and longitudinal wakefields at different timescales of separation between a first and second bunch are presented and a possible experiment to study this topic at the FACET facility is described.« less

Plasma wakefield acceleration experiments at FACET II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, C.; Adli, E.; An, W.; Clayton, C. E.; Corde, S.; Gessner, S.; Hogan, M. J.; Litos, M.; Lu, W.; Marsh, K. A.; Mori, W. B.; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N.; O'shea, B.; Xu, Xinlu; White, G.; Yakimenko, V.

2018-03-01

During the past two decades of research, the ultra-relativistic beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) concept has achieved many significant milestones. These include the demonstration of ultra-high gradient acceleration of electrons over meter-scale plasma accelerator structures, efficient acceleration of a narrow energy spread electron bunch at high-gradients, positron acceleration using wakes in uniform plasmas and in hollow plasma channels, and demonstrating that highly nonlinear wakes in the ‘blow-out regime’ have the electric field structure necessary for preserving the emittance of the accelerating bunch. A new 10 GeV electron beam facility, Facilities for Accelerator Science and Experimental Test (FACET) II, is currently under construction at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory for the next generation of PWFA research and development. The FACET II beams will enable the simultaneous demonstration of substantial energy gain of a small emittance electron bunch while demonstrating an efficient transfer of energy from the drive to the trailing bunch. In this paper we first describe the capabilities of the FACET II facility. We then describe a series of PWFA experiments supported by numerical and particle-in-cell simulations designed to demonstrate plasma wake generation where the drive beam is nearly depleted of its energy, high efficiency acceleration of the trailing bunch while doubling its energy and ultimately, quantifying the emittance growth in a single stage of a PWFA that has optimally designed matching sections. We then briefly discuss other FACET II plasma-based experiments including in situ positron generation and acceleration, and several schemes that are promising for generating sub-micron emittance bunches that will ultimately be needed for both an early application of a PWFA and for a plasma-based future linear collider.

Plasma wakefield acceleration experiments at FACET II

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joshi, C.; Adli, E.; An, W.

During the past two decades of research, the ultra-relativistic beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) concept has achieved many significant milestones. These include the demonstration of ultra-high gradient acceleration of electrons over meter-scale plasma accelerator structures, efficient acceleration of a narrow energy spread electron bunch at high-gradients, positron acceleration using wakes in uniform plasmas and in hollow plasma channels, and demonstrating that highly nonlinear wakes in the 'blow-out regime' have the electric field structure necessary for preserving the emittance of the accelerating bunch. A new 10 GeV electron beam facility, Facilities for Accelerator Science and Experimental Test (FACET) II, is currentlymore » under construction at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory for the next generation of PWFA research and development. The FACET II beams will enable the simultaneous demonstration of substantial energy gain of a small emittance electron bunch while demonstrating an efficient transfer of energy from the drive to the trailing bunch. In this paper we first describe the capabilities of the FACET II facility. We then describe a series of PWFA experiments supported by numerical and particle-in-cell simulations designed to demonstrate plasma wake generation where the drive beam is nearly depleted of its energy, high efficiency acceleration of the trailing bunch while doubling its energy and ultimately, quantifying the emittance growth in a single stage of a PWFA that has optimally designed matching sections. Here, we briefly discuss other FACET II plasma-based experiments including in situ positron generation and acceleration, and several schemes that are promising for generating sub-micron emittance bunches that will ultimately be needed for both an early application of a PWFA and for a plasma-based future linear collider.« less

Plasma wakefield acceleration experiments at FACET II

DOE PAGES

Joshi, C.; Adli, E.; An, W.; ...

2018-01-12

During the past two decades of research, the ultra-relativistic beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) concept has achieved many significant milestones. These include the demonstration of ultra-high gradient acceleration of electrons over meter-scale plasma accelerator structures, efficient acceleration of a narrow energy spread electron bunch at high-gradients, positron acceleration using wakes in uniform plasmas and in hollow plasma channels, and demonstrating that highly nonlinear wakes in the 'blow-out regime' have the electric field structure necessary for preserving the emittance of the accelerating bunch. A new 10 GeV electron beam facility, Facilities for Accelerator Science and Experimental Test (FACET) II, is currentlymore » under construction at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory for the next generation of PWFA research and development. The FACET II beams will enable the simultaneous demonstration of substantial energy gain of a small emittance electron bunch while demonstrating an efficient transfer of energy from the drive to the trailing bunch. In this paper we first describe the capabilities of the FACET II facility. We then describe a series of PWFA experiments supported by numerical and particle-in-cell simulations designed to demonstrate plasma wake generation where the drive beam is nearly depleted of its energy, high efficiency acceleration of the trailing bunch while doubling its energy and ultimately, quantifying the emittance growth in a single stage of a PWFA that has optimally designed matching sections. Here, we briefly discuss other FACET II plasma-based experiments including in situ positron generation and acceleration, and several schemes that are promising for generating sub-micron emittance bunches that will ultimately be needed for both an early application of a PWFA and for a plasma-based future linear collider.« less

Measurement of Transverse Wakefields Induced by a Misaligned Positron Bunch in a Hollow Channel Plasma Accelerator.

PubMed

Lindstrøm, C A; Adli, E; Allen, J M; An, W; Beekman, C; Clarke, C I; Clayton, C E; Corde, S; Doche, A; Frederico, J; Gessner, S J; Green, S Z; Hogan, M J; Joshi, C; Litos, M; Lu, W; Marsh, K A; Mori, W B; O'Shea, B D; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N; Yakimenko, V

2018-03-23

Hollow channel plasma wakefield acceleration is a proposed method to provide high acceleration gradients for electrons and positrons alike: a key to future lepton colliders. However, beams which are misaligned from the channel axis induce strong transverse wakefields, deflecting beams and reducing the collider luminosity. This undesirable consequence sets a tight constraint on the alignment accuracy of the beam propagating through the channel. Direct measurements of beam misalignment-induced transverse wakefields are therefore essential for designing mitigation strategies. We present the first quantitative measurements of transverse wakefields in a hollow plasma channel, induced by an off-axis 20 GeV positron bunch, and measured with another 20 GeV lower charge trailing positron probe bunch. The measurements are largely consistent with theory.

Measurement of Transverse Wakefields Induced by a Misaligned Positron Bunch in a Hollow Channel Plasma Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindstrøm, C. A.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.; An, W.; Beekman, C.; Clarke, C. I.; Clayton, C. E.; Corde, S.; Doche, A.; Frederico, J.; Gessner, S. J.; Green, S. Z.; Hogan, M. J.; Joshi, C.; Litos, M.; Lu, W.; Marsh, K. A.; Mori, W. B.; O'Shea, B. D.; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N.; Yakimenko, V.

2018-03-01

Hollow channel plasma wakefield acceleration is a proposed method to provide high acceleration gradients for electrons and positrons alike: a key to future lepton colliders. However, beams which are misaligned from the channel axis induce strong transverse wakefields, deflecting beams and reducing the collider luminosity. This undesirable consequence sets a tight constraint on the alignment accuracy of the beam propagating through the channel. Direct measurements of beam misalignment-induced transverse wakefields are therefore essential for designing mitigation strategies. We present the first quantitative measurements of transverse wakefields in a hollow plasma channel, induced by an off-axis 20 GeV positron bunch, and measured with another 20 GeV lower charge trailing positron probe bunch. The measurements are largely consistent with theory.

Sharp plasma pinnacle structure based on shockwave for an improved laser wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Ming; Zhang, Zhijun; Wang, Wentao; Liu, Jiansheng; Li, Ruxin

2018-07-01

We created a sharp plasma pinnacle structure for localized electron injection and controlled acceleration in a laser wakefield accelerator. The formation of this shockwave-based pinnacle structure was investigated using aerodynamic theory. Details and scaling laws for the shockwave angle, shock position, shock width, and density ratio were experimentally and theoretically presented. Such work is crucial to yielding an expected plasma density distribution in a laser–plasma experiment but has had little discussion in the literature. Compared with the commonly used shock downramp structure, the particle-in-cell simulations demonstrated that the e beam injected in the created pinnacle structure could be accelerated to higher energy with much smaller root-mean-square relative energy spread. Moreover, this study indicated that the beam charge and transverse emittance can be tuned by the shock angle.

Measurement of Transverse Wakefields Induced by a Misaligned Positron Bunch in a Hollow Channel Plasma Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lindstrom, C. A.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.

Hollow channel plasma wakefield acceleration is a proposed method to provide high acceleration gradients for electrons and positrons alike: a key to future lepton colliders. However, beams which are misaligned from the channel axis induce strong transverse wakefields, deflecting beams and reducing the collider luminosity. This undesirable consequence sets a tight constraint on the alignment accuracy of the beam propagating through the channel. Direct measurements of beam misalignment-induced transverse wakefields are therefore essential for designing mitigation strategies. We present the first quantitative measurements of transverse wakefields in a hollow plasma channel, induced by an off-axis 20 GeV positron bunch, andmore » measured with another 20 GeV lower charge trailing positron probe bunch. Furthermore, the measurements are largely consistent with theory.« less

Measurement of Transverse Wakefields Induced by a Misaligned Positron Bunch in a Hollow Channel Plasma Accelerator

DOE PAGES

Lindstrom, C. A.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.; ...

2018-03-23

Hollow channel plasma wakefield acceleration is a proposed method to provide high acceleration gradients for electrons and positrons alike: a key to future lepton colliders. However, beams which are misaligned from the channel axis induce strong transverse wakefields, deflecting beams and reducing the collider luminosity. This undesirable consequence sets a tight constraint on the alignment accuracy of the beam propagating through the channel. Direct measurements of beam misalignment-induced transverse wakefields are therefore essential for designing mitigation strategies. We present the first quantitative measurements of transverse wakefields in a hollow plasma channel, induced by an off-axis 20 GeV positron bunch, andmore » measured with another 20 GeV lower charge trailing positron probe bunch. Furthermore, the measurements are largely consistent with theory.« less

Multi-gigaelectronvolt acceleration of positrons in a self-loaded plasma wakefield.

PubMed

Corde, S; Adli, E; Allen, J M; An, W; Clarke, C I; Clayton, C E; Delahaye, J P; Frederico, J; Gessner, S; Green, S Z; Hogan, M J; Joshi, C; Lipkowitz, N; Litos, M; Lu, W; Marsh, K A; Mori, W B; Schmeltz, M; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N; Walz, D; Yakimenko, V; Yocky, G

2015-08-27

Electrical breakdown sets a limit on the kinetic energy that particles in a conventional radio-frequency accelerator can reach. New accelerator concepts must be developed to achieve higher energies and to make future particle colliders more compact and affordable. The plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) embodies one such concept, in which the electric field of a plasma wake excited by a bunch of charged particles (such as electrons) is used to accelerate a trailing bunch of particles. To apply plasma acceleration to electron-positron colliders, it is imperative that both the electrons and their antimatter counterpart, the positrons, are efficiently accelerated at high fields using plasmas. Although substantial progress has recently been reported on high-field, high-efficiency acceleration of electrons in a PWFA powered by an electron bunch, such an electron-driven wake is unsuitable for the acceleration and focusing of a positron bunch. Here we demonstrate a new regime of PWFAs where particles in the front of a single positron bunch transfer their energy to a substantial number of those in the rear of the same bunch by exciting a wakefield in the plasma. In the process, the accelerating field is altered--'self-loaded'--so that about a billion positrons gain five gigaelectronvolts of energy with a narrow energy spread over a distance of just 1.3 metres. They extract about 30 per cent of the wake's energy and form a spectrally distinct bunch with a root-mean-square energy spread as low as 1.8 per cent. This ability to transfer energy efficiently from the front to the rear within a single positron bunch makes the PWFA scheme very attractive as an energy booster to an electron-positron collider.

Experimental realization of underdense plasma photocathode wakefield acceleration at FACET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherkl, Paul

2017-10-01

Novel electron beam sources from compact plasma accelerator concepts currently mature into the driving technology for next generation high-energy physics and light source facilities. Particularly electron beams of ultra-high brightness could pave the way for major advances for both scientific and commercial applications, but their generation remains tremendously challenging. The presentation outlines the experimental demonstration of the world's first bright electron beam source from spatiotemporally synchronized laser pulses injecting electrons into particle-driven plasma wakefields at FACET. Two distinctive types of operation - laser-triggered density downramp injection (``Plasma Torch'') and underdense plasma photocathode acceleration (``Trojan Horse'') - and their intermediate transitions are characterized and contrasted. Extensive particle-in-cell simulations substantiate the presentation of experimental results. In combination with novel techniques to minimize the beam energy spread, the acceleration scheme presented here promises ultra-high beam quality and brightness.

Compact and tunable focusing device for plasma wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pompili, R.; Anania, M. P.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Ferrario, M.; Lollo, V.; Notargiacomo, A.; Picardi, L.; Ronsivalle, C.; Rosenzweig, J. B.; Shpakov, V.; Vannozzi, A.

2018-03-01

Plasma wakefield acceleration, either driven by ultra-short laser pulses or electron bunches, represents one of the most promising techniques able to overcome the limits of conventional RF technology and allows the development of compact accelerators. In the particle beam-driven scenario, ultra-short bunches with tiny spot sizes are required to enhance the accelerating gradient and preserve the emittance and energy spread of the accelerated bunch. To achieve such tight transverse beam sizes, a focusing system with short focal length is mandatory. Here we discuss the development of a compact and tunable system consisting of three small-bore permanent-magnet quadrupoles with 520 T/m field gradient. The device has been designed in view of the plasma acceleration experiments planned at the SPARC_LAB test-facility. Being the field gradient fixed, the focusing is adjusted by tuning the relative position of the three magnets with nanometer resolution. Details about its magnetic design, beam-dynamics simulations, and preliminary results are examined in the paper.

High-quality electron beams from beam-driven plasma accelerators by wakefield-induced ionization injection.

PubMed

Martinez de la Ossa, A; Grebenyuk, J; Mehrling, T; Schaper, L; Osterhoff, J

2013-12-13

We propose a new and simple strategy for controlled ionization-induced trapping of electrons in a beam-driven plasma accelerator. The presented method directly exploits electric wakefields to ionize electrons from a dopant gas and capture them into a well-defined volume of the accelerating and focusing wake phase, leading to high-quality witness bunches. This injection principle is explained by example of three-dimensional particle-in-cell calculations using the code OSIRIS. In these simulations a high-current-density electron-beam driver excites plasma waves in the blowout regime inside a fully ionized hydrogen plasma of density 5×10(17)cm-3. Within an embedded 100  μm long plasma column contaminated with neutral helium gas, the wakefields trigger ionization, trapping of a defined fraction of the released electrons, and subsequent acceleration. The hereby generated electron beam features a 1.5 kA peak current, 1.5  μm transverse normalized emittance, an uncorrelated energy spread of 0.3% on a GeV-energy scale, and few femtosecond bunch length.

Self-injection of electrons in a laser-wakefield accelerator by using longitudinal density ripple

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dahiya, Deepak; Sharma, A. K.; Sajal, Vivek

By introducing a longitudinal density ripple (periodic modulation in background plasma density), we demonstrate self-injection of electrons in a laser-wakefield accelerator. The wakefield driven plasma wave, in presence of density ripple excites two side band waves of same frequency but different wave numbers. One of these side bands, having smaller phase velocity compared to wakefield driven plasma wave, preaccelerates the background plasma electrons. Significant number of these preaccelerated electrons get trapped in the laser-wakefield and further accelerated to higher energies.

Trains of electron micro-bunches in plasma wake-field acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lécz, Zsolt; Andreev, Alexander; Konoplev, Ivan; Seryi, Andrei; Smith, Jonathan

2018-07-01

Plasma-based charged particle accelerators have been intensively investigated in the past three decades due to their capability to open up new horizons in accelerator science and particle physics yielding electric field accelerating gradient more than three orders of magnitudes higher than in conventional devices. At the current stage the most advanced and reliable mechanism for accelerating electrons is based on the propagation of an intense laser pulse or a relativistic electron beam in a low density gaseous target. In this paper we concentrate on the electron beam-driven plasma wake-field acceleration and demonstrate using 3D PiC simulations that a train of electron micro-bunches with ∼10 fs period can be generated behind the driving beam propagating in a density down-ramp. We will discuss the conditions and properties of the micro-bunches generated aiming at understanding and study of multi-bunch mechanism of injection. It is show that the periodicity and duration of micro-bunches can be controlled by adjusting the plasma density gradient and driving beam charge.

Multistage Coupling of Laser-Wakefield Accelerators with Curved Plasma Channels.

PubMed

Luo, J; Chen, M; Wu, W Y; Weng, S M; Sheng, Z M; Schroeder, C B; Jaroszynski, D A; Esarey, E; Leemans, W P; Mori, W B; Zhang, J

2018-04-13

Multistage coupling of laser-wakefield accelerators is essential to overcome laser energy depletion for high-energy applications such as TeV-level electron-positron colliders. Current staging schemes feed subsequent laser pulses into stages using plasma mirrors while controlling electron beam focusing with plasma lenses. Here a more compact and efficient scheme is proposed to realize the simultaneous coupling of the electron beam and the laser pulse into a second stage. A partly curved channel, integrating a straight acceleration stage with a curved transition segment, is used to guide a fresh laser pulse into a subsequent straight channel, while the electrons continue straight. This scheme benefits from a shorter coupling distance and continuous guiding of the electrons in plasma while suppressing transverse beam dispersion. Particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the electron beam from a previous stage can be efficiently injected into a subsequent stage for further acceleration while maintaining high capture efficiency, stability, and beam quality.

Multistage Coupling of Laser-Wakefield Accelerators with Curved Plasma Channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, J.; Chen, M.; Wu, W. Y.; Weng, S. M.; Sheng, Z. M.; Schroeder, C. B.; Jaroszynski, D. A.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.; Mori, W. B.; Zhang, J.

2018-04-01

Multistage coupling of laser-wakefield accelerators is essential to overcome laser energy depletion for high-energy applications such as TeV-level electron-positron colliders. Current staging schemes feed subsequent laser pulses into stages using plasma mirrors while controlling electron beam focusing with plasma lenses. Here a more compact and efficient scheme is proposed to realize the simultaneous coupling of the electron beam and the laser pulse into a second stage. A partly curved channel, integrating a straight acceleration stage with a curved transition segment, is used to guide a fresh laser pulse into a subsequent straight channel, while the electrons continue straight. This scheme benefits from a shorter coupling distance and continuous guiding of the electrons in plasma while suppressing transverse beam dispersion. Particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the electron beam from a previous stage can be efficiently injected into a subsequent stage for further acceleration while maintaining high capture efficiency, stability, and beam quality.

Theory and measurements of emittance preservation in plasma wakefield acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frederico, Joel

2016-12-01

In this dissertation, we examine the preservation and measurement of emittance in the plasma wakefield acceleration blowout regime. Plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) is a revolutionary approach to accelerating charged particles that has been demonstrated to have the potential for gradients orders of magnitude greater than traditional approaches. The application of PWFA to the design of a linear collider will make new high energy physics research possible, but the design parameters must first be shown to be competitive with traditional methods. Emittance preservation is necessary in the design of a linear collider in order to maximize luminosity. We examine the conditionsmore » necessary for circular symmetry in the PWFA blowout regime, and demonstrate that current proposals meet these bounds. We also present an application of beam lamentation which describes the process of beam parameter and emittance matching. We show that the emittance growth saturates as a consequence of energy spread in the beam. The initial beam parameters determine the amount of emittance growth, while the contribution of energy spread is negligible. We also present a model for ion motion in the presence of a beam that is much more dense than the plasma. By combining the model of ion motion and emittance growth, we find the emittance growth due to ion motion is minimal in the case of marginal ion motion. In addition, we present a simulation that validates the ion motion model, which is under further development to examine emittance growth of both marginal and pronounced ion motion. Finally, we present a proof-of-concept of an emittance measurement which may enable the analysis of emittance preservation in future PWFA experiments.« less

Multistage Coupling of Laser-Wakefield Accelerators with Curved Plasma Channel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luo, J.; Chen, M.; Wu, W. Y.

Multistage coupling of laser-wakefield accelerators is essential to overcome laser energy depletion for high-energy applications such as TeV level electron-positron colliders. Current staging schemes feed subsequent laser pulses into stages using plasma mirrors, while controlling electron beam focusing with plasma lenses. Here a more compact and efficient scheme is proposed to realize simultaneous coupling of the electron beam and the laser pulse into a second stage. Furthermore, a curved channel with transition segment is used to guide a fresh laser pulse into a subsequent straight channel, while allowing the electrons to propagate in a straight channel. This scheme then benefitsmore » from a shorter coupling distance and continuous guiding of the electrons in plasma, while suppressing transverse beam dispersion. Within moderate laser parameters, particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the electron beam from a previous stage can be efficiently injected into a subsequent stage for further acceleration, while maintaining high capture efficiency, stability, and beam quality.« less

Multistage Coupling of Laser-Wakefield Accelerators with Curved Plasma Channel

DOE PAGES

Luo, J.; Chen, M.; Wu, W. Y.; ...

2018-04-10

Multistage coupling of laser-wakefield accelerators is essential to overcome laser energy depletion for high-energy applications such as TeV level electron-positron colliders. Current staging schemes feed subsequent laser pulses into stages using plasma mirrors, while controlling electron beam focusing with plasma lenses. Here a more compact and efficient scheme is proposed to realize simultaneous coupling of the electron beam and the laser pulse into a second stage. Furthermore, a curved channel with transition segment is used to guide a fresh laser pulse into a subsequent straight channel, while allowing the electrons to propagate in a straight channel. This scheme then benefitsmore » from a shorter coupling distance and continuous guiding of the electrons in plasma, while suppressing transverse beam dispersion. Within moderate laser parameters, particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the electron beam from a previous stage can be efficiently injected into a subsequent stage for further acceleration, while maintaining high capture efficiency, stability, and beam quality.« less

Demonstration of passive plasma lensing of a laser wakefield accelerated electron bunch

DOE PAGES

Kuschel, S.; Hollatz, D.; Heinemann, T.; ...

2016-07-20

We report on the first demonstration of passive all-optical plasma lensing using a two-stage setup. An intense femtosecond laser accelerates electrons in a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) to 100 MeV over millimeter length scales. By adding a second gas target behind the initial LWFA stage we introduce a robust and independently tunable plasma lens. We observe a density dependent reduction of the LWFA electron beam divergence from an initial value of 2.3 mrad, down to 1.4 mrad (rms), when the plasma lens is in operation. Such a plasma lens provides a simple and compact approach for divergence reduction well matchedmore » to the mm-scale length of the LWFA accelerator. The focusing forces are provided solely by the plasma and driven by the bunch itself only, making this a highly useful and conceptually new approach to electron beam focusing. Possible applications of this lens are not limited to laser plasma accelerators. Since no active driver is needed the passive plasma lens is also suited for high repetition rate focusing of electron bunches. As a result, its understanding is also required for modeling the evolution of the driving particle bunch in particle driven wake field acceleration.« less

Acceleration of on-axis and ring-shaped electron beams in wakefields driven by Laguerre-Gaussian pulses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Guo-Bo; Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas; Chen, Min, E-mail: minchen@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: yanyunma@126.com

2016-03-14

The acceleration of electron beams with multiple transverse structures in wakefields driven by Laguerre-Gaussian pulses has been studied through three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. Under different laser-plasma conditions, the wakefield shows different transverse structures. In general cases, the wakefield shows a donut-like structure and it accelerates the ring-shaped hollow electron beam. When a lower plasma density or a smaller laser spot size is used, besides the donut-like wakefield, a central bell-like wakefield can also be excited. The wake sets in the center of the donut-like wake. In this case, both a central on-axis electron beam and a ring-shaped electron beam aremore » simultaneously accelerated. Further, reducing the plasma density or laser spot size leads to an on-axis electron beam acceleration only. The research is beneficial for some potential applications requiring special pulse beam structures, such as positron acceleration and collimation.« less

Transverse oscillations in plasma wakefield experiments at FACET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adli, E.; Lindstrøm, C. A.; Allen, J.; Clarke, C. I.; Frederico, J.; Gessner, S. J.; Green, S. Z.; Hogan, M. J.; Litos, M. D.; White, G. R.; Yakimenko, V.; An, W.; Clayton, C. E.; Marsh, K. A.; Mori, W. B.; Joshi, C.; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N.; Corde, S.; Lu, W.

2016-09-01

We study transverse effects in a plasma wakefield accelerator. Experimental data from FACET with asymmetry in the beam-plasma system is presented. Energy dependent centroid oscillations are observed on the accelerated part of the charge. The experimental results are compared to PIC simulations and theoretical estimates.

Three electron beams from a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator and the energy apportioning question

PubMed Central

Yang, X.; Brunetti, E.; Gil, D. Reboredo; Welsh, G. H.; Li, F. Y.; Cipiccia, S.; Ersfeld, B.; Grant, D. W.; Grant, P. A.; Islam, M. R.; Tooley, M. P.; Vieux, G.; Wiggins, S. M.; Sheng, Z. M.; Jaroszynski, D. A.

2017-01-01

Laser-wakefield accelerators are compact devices capable of delivering ultra-short electron bunches with pC-level charge and MeV-GeV energy by exploiting the ultra-high electric fields arising from the interaction of intense laser pulses with plasma. We show experimentally and through numerical simulations that a high-energy electron beam is produced simultaneously with two stable lower-energy beams that are ejected in oblique and counter-propagating directions, typically carrying off 5–10% of the initial laser energy. A MeV, 10s nC oblique beam is ejected in a 30°–60° hollow cone, which is filled with more energetic electrons determined by the injection dynamics. A nC-level, 100s keV backward-directed beam is mainly produced at the leading edge of the plasma column. We discuss the apportioning of absorbed laser energy amongst the three beams. Knowledge of the distribution of laser energy and electron beam charge, which determine the overall efficiency, is important for various applications of laser-wakefield accelerators, including the development of staged high-energy accelerators. PMID:28281679

Energy spread minimization in a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator via velocity bunching

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Zhijun; Li, Wentao; Wang, Wentao

2016-05-15

We propose a scheme to minimize the energy spread of an electron beam (e-beam) in a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator to the one-thousandth-level by inserting a stage to compress its longitudinal spatial distribution. In this scheme, three-segment plasma stages are designed for electron injection, e-beam length compression, and e-beam acceleration, respectively. The trapped e-beam in the injection stage is transferred to the zero-phase region at the center of one wakefield period in the compression stage where the length of the e-beam can be greatly shortened owing to the velocity bunching. After being seeded into the third stage for acceleration, themore » e-beam can be accelerated to a much higher energy before its energy chirp is compensated owing to the shortened e-beam length. A one-dimensional theory and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations have demonstrated this scheme and an e-beam with 0.2% rms energy spread and low transverse emittance could be generated without loss of charge.« less

Enhancement of Electron Acceleration in Laser Wakefields by Random Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tataronis, J. A.; Petržílka, V.

1999-11-01

There is increasing evidence that intense laser pulses can accelerate electrons to high energies. The energy appears to increase with the distance over which the electrons are accelerated. This is difficult to explain by electron trapping in a single wakefield wave.^1 We demonstrate that enhanced electron acceleration can arise in inhomogeneous laser wakefields through the effects of spontaneously excited random fields. This acceleration mechanism is analogous to fast electron production by random fields near rf antennae in fusion devices and helicon plasma sources.^2 Electron acceleration in a transverse laser wave due to random field effects was recently found.^3 In the present study we solve numerically the governing equations of an ensemble of test electrons in a longitudinal electric wakefield perturbed by random fields. [1pt] Supported by the Czech grant IGA A1043701 and the U.S. DOE under grant No. DE-FG02-97ER54398. [1pt] 1. A. Pukhov and J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, in Superstrong Fields in Plasmas, AIP Conf. Proc. 426, p. 93 (1997). 2. V. Petržílka, J. A. Tataronis, et al., in Proc. Varenna - Lausanne Fusion Theory Workshop, p. 95 (1998). 3. J. Meyer-ter-Vehn and Z. M. Sheng, Phys. Plasmas 6, 641 (1999).

Enhanced betatron radiation by steering a laser-driven plasma wakefield with a tilted shock front

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Changhai; Liu, Jiansheng; Wang, Wentao; Li, Wentao; Qi, Rong; Zhang, Zhijun; Qin, Zhiyong; Liu, Jiaqi; Fang, Ming; Feng, Ke; Wu, Ying; Ke, Lintong; Chen, Yu; Wang, Cheng; Xu, Yi; Leng, Yuxin; Xia, Changquan; Li, Ruxin; Xu, Zhizhan

2018-03-01

We have experimentally realized a scheme to enhance betatron radiation by manipulating transverse oscillation of electrons in a laser-driven plasma wakefield with a tilted shock front (TSF). Very brilliant betatron x-rays have been produced with significant enhancement both in photon yield and peak energy but almost maintain the e-beam energy spread and charge. Particle-in-cell simulations indicate that the accelerated electron beam (e beam) can acquire a very large transverse oscillation amplitude with an increase in more than 10-fold, after being steered into the deflected wakefield due to the refraction of the driving laser at the TSF. Spectral broadening of betatron radiation can be suppressed owing to the small variation in the peak energy of the low-energy-spread e beam in a plasma wiggler regime. It is demonstrated that the e-beam generation, refracting, and wiggling can act as a whole to realize the concurrence of monoenergetic e beams and bright x-rays in a compact laser-wakefield accelerator.

Generation of high quality electron beams via ionization injection in a plasma wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vafaei-Najafabadi, Navid; Joshi, Chan; E217 SLAC Collaboration

2016-10-01

Ionization injection in a beam driven plasma wakefield accelerator has been used to generate electron beams with over 30 GeV of energy in a 130 cm of lithium plasma. The experiments were performed using the 3 nC, 20.35 GeV electron beam at the FACET facility of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory as the driver of the wakefield. The ionization of helium atoms in the up ramp of a lithium plasma were injected into the wake and over the length of acceleration maintained an emittance on the order of 30 mm-mrad, which was an order of magnitude smaller than the drive beam, albeit with an energy spread of 10-20%. The process of ionization injection occurs due to an increase in the electric field of the drive beam as it pinches through its betatron oscillations. Thus, this energy spread is attributed to the injection region encompassing multiple betatron oscillations. In this poster, we will present evidence through OSIRIS simulations of producing an injected beam with percent level energy spread and low emittance by designing the plasma parameters appropriately, such that the ionization injection occurs over a very limited distance of one betatron cycle. Work at UCLA was supported by the NSF Grant Number PHY-1415386 and DOE Grant Number DE-SC0010064. Work at SLAC was supported by DOE contract number DE-AC02-76SF00515. Simulations used the Hoffman cluster at UCLA.

Efficient injection of radiation-pressure-accelerated sub-relativistic protons into laser wakefield acceleration based on 10 PW lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, M.; Weng, S. M.; Wang, H. C.; Chen, M.; Zhao, Q.; Sheng, Z. M.; He, M. Q.; Li, Y. T.; Zhang, J.

2018-06-01

We propose a hybrid laser-driven ion acceleration scheme using a combination target of a solid foil and a density-tailored background plasma. In the first stage, a sub-relativistic proton beam can be generated by radiation pressure acceleration in intense laser interaction with the solid foil. In the second stage, this sub-relativistic proton beam is further accelerated by the laser wakefield driven by the same laser pulse in a near-critical-density background plasma with decreasing density profile. The propagating velocity of the laser front and the phase velocity of the excited wakefield wave are effectively lowered at the beginning of the second stage. By decreasing the background plasma density gradually from near critical density along the laser propagation direction, the wake travels faster and faster, while it accelerates the protons. Consequently, the dephasing between the protons and the wake is postponed and an efficient wakefield proton acceleration is achieved. This hybrid laser-driven proton acceleration scheme can be realized by using ultrashort laser pulses at the peak power of 10 PW for the generation of multi-GeV proton beams.

9 GeV energy gain in a beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Litos, M.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.

2016-02-15

An electron beam has gained a maximum energy of 9 GeV per particle in a 1.3 m-long electron beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator. The amount of charge accelerated in the spectral peak was 28.3 pC, and the root-mean-square energy spread was 5.0%. The mean accelerated charge and energy gain per particle of the 215 shot data set was 115 pC and 5.3 GeV, respectively, corresponding to an acceleration gradient of 4.0 GeV m -1 at the spectral peak. Moreover, the mean energy spread of the data set was 5.1%. Our results are consistent with the extrapolation of the previously reported energymore » gain results using a shorter, 36 cm-long plasma source to within 10%, evincing a non-evolving wake structure that can propagate distances of over a meter in length. Wake-loading effects were evident in the data through strong dependencies observed between various spectral properties and the amount of accelerated charge.« less

Betatron radiation based diagnostics for plasma wakefield accelerated electron beams at the SPARC_LAB test facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shpakov, V.; Anania, M. P.; Biagioni, A.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Curcio, A.; Dabagov, S.; Ferrario, M.; Filippi, F.; Marocchino, A.; Paroli, B.; Pompili, R.; Rossi, A. R.; Zigler, A.

2016-09-01

Recent progress with wake-field acceleration has shown a great potential in providing high gradient acceleration fields, while the quality of the beams remains relatively poor. Precise knowledge of the beam size at the exit from the plasma and matching conditions for the externally injected beams are the key for improvement of beam quality. Betatron radiation emitted by the beam during acceleration in the plasma is a powerful tool for the transverse beam size measurement, being also non-intercepting. In this work we report on the technical solutions chosen at SPARC_LAB for such diagnostics tool, along with expected parameters of betatron radiation.

Potential applications of the dielectric wakefield accelerators in the SINBAD facility at DESY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Y. C.; Assmann, R.; Dorda, U.; Marchetti, B.; Weikum, M.; Zhu, J.; Hüning, M.

2016-09-01

Short, high-brightness relativistic electron bunches can drive ultra-high wakefields in the dielectric wakefield accelerators (DWFAs). This effect can be used to generate high power THz coherent Cherenkov radiation, accelerate a witness bunch with gradient two or three orders of magnitude larger than that in the conventional RF linear accelerators, introduce energy modulation within the driving bunch itself, etc. The paper studies potential applications of the DWFAs in the SINBAD facility at DESY. The simulations show that the ultra-short relativistic bunches from the SINBAD injector ARES can excite accelerating wakefields with peak amplitudes as high as GV/m at THz frequencies in proper DWFA structures. In addition, it illustrates that the DWFA structure can serve as a dechirper to compensate the correlated energy spread of the bunches accelerated by the laser plasma wakefield accelerator.

Laser dynamics in transversely inhomogeneous plasma and its relevance to wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, V. B.; Vieira, J.; Silva, L. O.; Nam, Chang Hee

2018-05-01

We present full set of coupled equations describing the weakly relativistic dynamics of a laser in a plasma with transverse inhomogeneity. We apply variational principle approach to obtain these coupled equations governing laser spot-size, transverse wavenumber, curvature, transverse centroid, etc. We observe that such plasma inhomogeneity can lead to stronger self-focusing. We further discuss the guiding conditions of laser in parabolic plasma channels. With the help of multi-dimensional particle in cell simulations the study is extended to the blowout regime of laser wakefield acceleration to show laser as well as self-injected electron bunch steering in plasma to generate unconventional particle trajectories. Our simulation results demonstrate that such transverse inhomogeneities due to asymmetric self focusing lead to asymmetric bubble excitation, thus inducing off-axis self-injection.

Acceleration and evolution of a hollow electron beam in wakefields driven by a Laguerre-Gaussian laser pulse

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Guo-Bo; College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073; Chen, Min, E-mail: minchen@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: yanyunma@126.com

2016-03-15

We show that a ring-shaped hollow electron beam can be injected and accelerated by using a Laguerre-Gaussian laser pulse and ionization-induced injection in a laser wakefield accelerator. The acceleration and evolution of such a hollow, relativistic electron beam are investigated through three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We find that both the ring size and the beam thickness oscillate during the acceleration. The beam azimuthal shape is angularly dependent and evolves during the acceleration. The beam ellipticity changes resulting from the electron angular momenta obtained from the drive laser pulse and the focusing forces from the wakefield. The dependence of beam ring radiusmore » on the laser-plasma parameters (e.g., laser intensity, focal size, and plasma density) is studied. Such a hollow electron beam may have potential applications for accelerating and collimating positively charged particles.« less

Towards Attosecond High-Energy Electron Bunches: Controlling Self-Injection in Laser-Wakefield Accelerators Through Plasma-Density Modulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tooley, M. P.; Ersfeld, B.; Yoffe, S. R.; Noble, A.; Brunetti, E.; Sheng, Z. M.; Islam, M. R.; Jaroszynski, D. A.

2017-07-01

Self-injection in a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator is usually achieved by increasing the laser intensity until the threshold for injection is exceeded. Alternatively, the velocity of the bubble accelerating structure can be controlled using plasma density ramps, reducing the electron velocity required for injection. We present a model describing self-injection in the short-bunch regime for arbitrary changes in the plasma density. We derive the threshold condition for injection due to a plasma density gradient, which is confirmed using particle-in-cell simulations that demonstrate injection of subfemtosecond bunches. It is shown that the bunch charge, bunch length, and separation of bunches in a bunch train can be controlled by tailoring the plasma density profile.

Particle-in-cell simulation of x-ray wakefield acceleration and betatron radiation in nanotubes

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Xiaomei; Tajima, Toshiki; Farinella, Deano; ...

2016-10-18

Though wakefield acceleration in crystal channels has been previously proposed, x-ray wakefield acceleration has only recently become a realistic possibility since the invention of the single-cycled optical laser compression technique. We investigate the acceleration due to a wakefield induced by a coherent, ultrashort x-ray pulse guided by a nanoscale channel inside a solid material. By two-dimensional particle-in-cell computer simulations, we show that an acceleration gradient of TeV/cm is attainable. This is about 3 orders of magnitude stronger than that of the conventional plasma-based wakefield accelerations, which implies the possibility of an extremely compact scheme to attain ultrahigh energies. In additionmore » to particle acceleration, this scheme can also induce the emission of high energy photons at ~O(10–100) MeV. Here, our simulations confirm such high energy photon emissions, which is in contrast with that induced by the optical laser driven wakefield scheme. In addition to this, the significantly improved emittance of the energetic electrons has been discussed.« less

EDITORIAL: Laser and plasma accelerators Laser and plasma accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bingham, Robert

2009-02-01

This special issue on laser and plasma accelerators illustrates the rapid advancement and diverse applications of laser and plasma accelerators. Plasma is an attractive medium for particle acceleration because of the high electric field it can sustain, with studies of acceleration processes remaining one of the most important areas of research in both laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. The rapid advance in laser and accelerator technology has led to the development of terawatt and petawatt laser systems with ultra-high intensities and short sub-picosecond pulses, which are used to generate wakefields in plasma. Recent successes include the demonstration by several groups in 2004 of quasi-monoenergetic electron beams by wakefields in the bubble regime with the GeV energy barrier being reached in 2006, and the energy doubling of the SLAC high-energy electron beam from 42 to 85 GeV. The electron beams generated by the laser plasma driven wakefields have good spatial quality with energies ranging from MeV to GeV. A unique feature is that they are ultra-short bunches with simulations showing that they can be as short as a few femtoseconds with low-energy spread, making these beams ideal for a variety of applications ranging from novel high-brightness radiation sources for medicine, material science and ultrafast time-resolved radiobiology or chemistry. Laser driven ion acceleration experiments have also made significant advances over the last few years with applications in laser fusion, nuclear physics and medicine. Attention is focused on the possibility of producing quasi-mono-energetic ions with energies ranging from hundreds of MeV to GeV per nucleon. New acceleration mechanisms are being studied, including ion acceleration from ultra-thin foils and direct laser acceleration. The application of wakefields or beat waves in other areas of science such as astrophysics and particle physics is beginning to take off, such as the study of cosmic accelerators considered

Electron self-injection due to a plasma density downramp and gas ionization in a plasma wakefield accelerator in the blowout regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, S. A.; D'Avignon, E. C.; Khudik, V.; Shvets, G.

2010-11-01

We study self-injection into a plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) in the blowout regime analytically and through particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. We propose a new injection mechanism into a plasma wakefield accelerator, where growth of the blowout region is enabled through a slow decrease in background plasma density along the direction of propagation. Deepening of the potential well due to this growth causes a reduction of electron Hamiltonian in the co-moving frame. This reduction depends on the shape of the blowout region, its growth rate, and impact parameter of the electron. When the reduction is greater than mc^2 [1,2], the electron becomes trapped inside the bubble. We demonstrate this effect using analytic expressions for the bubble potentials [3], and estimate plasma density gradients, and beam charge and size required for injection. We also apply the injection criterion to electron trapping through gas ionization. This work is supported by the US DOE grants DE-FG02-04ER41321 and DE-FG02-07ER54945. [1] S. Kalmykov, S.A. Yi, V. Khudik, and G. Shvets, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 135004 (2009). [2] S.A. Yi, V. Khudik, S. Kalmykov, and G. Shvets, Plasma Phys. Contr. Fus., in press. [3] W. Lu, C. Huang, M. Zhou, M. Tzoufras et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 056709 (2006).

Dynamics of electron injection in a laser-wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, J.; Buck, A.; Chou, S.-W.; Schmid, K.; Shen, B.; Tajima, T.; Kaluza, M. C.; Veisz, L.

2017-08-01

The detailed temporal evolution of the laser-wakefield acceleration process with controlled injection, producing reproducible high-quality electron bunches, has been investigated. The localized injection of electrons into the wakefield has been realized in a simple way—called shock-front injection—utilizing a sharp drop in plasma density. Both experimental and numerical results reveal the electron injection and acceleration process as well as the electron bunch's temporal properties. The possibility to visualize the plasma wave gives invaluable spatially resolved information about the local background electron density, which in turn allows for an efficient suppression of electron self-injection before the controlled process of injection at the sharp density jump. Upper limits for the electron bunch duration of 6.6 fs FWHM, or 2.8 fs (r.m.s.) were found. These results indicate that shock-front injection not only provides stable and tunable, but also few-femtosecond short electron pulses for applications such as ultrashort radiation sources, time-resolved electron diffraction or for the seeding of further acceleration stages.

Innovative single-shot diagnostics for electrons from laser wakefield acceleration at FLAME

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bisesto, F. G.; Anania, M. P.; Cianchi, A.; Chiadroni, E.; Curcio, A.; Ferrario, M.; Pompili, R.; Zigler, A.

2017-07-01

Plasma wakefield acceleration is the most promising acceleration technique known nowadays, able to provide very high accelerating fields (> 100 GV/m), enabling acceleration of electrons to GeV energy in few centimeters. Here we present all the plasma related activities currently underway at SPARC_LAB exploiting the high power laser FLAME. In particular, we will give an overview of the single shot diagnostics employed: Electro Optic Sampling (EOS) for temporal measurement and Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) for an innovative one shot emittance measurements. In detail, the EOS technique has been employed to measure for the first time the longitudinal profile of electric field of fast electrons escaping from a solid target, driving the ions and protons acceleration, and to study the impact of using different target shapes. Moreover, a novel scheme for one shot emittance measurements based on OTR, developed and tested at SPARC_LAB LINAC, used in an experiment on electrons from laser wakefield acceleration still undergoing, will be shown.

Plasma Accelerators Race to 10 GeV and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsouleas, Tom

2005-10-01

This paper reviews the concepts, recent progress and current challenges for realizing the tremendous electric fields in relativistic plasma waves for applications ranging from tabletop particle accelerators to high-energy physics. Experiments in the 90's on laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerators at several laboratories around the world demonstrated the potential for plasma wakefields to accelerate intense bunches of self-trapped particles at rates as high as 100 GeV/m in mm-scale gas jets. These early experiments offered impressive gradients but large energy spread (100%) and short interaction lengths. Major breakthroughs have recently occurred on both fronts. Three groups (LBL-US, LOA-France and RAL-UK) have now entered a new regime of laser wakefield acceleration resulting in 100 MeV mono-energetic beams with up to nanoCoulombs of charge and very small angular spread. Simulations suggest that current lasers are just entering this new regime, and the scaling to higher energies appears attractive. In parallel with the progress in laser-driven wakefields, particle-beam driven wakefield accelerators are making large strides. A series of experiments using the 30 GeV beam of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has demonstrated high-gradient acceleration of electrons and positrons in meter-scale plasmas. The UCLA/USC/SLAC collaboration has accelerated electrons beyond 1 GeV and is aiming at 10 GeV in 30 cm as the next step toward a ``plasma afterburner,'' a concept for doubling the energy of a high-energy collider in a few tens of meters of plasma. In addition to wakefield acceleration, these and other experiments have demonstrated the rich physics bounty to be reaped from relativistic beam-plasma interactions. This includes plasma lenses capable of focusing particle beams to the highest density ever produced, collective radiation mechanisms capable of generating high-brightness x-ray beams, collective refraction of particles at a plasma interface, and

Observation of acceleration and deceleration in gigaelectron-volt-per-metre gradient dielectric wakefield accelerators

DOE PAGES

O’Shea, B. D.; Andonian, G.; Barber, S. K.; ...

2016-09-14

There is urgent need to develop new acceleration techniques capable of exceeding gigaelectron-volt-per-metre (GeV m –1) gradients in order to enable future generations of both light sources and high-energy physics experiments. To address this need, short wavelength accelerators based on wakefields, where an intense relativistic electron beam radiates the demanded fields directly into the accelerator structure or medium, are currently under intense investigation. One such wakefield based accelerator, the dielectric wakefield accelerator, uses a dielectric lined-waveguide to support a wakefield used for acceleration. Here we show gradients of 1.347±0.020 GeV m –1 using a dielectric wakefield accelerator of 15 cmmore » length, with sub-millimetre transverse aperture, by measuring changes of the kinetic state of relativistic electron beams. We follow this measurement by demonstrating accelerating gradients of 320±17 MeV m –1. As a result, both measurements improve on previous measurements by and order of magnitude and show promise for dielectric wakefield accelerators as sources of high-energy electrons.« less

Observation of acceleration and deceleration in gigaelectron-volt-per-metre gradient dielectric wakefield accelerators

PubMed Central

O'Shea, B. D.; Andonian, G.; Barber, S. K.; Fitzmorris, K. L.; Hakimi, S.; Harrison, J.; Hoang, P. D.; Hogan, M. J.; Naranjo, B.; Williams, O. B.; Yakimenko, V.; Rosenzweig, J. B.

2016-01-01

There is urgent need to develop new acceleration techniques capable of exceeding gigaelectron-volt-per-metre (GeV m−1) gradients in order to enable future generations of both light sources and high-energy physics experiments. To address this need, short wavelength accelerators based on wakefields, where an intense relativistic electron beam radiates the demanded fields directly into the accelerator structure or medium, are currently under intense investigation. One such wakefield based accelerator, the dielectric wakefield accelerator, uses a dielectric lined-waveguide to support a wakefield used for acceleration. Here we show gradients of 1.347±0.020 GeV m−1 using a dielectric wakefield accelerator of 15 cm length, with sub-millimetre transverse aperture, by measuring changes of the kinetic state of relativistic electron beams. We follow this measurement by demonstrating accelerating gradients of 320±17 MeV m−1. Both measurements improve on previous measurements by and order of magnitude and show promise for dielectric wakefield accelerators as sources of high-energy electrons. PMID:27624348

A high power, high density helicon discharge for the plasma wakefield accelerator experiment AWAKE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buttenschön, B.; Fahrenkamp, N.; Grulke, O.

2018-07-01

A plasma cell prototype for the plasma wakefield accelerator experiment AWAKE based on a helicon discharge is presented. In the 1 m long prototype module a multiple antenna helicon discharge with an rf power density of 100 MW m‑3 is established. Based on the helicon dispersion relation, a linear scaling of plasma density with magnetic field is observed for rf frequencies above the lower hybrid frequency, ω LH ≤ 0.8ω rf. Density profiles are highest on the device axis and show shallow radial gradients, thus providing a relatively constant plasma density in the center over a radial range of Δr ≈ 10 mm with less than 10% variation. Peak plasma densities up to 7 × 1020 m‑3 are transiently achieved with a reproducibility that is sufficient for AWAKE. The results are in good agreement with power balance calculations.

Generation of a wakefield undulator in plasma with transverse density gradient

DOE PAGES

Stupakov, Gennady V.

2017-11-30

Here, we show that a short relativistic electron beam propagating in a plasma with a density gradient perpendicular to the direction of motion generates a wakefield in which a witness bunch experiences a transverse force. A density gradient oscillating along the beam path would create a periodically varying force$-$an undulator, with an estimated strength of the equivalent magnetic field more than ten Tesla. This opens an avenue for creation of a high-strength, short-period undulators, which eventually may lead to all-plasma, free electron lasers where a plasma wakefield acceleration is naturally combined with a plasma undulator in a unifying, compact setup.

Generation of a wakefield undulator in plasma with transverse density gradient

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stupakov, Gennady V.

Here, we show that a short relativistic electron beam propagating in a plasma with a density gradient perpendicular to the direction of motion generates a wakefield in which a witness bunch experiences a transverse force. A density gradient oscillating along the beam path would create a periodically varying force$-$an undulator, with an estimated strength of the equivalent magnetic field more than ten Tesla. This opens an avenue for creation of a high-strength, short-period undulators, which eventually may lead to all-plasma, free electron lasers where a plasma wakefield acceleration is naturally combined with a plasma undulator in a unifying, compact setup.

Reduced 3d modeling on injection schemes for laser wakefield acceleration at plasma scale lengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helm, Anton; Vieira, Jorge; Silva, Luis; Fonseca, Ricardo

2017-10-01

Current modelling techniques for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) are based on particle-in-cell (PIC) codes which are computationally demanding. In PIC simulations the laser wavelength λ0, in μm-range, has to be resolved over the acceleration lengths in meter-range. A promising approach is the ponderomotive guiding center solver (PGC) by only considering the laser envelope for laser pulse propagation. Therefore only the plasma skin depth λp has to be resolved, leading to speedups of (λp /λ0) 2. This allows to perform a wide-range of parameter studies and use it for λ0 <<λp studies. We present the 3d version of a PGC solver in the massively parallel, fully relativistic PIC code OSIRIS. Further, a discussion and characterization of the validity of the PGC solver for injection schemes on the plasma scale lengths, such as down-ramp injection, magnetic injection and ionization injection, through parametric studies, full PIC simulations and theoretical scaling, is presented. This work was partially supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through Grant No. PTDC/FIS-PLA/2940/2014 and PD/BD/105882/2014.

Ion Motion Induced Emittance Growth of Matched Electron Beams in Plasma Wakefields.

PubMed

An, Weiming; Lu, Wei; Huang, Chengkun; Xu, Xinlu; Hogan, Mark J; Joshi, Chan; Mori, Warren B

2017-06-16

Plasma-based acceleration is being considered as the basis for building a future linear collider. Nonlinear plasma wakefields have ideal properties for accelerating and focusing electron beams. Preservation of the emittance of nano-Coulomb beams with nanometer scale matched spot sizes in these wakefields remains a critical issue due to ion motion caused by their large space charge forces. We use fully resolved quasistatic particle-in-cell simulations of electron beams in hydrogen and lithium plasmas, including when the accelerated beam has different emittances in the two transverse planes. The projected emittance initially grows and rapidly saturates with a maximum emittance growth of less than 80% in hydrogen and 20% in lithium. The use of overfocused beams is found to dramatically reduce the emittance growth. The underlying physics that leads to the lower than expected emittance growth is elucidated.

Betatron x-ray radiation in the self-modulated wakefield acceleration regime (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albert, Felicie

2017-05-01

Betatron x-ray radiation, driven by electrons from laser-wakefield acceleration, has unique properties to probe high energy density (HED) plasmas and warm dense matter. Betatron radiation is produced when relativistic electrons oscillate in the plasma wake of a laser pulse. Its properties are similar to those of synchrotron radiation, with a 1000 fold shorter pulse. This presentation will focus on the experimental challenges and results related to the development of betatron radiation in the self modulated regime of laser wakefield acceleration. We observed multi keV Betatron x-rays from a self-modulated laser wakefield accelerator. The experiment was performed at the Jupiter Laser Facility, LLNL, by focusing the Titan short pulse beam (4-150 J, 1 ps) onto the edge of a Helium gas jet at electronic densities around 1019 cm-3. For the first time on this laser system, we used a long focal length optic, which produced a laser normalized potential a0 in the range 1-3. Under these conditions, electrons are accelerated by the plasma wave created in the wake of the light pulse. As a result, intense Raman satellites, which measured shifts depend on the electron plasma density, were observed on the laser spectrum transmitted through the target. Electrons with energies up to 200 MeV, as well as Betatron x-rays with critical energies around 20 keV, were measured. OSIRIS 2D PIC simulations confirm that the electrons gain energy both from the plasma wave and from their interaction with the laser field.

DOE-HEP Final Report for 2013-2016: Studies of plasma wakefields for high repetition-rate plasma collider, and Theoretical study of laser-plasma proton and ion acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katsouleas, Thomas C.; Sahai, Aakash A.

2016-08-08

There were two goals for this funded project: 1. Studies of plasma wakefields for high repetition-rate plasma collider, and 2. Theoretical study of laser-plasma proton and ion acceleration. For goal 1, an analytical model was developed to determine the ion-motion resulting from the interaction of non-linear “blow-out” wakefields excited by beam-plasma and laser-plasma interactions. This is key to understanding the state of the plasma at timescales of 1 picosecond to a few 10s of picoseconds behind the driver-energy pulse. More information can be found in the document. For goal 2, we analytically and computationally analyzed the longitudinal instabilities of themore » laser-plasma interactions at the critical layer. Specifically, the process of “Doppler-shifted Ponderomotive bunching” is significant to eliminate the very high-energy spread and understand the importance of chirping the laser pulse frequency. We intend to publish the results of the mixing process in 2-D. We intend to publish Chirp-induced transparency. More information can be found in the document.« less

Applications of laser wakefield accelerator-based light sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Albert, Felicie; Thomas, Alec G. R.

Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) were proposed more than three decades ago, and while they promise to deliver compact, high energy particle accelerators, they will also provide the scientific community with novel light sources. In a LWFA, where an intense laser pulse focused onto a plasma forms an electromagnetic wave in its wake, electrons can be trapped and are now routinely accelerated to GeV energies. From terahertz radiation to gamma-rays, this article reviews light sources from relativistic electrons produced by LWFAs, and discusses their potential applications. Betatron motion, Compton scattering and undulators respectively produce x-rays or gamma-rays by oscillating relativistic electrons inmore » the wakefield behind the laser pulse, a counter-propagating laser field, or a magnetic undulator. Other LWFA-based light sources include bremsstrahlung and terahertz radiation. Here, we first evaluate the performance of each of these light sources, and compare them with more conventional approaches, including radio frequency accelerators or other laser-driven sources. We have then identified applications, which we discuss in details, in a broad range of fields: medical and biological applications, military, defense and industrial applications, and condensed matter and high energy density science.« less

Applications of laser wakefield accelerator-based light sources

DOE PAGES

Albert, Felicie; Thomas, Alec G. R.

2016-10-01

Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) were proposed more than three decades ago, and while they promise to deliver compact, high energy particle accelerators, they will also provide the scientific community with novel light sources. In a LWFA, where an intense laser pulse focused onto a plasma forms an electromagnetic wave in its wake, electrons can be trapped and are now routinely accelerated to GeV energies. From terahertz radiation to gamma-rays, this article reviews light sources from relativistic electrons produced by LWFAs, and discusses their potential applications. Betatron motion, Compton scattering and undulators respectively produce x-rays or gamma-rays by oscillating relativistic electrons inmore » the wakefield behind the laser pulse, a counter-propagating laser field, or a magnetic undulator. Other LWFA-based light sources include bremsstrahlung and terahertz radiation. Here, we first evaluate the performance of each of these light sources, and compare them with more conventional approaches, including radio frequency accelerators or other laser-driven sources. We have then identified applications, which we discuss in details, in a broad range of fields: medical and biological applications, military, defense and industrial applications, and condensed matter and high energy density science.« less

Observation of Wakefield Suppression in a Photonic-Band-Gap Accelerator Structure

DOE PAGES

Simakov, Evgenya I.; Arsenyev, Sergey A.; Buechler, Cynthia E.; ...

2016-02-10

We report experimental observation of higher order mode (HOM) wakefield suppression in a room-temperature traveling-wave photonic band gap (PBG) accelerating structure at 11.700 GHz. It has been long recognized that PBG structures have potential for reducing long-range wakefields in accelerators. The first ever demonstration of acceleration in a room-temperature PBG structure was conducted in 2005. Since then, the importance of PBG accelerator research has been recognized by many institutions. However, the full experimental characterization of the wakefield spectrum and demonstration of wakefield suppression when the accelerating structure is excited by an electron beam has not been performed to date. Wemore » conducted an experiment at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) test facility and observed wakefields excited by a single high charge electron bunch when it passes through a PBG accelerator structure. Lastly, excellent HOM suppression properties of the PBG accelerator were demonstrated in the beam test.« less

Spectroscopic measurements of plasma emission light for plasma-based acceleration experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippi, F.; Anania, M. P.; Biagioni, A.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Ferrario, M.; Mostacci, A.; Palumbo, L.; Zigler, A.

2016-09-01

Advanced particle accelerators are based on the excitation of large amplitude plasma waves driven by either electron or laser beams. Future experiments scheduled at the SPARC_LAB test facility aim to demonstrate the acceleration of high brightness electron beams through the so-called resonant Plasma Wakefield Acceleration scheme in which a train of electron bunches (drivers) resonantly excites wakefields into a preformed hydrogen plasma; the last bunch (witness) injected at the proper accelerating phase gains energy from the wake. The quality of the accelerated beam depends strongly on plasma density and its distribution along the acceleration length. The measurements of plasma density of the order of 1016-1017 cm-3 can be performed with spectroscopic measurements of the plasma-emitted light. The measured density distribution for hydrogen filled capillary discharge with both Balmer alpha and Balmer beta lines and shot-to-shot variation are here reported.

Ion Motion Induced Emittance Growth of Matched Electron Beams in Plasma Wakefields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

An, Weiming; Lu, Wei; Huang, Chengkun

2017-06-14

Plasma-based acceleration is being considered as the basis for building a future linear collider. Nonlinear plasma wakefields have ideal properties for accelerating and focusing electron beams. Preservation of the emittance of nano-Coulomb beams with nanometer scale matched spot sizes in these wakefields remains a critical issue due to ion motion caused by their large space charge forces. We use fully resolved quasistatic particle-in-cell simulations of electron beams in hydrogen and lithium plasmas, including when the accelerated beam has different emittances in the two transverse planes. The projected emittance initially grows and rapidly saturates with a maximum emittance growth of lessmore » than 80% in hydrogen and 20% in lithium. The use of overfocused beams is found to dramatically reduce the emittance growth. In conclusion, the underlying physics that leads to the lower than expected emittance growth is elucidated.« less

Accelerating Particles with Plasma

ScienceCinema

Litos, Michael; Hogan, Mark

2018-05-18

Researchers at SLAC explain how they use plasma wakefields to accelerate bunches of electrons to very high energies over only a short distance. Their experiments offer a possible path for the future of particle accelerators.

Editorial: Focus on Laser- and Beam-Driven Plasma Accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Chan; Malka, Victor

2010-04-01

The ability of short but intense laser pulses to generate high-energy electrons and ions from gaseous and solid targets has been well known since the early days of the laser fusion program. However, during the past decade there has been an explosion of experimental and theoretical activity in this area of laser-matter interaction, driven by the prospect of realizing table-top plasma accelerators for research, medical and industrial uses, and also relatively small and inexpensive plasma accelerators for high-energy physics at the frontier of particle physics. In this focus issue on laser- and beam-driven plasma accelerators, the latest advances in this field are described. Focus on Laser- and Beam-Driven Plasma Accelerators Contents Slow wave plasma structures for direct electron acceleration B D Layer, J P Palastro, A G York, T M Antonsen and H M Milchberg Cold injection for electron wakefield acceleration X Davoine, A Beck, A Lifschitz, V Malka and E Lefebvre Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation J S Green, D C Carroll, C Brenner, B Dromey, P S Foster, S Kar, Y T Li, K Markey, P McKenna, D Neely, A P L Robinson, M J V Streeter, M Tolley, C-G Wahlström, M H Xu and M Zepf Dose-dependent biological damage of tumour cells by laser-accelerated proton beams S D Kraft, C Richter, K Zeil, M Baumann, E Beyreuther, S Bock, M Bussmann, T E Cowan, Y Dammene, W Enghardt, U Helbig, L Karsch, T Kluge, L Laschinsky, E Lessmann, J Metzkes, D Naumburger, R Sauerbrey, M. Scḧrer, M Sobiella, J Woithe, U Schramm and J Pawelke The optimum plasma density for plasma wakefield excitation in the blowout regime W Lu, W An, M Zhou, C Joshi, C Huang and W B Mori Plasma wakefield acceleration experiments at FACET M J Hogan, T O Raubenheimer, A Seryi, P Muggli, T Katsouleas, C Huang, W Lu, W An, K A Marsh, W B Mori, C E Clayton and C Joshi Electron trapping and acceleration on a downward density ramp: a two-stage approach R M G M Trines, R Bingham, Z Najmudin

Two-color hybrid laser wakefield and direct laser accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xi; Khudik, V.; Bernstein, A.; Downer, M.; Shvets, G.

2017-03-01

We propose and investigate the concept of two-color laser wakefield and direct acceleration (LWDA) scheme in the regime of moderate (10 TW scale) laser powers. The concept utilizes two unequal frequency laser pulses: the leading long-wavelength (λ0 = 0.8 µm) wakefield laser pulse driving a nonlinear plasma wake, and a trailing short-wavelength (λDLA = λ0/2) DLA laser pulse. The combination of the large electric field, yet small ponderomotive pressure of the DLA pulse is shown to be advantageous for producing a higher energy and larger charge electron beam compared with the single frequency LWDA. The sensitivity of the dual-frequency LWDA to synchronization time jitter is also reduced.

EDITORIAL: Laser and Plasma Accelerators Workshop, Kardamyli, Greece, 2009 Laser and Plasma Accelerators Workshop, Kardamyli, Greece, 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bingham, Bob; Muggli, Patric

2011-01-01

The Laser and Plasma Accelerators Workshop 2009 was part of a very successful series of international workshops which were conceived at the 1985 Laser Acceleration of Particles Workshop in Malibu, California. Since its inception, the workshop has been held in Asia and in Europe (Kardamyli, Kyoto, Presqu'ile de Giens, Portovenere, Taipei and the Azores). The purpose of the workshops is to bring together the most recent results in laser wakefield acceleration, plasma wakefield acceleration, laser-driven ion acceleration, and radiation generation produced by plasma-based accelerator beams. The 2009 workshop was held on 22-26 June in Kardamyli, Greece, and brought together over 80 participants. (http://cfp.ist.utl.pt/lpaw09/). The workshop involved five main themes: • Laser plasma electron acceleration (experiment/theory/simulation) • Computational methods • Plasma wakefield acceleration (experiment/theory/simulation) • Laser-driven ion acceleration • Radiation generation and application. All of these themes are covered in this special issue of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. The topic and application of plasma accelerators is one of the success stories in plasma physics, with laser wakefield acceleration of mono-energetic electrons to GeV energies, of ions to hundreds of MeV, and electron-beam-driven wakefield acceleration to 85 GeV. The accelerating electric field in the wake is of the order 1 GeV cm-1, or an accelerating gradient 1000 times greater than in conventional accelerators, possibly leading to an accelerator 1000 times smaller (and much more affordable) for the same energy. At the same time, the electron beams generated by laser wakefield accelerators have very good emittance with a correspondingly good energy spread of about a few percent. They also have the unique feature in being ultra-short in the femtosecond scale. This makes them attractive for a variety of applications, ranging from material science to ultra-fast time

Modeling laser-plasma acceleration in the laboratory frame

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2011-01-01

A simulation of laser-plasma acceleration in the laboratory frame. Both the laser and the wakefield buckets must be resolved over the entire domain of the plasma, requiring many cells and many time steps. While researchers often use a simulation window that moves with the pulse, this reduces only the multitude of cells, not the multitude of time steps. For an artistic impression of how to solve the simulation by using the boosted-frame method, watch the video "Modeling laser-plasma acceleration in the wakefield frame".

Analytic model of electron self-injection in a plasma wakefield accelerator in the strongly nonlinear bubble regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Sunghwan; Khudik, Vladimir; Shvets, Gennady

2012-10-01

We study self-injection into a plasma wakefield accelerator in the blowout (or bubble) regime, where the bubble evolves due to background density inhomogeneities. To explore trapping, we generalize an analytic model for the wakefields inside the bubble [1] to derive expressions for the fields outside. With this extended model, we show that a return current in the bubble sheath layer plays an important role in determining the trapped electron trajectories. We explore an injection mechanism where bubble growth due to a background density downramp causes reduction of the electron Hamiltonian in the co-moving frame, trapping the particle in the dynamically deepening potential well [2]. Model calculations agree quantitatively with PIC simulations on the bubble expansion rate required for trapping, as well as the range of impact parameters for which electrons are trapped. This is an improvement over our previous work [3] using a simplified spherical bubble model, which ignored the fields outside of the bubble and hence overestimated the expansion rate required for trapping. [4pt] [1] W. Lu et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 056709 (2006).[0pt] [2] S. Kalmykov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 103, 135004 (2009).[0pt] [3] S.A. Yi et al., Plasma Phys. Contr. Fus. 53, 014012 (2011).

Wakefield acceleration in planetary atmospheres: A possible source of MeV electrons. The collisionless case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arrayás, M.; Cubero, D.; Montanya, J.; Seviour, R.; Trueba, J. L.

2018-07-01

Intense electromagnetic pulses interacting with a plasma can create a wake of plasma oscillations. Electrons trapped in such oscillations can be accelerated under certain conditions to very high energies. We study the optimal conditions for the wakefield acceleration to produce MeV electrons in planetary plasmas under collisionless conditions. The conditions for the optimal plasma densities can be found in the Earth atmosphere at higher altitudes than 10-15 km, which are the altitudes where lightning leaders can take place.

Analytical model for electromagnetic radiation from a wakefield excited by intense short laser pulses in an unmagnetized plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zi-Yu; Chen, Shi; Dan, Jia-Kun; Li, Jian-Feng; Peng, Qi-Xian

2011-10-01

A simple one-dimensional analytical model for electromagnetic emission from an unmagnetized wakefield excited by an intense short-pulse laser in the nonlinear regime has been developed in this paper. The expressions for the spectral and angular distributions of the radiation have been derived. The model suggests that the origin of the radiation can be attributed to the violent sudden acceleration of plasma electrons experiencing the accelerating potential of the laser wakefield. The radiation process could help to provide a qualitative interpretation of existing experimental results, and offers useful information for future laser wakefield experiments.

Two-color ionization injection using a plasma beatwave accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schroeder, C. B.; Benedetti, C.; Esarey, E.

Two-color laser ionization injection is a method to generate ultra-low emittance (sub-100 nm transverse normalized emittance) beams in a laser-driven plasma accelerator. A plasma beatwave accelerator is proposed to drive the plasma wave for ionization injection, where the beating of the lasers effectively produces a train of long-wavelength pulses. The plasma beatwave accelerator excites a large amplitude plasma wave with low peak laser electric fields, leaving atomically-bound electrons with low ionization potential. A short-wavelength, low-amplitude ionization injection laser pulse (with a small ponderomotive force and large peak electric field) is used to ionize the remaining bound electrons at a wakemore » phase suitable for trapping, generating an ultra-low emittance electron beam that is accelerated in the plasma wave. Using a plasma beatwave accelerator for wakefield excitation, compared to short-pulse wakefield excitation, allows for a lower amplitude injection laser pulse and, hence, a lower emittance beam may be generated.« less

Two-color ionization injection using a plasma beatwave accelerator

DOE PAGES

Schroeder, C. B.; Benedetti, C.; Esarey, E.; ...

2018-01-10

Two-color laser ionization injection is a method to generate ultra-low emittance (sub-100 nm transverse normalized emittance) beams in a laser-driven plasma accelerator. A plasma beatwave accelerator is proposed to drive the plasma wave for ionization injection, where the beating of the lasers effectively produces a train of long-wavelength pulses. The plasma beatwave accelerator excites a large amplitude plasma wave with low peak laser electric fields, leaving atomically-bound electrons with low ionization potential. A short-wavelength, low-amplitude ionization injection laser pulse (with a small ponderomotive force and large peak electric field) is used to ionize the remaining bound electrons at a wakemore » phase suitable for trapping, generating an ultra-low emittance electron beam that is accelerated in the plasma wave. Using a plasma beatwave accelerator for wakefield excitation, compared to short-pulse wakefield excitation, allows for a lower amplitude injection laser pulse and, hence, a lower emittance beam may be generated.« less

Beam manipulation for resonant plasma wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiadroni, E.; Alesini, D.; Anania, M. P.; Bacci, A.; Bellaveglia, M.; Biagioni, A.; Bisesto, F. G.; Cardelli, F.; Castorina, G.; Cianchi, A.; Croia, M.; Gallo, A.; Di Giovenale, D.; Di Pirro, G.; Ferrario, M.; Filippi, F.; Giribono, A.; Marocchino, A.; Mostacci, A.; Petrarca, M.; Piersanti, L.; Pioli, S.; Pompili, R.; Romeo, S.; Rossi, A. R.; Scifo, J.; Shpakov, V.; Spataro, B.; Stella, A.; Vaccarezza, C.; Villa, F.

2017-09-01

Plasma-based acceleration has already proved the ability to reach ultra-high accelerating gradients. However the step towards the realization of a plasma-based accelerator still requires some effort to guarantee high brightness beams, stability and reliability. A significant improvement in the efficiency of PWFA has been demonstrated so far accelerating a witness bunch in the wake of a higher charge driver bunch. The transformer ratio, therefore the energy transfer from the driver to the witness beam, can be increased by resonantly exciting the plasma with a properly pre-shaped drive electron beam. Theoretical and experimental studies of beam manipulation for resonant PWFA will be presented here.

Quasi-stable injection channels in a wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wiltshire-Turkay, Mara; Farmer, John P.; Pukhov, Alexander

2016-05-15

The influence of initial position on the acceleration of externally injected electrons in a plasma wakefield is investigated. Test-particle simulations show previously unobserved complex structure in the parameter space, with quasi-stable injection channels forming for particles injected in narrow regions away from the wake centre. Particles injected into these channels remain in the wake for a considerable time after dephasing and as a result achieve significantly higher energy than their neighbours. The result is relevant to both the planning and optimisation of experiments making use of external injection.

Multistage coupling of independent laser-plasma accelerators

DOE PAGES

Steinke, S.; van Tilborg, J.; Benedetti, C.; ...

2016-02-01

Laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) are capable of accelerating charged particles to very high energies in very compact structures. In theory, therefore, they offer advantages over conventional, large-scale particle accelerators. However, the energy gain in a single-stage LPA can be limited by laser diffraction, dephasing, electron-beam loading and laser-energy depletion. The problem of laser diffraction can be addressed by using laser-pulse guiding and preformed plasma waveguides to maintain the required laser intensity over distances of many Rayleigh lengths; dephasing can be mitigated by longitudinal tailoring of the plasma density; and beam loading can be controlled by proper shaping of the electron beam.more » To increase the beam energy further, it is necessary to tackle the problem of the depletion of laser energy, by sequencing the accelerator into stages, each powered by a separate laser pulse. In this work, we present results from an experiment that demonstrates such staging. Two LPA stages were coupled over a short distance (as is needed to preserve the average acceleration gradient) by a plasma mirror. Stable electron beams from a first LPA were focused to a twenty-micrometre radius-by a discharge capillary-based active plasma lens-into a second LPA, such that the beams interacted with the wakefield excited by a separate laser. Staged acceleration by the wakefield of the second stage is detected via an energy gain of 100 megaelectronvolts for a subset of the electron beam. Changing the arrival time of the electron beam with respect to the second-stage laser pulse allowed us to reconstruct the temporal wakefield structure and to determine the plasma density. Our results indicate that the fundamental limitation to energy gain presented by laser depletion can be overcome by using staged acceleration, suggesting a way of reaching the electron energies required for collider applications.« less

Radiation pressure injection in laser-wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. L.; Kuramitsu, Y.; Isayama, S.; Chen, S. H.

2018-01-01

We investigated the injection of electrons in laser-wakefield acceleration induced by a self-modulated laser pulse by a two dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The localized electric fields and magnetic fields are excited by the counter-streaming flows on the surface of the ion bubble, owing to the Weibel or two stream like instability. The electrons are injected into the ion bubble from the sides of it and then accelerated by the wakefield. Contrary to the conventional wave breaking model, the injection of monoenergetic electrons are mainly caused by the electromagnetic process. A simple model was proposed to address the instability, and the growth rate was verified numerically and theoretically.

Plasma-based wakefield accelerators as sources of axion-like particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, David A.; Noble, Adam

2018-03-01

We estimate the average flux density of minimally-coupled axion-like particles (ALPs) generated by a laser-driven plasma wakefield propagating along a constant strong magnetic field. Our calculations suggest that a terrestrial source based on this approach could generate a pulse of ALPs whose flux density is comparable to that of solar ALPs at Earth. This mechanism is optimal for ALPs with mass in the range of interest of contemporary experiments designed to detect dark matter using microwave cavities.

Enhanced electron yield from laser-driven wakefield acceleration in high-Z gas jets.

PubMed

Mirzaie, Mohammad; Hafz, Nasr A M; Li, Song; Liu, Feng; He, Fei; Cheng, Ya; Zhang, Jie

2015-10-01

An investigation of the electron beam yield (charge) form helium, nitrogen, and neon gas jet plasmas in a typical laser-plasma wakefield acceleration experiment is carried out. The charge measurement is made by imaging the electron beam intensity profile on a fluorescent screen into a charge coupled device which was cross-calibrated with an integrated current transformer. The dependence of electron beam charge on the laser and plasma conditions for the aforementioned gases are studied. We found that laser-driven wakefield acceleration in low Z-gas jet targets usually generates high-quality and well-collimated electron beams with modest yields at the level of 10-100 pC. On the other hand, filamentary electron beams which are observed from high-Z gases at higher densities reached much higher yields. Evidences for cluster formation were clearly observed in the nitrogen gas jet target, where we received the highest electron beam charge of ∼1.7 nC. Those intense electron beams will be beneficial for the applications on the generation of bright X-rays, gamma rays radiations, and energetic positrons via the bremsstrahlung or inverse-scattering processes.

Beam-driven acceleration in ultra-dense plasma media

DOE PAGES

Shin, Young-Min

2014-09-15

Accelerating parameters of beam-driven wakefield acceleration in an extremely dense plasma column has been analyzed with the dynamic framed particle-in-cell plasma simulator, and compared with analytic calculations. In the model, a witness beam undergoes a TeV/m scale alternating potential gradient excited by a micro-bunched drive beam in a 10 25 m -3 and 1.6 x 10 28 m -3 plasma column. The acceleration gradient, energy gain, and transformer ratio have been extensively studied in quasi-linear, linear-, and blowout-regimes. The simulation analysis indicated that in the beam-driven acceleration system a hollow plasma channel offers 20 % higher acceleration gradient by enlargingmore » the channel radius (r) from 0.2 Ap to 0.6 .Ap in a blowout regime. This paper suggests a feasibility of TeV/m scale acceleration with a hollow crystalline structure (e.g. nanotubes) of high electron plasma density.« less

Staging of laser-plasma accelerators

DOE PAGES

Steinke, S.; van Tilborg, J.; Benedetti, C.; ...

2016-05-02

We present results of an experiment where two laser-plasma-accelerator stages are coupled at a short distance by a plasma mirror. Stable electron beams from the first stage were used to longitudinally probe the dark-current-free, quasi-linear wakefield excited by the laser of the second stage. Changing the arrival time of the electron beam with respect to the second stage laser pulse allowed reconstruction of the temporal wakefield structure, determination of the plasma density, and inference of the length of the electron beam. The first stage electron beam could be focused by an active plasma lens to a spot size smaller thanmore » the transverse wake size at the entrance of the second stage. Furthermore, this permitted electron beam trapping, verified by a 100 MeV energy gain.« less

A preliminary design of the collinear dielectric wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zholents, A.; Gai, W.; Doran, S.; Lindberg, R.; Power, J. G.; Strelnikov, N.; Sun, Y.; Trakhtenberg, E.; Vasserman, I.; Jing, C.; Kanareykin, A.; Li, Y.; Gao, Q.; Shchegolkov, D. Y.; Simakov, E. I.

2016-09-01

A preliminary design of the multi-meter long collinear dielectric wakefield accelerator that achieves a highly efficient transfer of the drive bunch energy to the wakefields and to the witness bunch is considered. It is made from 0.5 m long accelerator modules containing a vacuum chamber with dielectric-lined walls, a quadrupole wiggler, an rf coupler, and BPM assembly. The single bunch breakup instability is a major limiting factor for accelerator efficiency, and the BNS damping is applied to obtain the stable multi-meter long propagation of a drive bunch. Numerical simulations using a 6D particle tracking computer code are performed and tolerances to various errors are defined.

Transformer ratio saturation in a beam-driven wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farmer, J. P.; Martorelli, R.; Pukhov, A.

We show that for beam-driven wakefield acceleration, the linearly ramped, equally spaced train of bunches typically considered to optimise the transformer ratio only works for flat-top bunches. Through theory and simulation, we explain that this behaviour is due to the unique properties of the plasma response to a flat-top density profile. Calculations of the optimal scaling for a train of Gaussian bunches show diminishing returns with increasing bunch number, tending towards saturation. For a periodic bunch train, a transformer ratio of 23 was achieved for 50 bunches, rising to 40 for a fully optimised beam.

Simulation of Ionization Effects for High-Density Positron Drivers in future Plasma Wakefield Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitrov, D. A.; Bruhwiler, D. L.; Busby, R.; Cary, J. R.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W.

2003-10-01

Recent particle-in-cell simulations have shown [1] that the self-fields of an electron beam driver in a plasma wakefield accelerator can tunnel ionize neutral Li, leading to plasma wake dynamics differing significantly from that of a preionized plasma. It has also been shown, for the case of a preionized plasma, that the plasma wake of a positron driver differs strongly [2] from that of an electron driver. We will present particle- in-cell simulations, using the OOPIC [3] code, showing the effects of tunneling ionization on the plasma wake generated by high-density electron and positron drivers. The results will be compared to previous work on electron drivers with tunneling ionization and positron drivers without ionization. Parameters relevant to the E-164 and E-164x experiments at SLAC will be considered. [1] D.L. Bruhwiler et al., Phys. Plasmas 10 (2003), p. 2022. [2] S. Lee et al., Phys. Rev. E 64, 045501(R) (2001). [3] D.L. Bruhwiler et al., Phys. Rev. ST-AB 4, 101302 (2001).

Spatial Control of Laser Wakefield Accelerated Electron Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maksimchuk, A.; Behm, K.; Zhao, T.; Joglekar, A. S.; Hussein, A.; Nees, J.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Krushelnick, K.; Elle, J.; Lucero, A.; Samarin, G. M.; Sarry, G.; Warwick, J.

2017-10-01

The laser wakefield experiments to study and control spatial properties of electron beams were performed using HERCULES laser at the University of Michigan at power of 100 TW. In the first experiment multi-electron beam generation was demonstrated using co-propagating, parallel laser beams with a π-phase shift mirror and showing that interaction between the wakefields can cause injection to occur for plasma and laser parameters in which a single wakefield displays no significant injection. In the second experiment a magnetic triplet quadrupole system was used to refocus and stabilize electron beams at the distance of 60 cm from the interaction region. This produced a 10-fold increase in remote gamma-ray activation of 63Cu using a lead converter. In the third experiment measurements of un-trapped electrons with high transverse momentum produce a 500 mrad (FWHM) ring. This ring is formed by electrons that receive a forward momentum boost by traversing behind the bubble and its size is inversely proportional to the plasma density. The characterization of divergence and charge of this electron ring may reveal information about the wakefield structure and trapping potential. Supported by U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration and Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

High flux femtosecond x-ray emission from the electron-hose instability in laser wakefield accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dong, C. F.; Zhao, T. Z.; Behm, K.

Here, bright and ultrashort duration x-ray pulses can be produced by through betatron oscillations of electrons during laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Our experimental measurements using the Hercules laser system demonstrate a dramatic increase in x-ray flux for interaction distances beyond the depletion/dephasing lengths, where the initial electron bunch injected into the first wake bucket catches up with the laser pulse front and the laser pulse depletes. A transition from an LWFA regime to a beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration regime consequently occurs. The drive electron bunch is susceptible to the electron-hose instability and rapidly develops large amplitude oscillations in its tail,more » which leads to greatly enhanced x-ray radiation emission. We measure the x-ray flux as a function of acceleration length using a variable length gas cell. 3D particle-in-cell simulations using a Monte Carlo synchrotron x-ray emission algorithm elucidate the time-dependent variations in the radiation emission processes.« less

High flux femtosecond x-ray emission from the electron-hose instability in laser wakefield accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, C. F.; Zhao, T. Z.; Behm, K.; Cummings, P. G.; Nees, J.; Maksimchuk, A.; Yanovsky, V.; Krushelnick, K.; Thomas, A. G. R.

2018-04-01

Bright and ultrashort duration x-ray pulses can be produced by through betatron oscillations of electrons during laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Our experimental measurements using the Hercules laser system demonstrate a dramatic increase in x-ray flux for interaction distances beyond the depletion/dephasing lengths, where the initial electron bunch injected into the first wake bucket catches up with the laser pulse front and the laser pulse depletes. A transition from an LWFA regime to a beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration regime consequently occurs. The drive electron bunch is susceptible to the electron-hose instability and rapidly develops large amplitude oscillations in its tail, which leads to greatly enhanced x-ray radiation emission. We measure the x-ray flux as a function of acceleration length using a variable length gas cell. 3D particle-in-cell simulations using a Monte Carlo synchrotron x-ray emission algorithm elucidate the time-dependent variations in the radiation emission processes.

High flux femtosecond x-ray emission from the electron-hose instability in laser wakefield accelerators

DOE PAGES

Dong, C. F.; Zhao, T. Z.; Behm, K.; ...

2018-04-24

Here, bright and ultrashort duration x-ray pulses can be produced by through betatron oscillations of electrons during laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Our experimental measurements using the Hercules laser system demonstrate a dramatic increase in x-ray flux for interaction distances beyond the depletion/dephasing lengths, where the initial electron bunch injected into the first wake bucket catches up with the laser pulse front and the laser pulse depletes. A transition from an LWFA regime to a beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration regime consequently occurs. The drive electron bunch is susceptible to the electron-hose instability and rapidly develops large amplitude oscillations in its tail,more » which leads to greatly enhanced x-ray radiation emission. We measure the x-ray flux as a function of acceleration length using a variable length gas cell. 3D particle-in-cell simulations using a Monte Carlo synchrotron x-ray emission algorithm elucidate the time-dependent variations in the radiation emission processes.« less

Dynamics of electron injection and acceleration driven by laser wakefield in tailored density profiles

DOE PAGES

Lee, Patrick; Maynard, G.; Audet, T. L.; ...

2016-11-16

The dynamics of electron acceleration driven by laser wakefield is studied in detail using the particle-in-cell code WARP with the objective to generate high-quality electron bunches with narrow energy spread and small emittance, relevant for the electron injector of a multistage accelerator. Simulation results, using experimentally achievable parameters, show that electron bunches with an energy spread of ~11% can be obtained by using an ionization-induced injection mechanism in a mm-scale length plasma. By controlling the focusing of a moderate laser power and tailoring the longitudinal plasma density profile, the electron injection beginning and end positions can be adjusted, while themore » electron energy can be finely tuned in the last acceleration section.« less

Formation of Ultrarelativistic Electron Rings from a Laser-Wakefield Accelerator.

PubMed

Pollock, B B; Tsung, F S; Albert, F; Shaw, J L; Clayton, C E; Davidson, A; Lemos, N; Marsh, K A; Pak, A; Ralph, J E; Mori, W B; Joshi, C

2015-07-31

Ultrarelativistic-energy electron ring structures have been observed from laser-wakefield acceleration experiments in the blowout regime. These electron rings had 170-280 MeV energies with 5%-25% energy spread and ∼10  pC of charge and were observed over a range of plasma densities and compositions. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that laser intensity enhancement in the wake leads to sheath splitting and the formation of a hollow toroidal pocket in the electron density around the wake behind the first wake period. If the laser propagates over a distance greater than the ideal dephasing length, some of the dephasing electrons in the second period can become trapped within the pocket and form an ultrarelativistic electron ring that propagates in free space over a meter-scale distance upon exiting the plasma. Such a structure acts as a relativistic potential well, which has applications for accelerating positively charged particles such as positrons.

Laser Wakefield Acceleration Experiments Using HERCULES Laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matsuoka, T.; McGuffey, C.; Dollar, F.

2009-07-25

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) in a supersonic gas-jet using a self-guided laser pulse was studied by changing laser power and plasma electron density. The recently upgraded HERCULES laser facility equipped with wavefront correction enables a peak intensity of 6.1x10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2} at laser power of 80 TW to be delivered to the gas-jet using F/10 focusing optics. We found that electron beam charge was increased significantly with an increase of laser power from 30 TW to 80 TW and showed density threshold behavior at a fixed laser power. We also studied the influence of laser focusing conditions by changingmore » the f-number of the optics to F/15 and found an increase in density threshold for electron production compared to the F/10 configuration. The analysis of different phenomena such as betatron motion of electrons, side scattering of the laser pulse for different focusing conditions, the influence of plasma density down ramp on LWFA are shown.« less

Energy boost in laser wakefield accelerators using sharp density transitions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Döpp, A.; Guillaume, E.; Thaury, C.

The energy gain in laser wakefield accelerators is limited by dephasing between the driving laser pulse and the highly relativistic electrons in its wake. Since this phase depends on both the driver and the cavity length, the effects of dephasing can be mitigated with appropriate tailoring of the plasma density along propagation. Preceding studies have discussed the prospects of continuous phase-locking in the linear wakefield regime. However, most experiments are performed in the highly non-linear regime and rely on self-guiding of the laser pulse. Due to the complexity of the driver evolution in this regime, it is much more difficultmore » to achieve phase locking. As an alternative, we study the scenario of rapid rephasing in sharp density transitions, as was recently demonstrated experimentally. Starting from a phenomenological model, we deduce expressions for the electron energy gain in such density profiles. The results are in accordance with particle-in-cell simulations, and we present gain estimations for single and multiple stages of rephasing.« less

Comparisons of time explicit hybrid kinetic-fluid code Architect for Plasma Wakefield Acceleration with a full PIC code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Massimo, F., E-mail: francesco.massimo@ensta-paristech.fr; Dipartimento SBAI, Università di Roma “La Sapienza“, Via A. Scarpa 14, 00161 Roma; Atzeni, S.

Architect, a time explicit hybrid code designed to perform quick simulations for electron driven plasma wakefield acceleration, is described. In order to obtain beam quality acceptable for applications, control of the beam-plasma-dynamics is necessary. Particle in Cell (PIC) codes represent the state-of-the-art technique to investigate the underlying physics and possible experimental scenarios; however PIC codes demand the necessity of heavy computational resources. Architect code substantially reduces the need for computational resources by using a hybrid approach: relativistic electron bunches are treated kinetically as in a PIC code and the background plasma as a fluid. Cylindrical symmetry is assumed for themore » solution of the electromagnetic fields and fluid equations. In this paper both the underlying algorithms as well as a comparison with a fully three dimensional particle in cell code are reported. The comparison highlights the good agreement between the two models up to the weakly non-linear regimes. In highly non-linear regimes the two models only disagree in a localized region, where the plasma electrons expelled by the bunch close up at the end of the first plasma oscillation.« less

A Stable High-Energy Electron Source from Laser Wakefield Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ping; Zhao, Baozhen; Liu, Cheng; Yan, Wenchao; Golovin, Grigory; Banerjee, Sudeep; Chen, Shouyuan; Haden, Daniel; Fruhling, Colton; Umstadter, Donald

2016-10-01

The stability of the electron source from laser wake-field acceleration (LWFA) is essential for applications, such as novel x-ray sources and fundamental experiments in high field physics. To obtain such a stable source, we used an optimal laser pulse and a novel gas nozzle. The high-power laser pulse on target was focused to a diffraction-limited spot by the use of adaptive wavefront correction and the pulse duration was transform limited by the use of spectral feedback control. An innovative design for the nozzle led to a stable, flat-top profile with diameters of 4 mm and 8 mm with a high Mach-number ( 6). In experiments to generate high-energy electron beams by LWFA, we were able to obtain reproducible results with beam energy of 800 MeV and charge >10 pC. Higher charge but broader energy spectrum resulted when the plasma density was increased. These developments have resulted in a laser-driven wakefield accelerator that is stable and robust. With this device, we show that narrowband high-energy x-rays beams can be generated by the inverse-Compton scattering process. This accelerator has also been used in recent experiments to study nonlinear effects in the interaction of high-energy electron beams with ultraintense laser pulses. This material is based upon work supported by NSF No. PHY-153700; US DOE, Office of Science, BES, # DE-FG02-05ER15663; AFOSR # FA9550-11-1-0157; and DHS DNDO # HSHQDC-13-C-B0036.

Generating multi-GeV electron bunches using single stage laser wakefield acceleration in a 3D nonlinear regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, W.; Tzoufras, M.; Joshi, C.; Tsung, F. S.; Mori, W. B.; Vieira, J.; Fonseca, R. A.; Silva, L. O.

2007-06-01

The extraordinary ability of space-charge waves in plasmas to accelerate charged particles at gradients that are orders of magnitude greater than in current accelerators has been well documented. We develop a phenomenological framework for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) in the 3D nonlinear regime, in which the plasma electrons are expelled by the radiation pressure of a short pulse laser, leading to nearly complete blowout. Our theory provides a recipe for designing a LWFA for given laser and plasma parameters and estimates the number and the energy of the accelerated electrons whether self-injected or externally injected. These formulas apply for self-guided as well as externally guided pulses (e.g. by plasma channels). We demonstrate our results by presenting a sample particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of a 30fs, 200 TW laser interacting with a 0.75 cm long plasma with density 1.5×1018cm-3 to produce an ultrashort (10 fs) monoenergetic bunch of self-injected electrons at 1.5 GeV with 0.3 nC of charge. For future higher-energy accelerator applications, we propose a parameter space, which is distinct from that described by Gordienko and Pukhov [Phys. Plasmas 12, 043109 (2005)PHPAEN1070-664X10.1063/1.1884126] in that it involves lower plasma densities and wider spot sizes while keeping the intensity relatively constant. We find that this helps increase the output electron beam energy while keeping the efficiency high.

Modeling Laser Wakefield Accelerators in a Lorentz Boosted Frame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vay, J.-L.; Geddes, C. G. R.; Benedetti, C.; Bruhwiler, D. L.; Cormier-Michel, E.; Cowan, B. M.; Cary, J. R.; Grote, D. P.

2010-11-01

Modeling of laser-plasma wakefield accelerators in an optimal frame of reference has been shown to produce up to three orders of magnitude speed-up in calculations from first principles of stages in the 100 MeV-10 GeV energy range. Maximum obtainable speedups calculated using linear theory predict that higher speedups are attainable, in the range of 4-6 orders of magnitude for stages in the energy range of 10 GeV-1 TeV respectively. Practical limitations have been reported and discussed which have prevented reaching these speedups so far, including a violent high frequency numerical instability. The limitations are briefly reviewed and discussed in this paper, as well as their mitigation. It is also reported that the high frequency numerical instability can be controlled effectively using novel numerical techniques that have been implemented in the Particle-In-Cell code Warp, and that 5 and 6 orders of magnitude speedups were demonstrated on 100 GeV and 1 TeV stages respectively, verifying the scaling of plasma accelerators to very high energies, and providing highly efficient tools for the detailed designs of experiments on new lasers such as BELLA.

Development and characterization of plasma targets for controlled injection of electrons into laser-driven wakefields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleinwaechter, Tobias; Goldberg, Lars; Palmer, Charlotte; Schaper, Lucas; Schwinkendorf, Jan-Patrick; Osterhoff, Jens

2012-10-01

Laser-driven wakefield acceleration within capillary discharge waveguides has been used to generate high-quality electron bunches with GeV-scale energies. However, owing to fluctuations in laser and plasma conditions in combination with a difficult to control self-injection mechanism in the non-linear wakefield regime these bunches are often not reproducible and can feature large energy spreads. Specialized plasma targets with tailored density profiles offer the possibility to overcome these issues by controlling the injection and acceleration processes. This requires precise manipulation of the longitudinal density profile. Therefore our target concept is based on a capillary structure with multiple gas in- and outlets. Potential target designs are simulated using the fluid code OpenFOAM and those meeting the specified criteria are fabricated using femtosecond-laser machining of structures into sapphire plates. Density profiles are measured over a range of inlet pressures utilizing gas-density profilometry via Raman scattering and pressure calibration with longitudinal interferometry. In combination these allow absolute density mapping. Here we report the preliminary results.

Advanced Accelerators: Particle, Photon and Plasma Wave Interactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, Ronald L.

2017-06-29

The overall objective of this project was to study the acceleration of electrons to very high energies over very short distances based on trapping slowly moving electrons in the fast moving potential wells of large amplitude plasma waves, which have relativistic phase velocities. These relativistic plasma waves, or wakefields, are the basis of table-top accelerators that have been shown to accelerate electrons to the same high energies as kilometer-length linear particle colliders operating using traditional decades-old acceleration techniques. The accelerating electrostatic fields of the relativistic plasma wave accelerators can be as large as GigaVolts/meter, and our goal was to studymore » techniques for remotely measuring these large fields by injecting low energy probe electron beams across the plasma wave and measuring the beam’s deflection. Our method of study was via computer simulations, and these results suggested that the deflection of the probe electron beam was directly proportional to the amplitude of the plasma wave. This is the basis of a proposed diagnostic technique, and numerous studies were performed to determine the effects of changing the electron beam, plasma wave and laser beam parameters. Further simulation studies included copropagating laser beams with the relativistic plasma waves. New interesting results came out of these studies including the prediction that very small scale electron beam bunching occurs, and an anomalous line focusing of the electron beam occurs under certain conditions. These studies were summarized in the dissertation of a graduate student who obtained the Ph.D. in physics. This past research program has motivated ideas for further research to corroborate these results using particle-in-cell simulation tools which will help design a test-of-concept experiment in our laboratory and a scaled up version for testing at a major wakefield accelerator facility.« less

Intense γ ray generated by refocusing laser pulse on wakefield accelerated electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Jie; Wang, Jinguang; Li, Yifei; Zhu, Changqing; Li, Minghua; He, Yuhang; Li, Dazhang; Wang, Weimin; Chen, Liming

2017-09-01

Ultrafast x/γ ray emission from the combination of laser wake-field acceleration and plasma mirror has been investigated as a promising Thomson scattering source. However, the photon energy and yield of radiation are limited to the intensity of reflected laser pulses. We use the 2D particle in cell simulation to demonstrate that a 75TW driven laser pulse can be refocused on the accelerated electron bunches through a hemispherical plasma mirror with a small f number of 0.25. The energetic electrons with the maximum energy about 350 MeV collide with the reflected laser pulse of a0 = 3.82 at the focal spot, producing high order multi-photon Thomson scattering, and resulting in the scattering spectrum which extends up to 21.2 MeV. Such a high energy γ ray source could be applied to photonuclear reaction and materials science.

X-ray phase contrast imaging of biological specimens with femtosecond pulses of betatron radiation from a compact laser plasma wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kneip, S.; Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109; McGuffey, C.

2011-08-29

We show that x-rays from a recently demonstrated table top source of bright, ultrafast, coherent synchrotron radiation [Kneip et al., Nat. Phys. 6, 980 (2010)] can be applied to phase contrast imaging of biological specimens. Our scheme is based on focusing a high power short pulse laser in a tenuous gas jet, setting up a plasma wakefield accelerator that accelerates and wiggles electrons analogously to a conventional synchrotron, but on the centimeter rather than tens of meter scale. We use the scheme to record absorption and phase contrast images of a tetra fish, damselfly and yellow jacket, in particular highlightingmore » the contrast enhancement achievable with the simple propagation technique of phase contrast imaging. Coherence and ultrafast pulse duration will allow for the study of various aspects of biomechanics.« less

Gas-filled capillaries for plasma-based accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippi, F.; Anania, M. P.; Brentegani, E.; Biagioni, A.; Cianchi, A.; Chiadroni, E.; Ferrario, M.; Pompili, R.; Romeo, S.; Zigler, A.

2017-07-01

Plasma Wakefield Accelerators are based on the excitation of large amplitude plasma waves excited by either a laser or a particle driver beam. The amplitude of the waves, as well as their spatial dimensions and the consequent accelerating gradient depend strongly on the background electron density along the path of the accelerated particles. The process needs stable and reliable plasma sources, whose density profile must be controlled and properly engineered to ensure the appropriate accelerating mechanism. Plasma confinement inside gas filled capillaries have been studied in the past since this technique allows to control the evolution of the plasma, ensuring a stable and repeatable plasma density distribution during the interaction with the drivers. Moreover, in a gas filled capillary plasma can be pre-ionized by a current discharge to avoid ionization losses. Different capillary geometries have been studied to allow the proper temporal and spatial evolution of the plasma along the acceleration length. Results of this analysis obtained by varying the length and the number of gas inlets will be presented.

Plasma production for electron acceleration by resonant plasma wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anania, M. P.; Biagioni, A.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Croia, M.; Curcio, A.; Di Giovenale, D.; Di Pirro, G. P.; Filippi, F.; Ghigo, A.; Lollo, V.; Pella, S.; Pompili, R.; Romeo, S.; Ferrario, M.

2016-09-01

Plasma wakefield acceleration is the most promising acceleration technique known nowadays, able to provide very high accelerating fields (10-100 GV/m), enabling acceleration of electrons to GeV energy in few centimeter. However, the quality of the electron bunches accelerated with this technique is still not comparable with that of conventional accelerators (large energy spread, low repetition rate, and large emittance); radiofrequency-based accelerators, in fact, are limited in accelerating field (10-100 MV/m) requiring therefore hundred of meters of distances to reach the GeV energies, but can provide very bright electron bunches. To combine high brightness electron bunches from conventional accelerators and high accelerating fields reachable with plasmas could be a good compromise allowing to further accelerate high brightness electron bunches coming from LINAC while preserving electron beam quality. Following the idea of plasma wave resonant excitation driven by a train of short bunches, we have started to study the requirements in terms of plasma for SPARC_LAB (Ferrario et al., 2013 [1]). In particular here we focus on hydrogen plasma discharge, and in particular on the theoretical and numerical estimates of the ionization process which are very useful to design the discharge circuit and to evaluate the current needed to be supplied to the gas in order to have full ionization. Eventually, the current supplied to the gas simulated will be compared to that measured experimentally.

Effect of pulse profile and chirp on a laser wakefield generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang Xiaomei; Shen Baifei; Ji Liangliang

2012-05-15

A laser wakefield driven by an asymmetric laser pulse with/without chirp is investigated analytically and through two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. For a laser pulse with an appropriate pulse length compared with the plasma wavelength, the wakefield amplitude can be enhanced by using an asymmetric un-chirped laser pulse with a fast rise time; however, the growth is small. On the other hand, the wakefield can be greatly enhanced for both positively chirped laser pulse having a fast rise time and negatively chirped laser pulse having a slow rise time. Simulations show that at the early laser-plasma interaction stage, due to the influencemore » of the fast rise time the wakefield driven by the positively chirped laser pulse is more intense than that driven by the negatively chirped laser pulse, which is in good agreement with analytical results. At a later time, since the laser pulse with positive chirp exhibits opposite evolution to the one with negative chirp when propagating in plasma, the wakefield in the latter case grows more intensely. These effects should be useful in laser wakefield acceleration experiments operating at low plasma densities.« less

Controlled injection using a channel pinch in a plasma-channel-guided laser wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jiaqi; Zhang, Zhijun; Liu, Jiansheng; Li, Wentao; Wang, Wentao; Yu, Changhai; Qi, Rong; Qin, Zhiyong; Fang, Ming; Wu, Ying; Feng, Ke; Ke, Lintong; Wang, Cheng; Li, Ruxin

2018-06-01

Plasma-channel-guided laser plasma accelerators make it possible to drive high-brilliance compact radiation sources and have high-energy physics applications. Achieving tunable internal injection of the electron beam (e beam) inside the plasma channel, which realizes a tunable radiation source, is a challenging method to extend such applications. In this paper, we propose the use of a channel pinch, which is designed as an initial reduction followed by an expansion of the channel radius along the plasma channel, to achieve internal controlled off-axis e beam injection in a channel-guided laser plasma accelerator. The off-axis injection is triggered by bubble deformation in the expansion region. The dynamics of the plasma wake is explored, and the trapping threshold is found to be reduced radially in the channel pinch. Simulation results show that the channel pinch not only triggers injection process localized at the pinch but also modulates the parameters of the e beam by adjusting its density profile, which can additionally accommodate a tunable radiation source via betatron oscillation.

Ultra-low emittance electron beam generation using ionization injection in a plasma beatwave accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroeder, Carl; Benedetti, Carlo; Esarey, Eric; Leemans, Wim

2017-10-01

Ultra-low emittance beams can be generated using ionization injection of electrons into a wakefield excited by a plasma beatwave accelerator. This all-optical method of electron beam generation uses three laser pulses of different colors. Two long-wavelength laser pulses, with frequency difference equal to the plasma frequency, resonantly drive a plasma wave without fully ionizing a gas. A short-wavelength injection laser pulse (with a small ponderomotive force and large peak electric field), co-propagating and delayed with respect to the beating long-wavelength lasers, ionizes a fraction of the remaining bound electrons at a trapped wake phase, generating an electron beam that is accelerated in the wakefield. Using the beating of long-wavelength pulses to generate the wakefield enables atomically-bound electrons to remain at low ionization potentials, reducing the required amplitude of the ionization pulse, and, hence, the initial transverse momentum and emittance of the injected electrons. An example is presented using two lines of a CO2 laser to form a plasma beatwave accelerator to drive the wake and a frequency-doubled Ti:Al2O3 laser for ionization injection. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Improved performance of laser wakefield acceleration by tailored self-truncated ionization injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irman, A.; Couperus, J. P.; Debus, A.; Köhler, A.; Krämer, J. M.; Pausch, R.; Zarini, O.; Schramm, U.

2018-04-01

We report on tailoring ionization-induced injection in laser wakefield acceleration so that the electron injection process is self-truncating following the evolution of the plasma bubble. Robust generation of high-quality electron beams with shot-to-shot fluctuations of the beam parameters better than 10% is presented in detail. As a novelty, the scheme was found to enable well-controlled yet simple tuning of the injected charge while preserving acceleration conditions and beam quality. Quasi-monoenergetic electron beams at several 100 MeV energy and 15% relative energy spread were routinely demonstrated with a total charge of the monoenergetic feature reaching 0.5 nC. Finally these unique beam parameters, suggesting unprecedented peak currents of several 10 kA, are systematically related to published data on alternative injection schemes.

Wavefront-sensor-based electron density measurements for laser-plasma accelerators.

PubMed

Plateau, G R; Matlis, N H; Geddes, C G R; Gonsalves, A J; Shiraishi, S; Lin, C; van Mourik, R A; Leemans, W P

2010-03-01

Characterization of the electron density in laser produced plasmas is presented using direct wavefront analysis of a probe laser beam. The performance of a laser-driven plasma-wakefield accelerator depends on the plasma wavelength and hence on the electron density. Density measurements using a conventional folded-wave interferometer and using a commercial wavefront sensor are compared for different regimes of the laser-plasma accelerator. It is shown that direct wavefront measurements agree with interferometric measurements and, because of the robustness of the compact commercial device, offer greater phase sensitivity and straightforward analysis, improving shot-to-shot plasma density diagnostics.

Wavefront-sensor-based electron density measurements for laser-plasma accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Plateau, Guillaume; Matlis, Nicholas; Geddes, Cameron

2010-02-20

Characterization of the electron density in laser produced plasmas is presented using direct wavefront analysis of a probe laser beam. The performance of a laser-driven plasma-wakefield accelerator depends on the plasma wavelength, hence on the electron density. Density measurements using a conventional folded-wave interferometer and using a commercial wavefront sensor are compared for different regimes of the laser-plasma accelerator. It is shown that direct wavefront measurements agree with interferometric measurements and, because of the robustness of the compact commercial device, have greater phase sensitivity, straightforward analysis, improving shot-to-shot plasma-density diagnostics.

High Frequency, High Gradient Dielectric Wakefield Acceleration Experiments at SLAC and BNL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosenzweig, James; /UCLA; Travish, Gil

Given the recent success of >GV/m dielectric wakefield accelerator (DWA) breakdown experiments at SLAC, and follow-on coherent Cerenkov radiation production at the UCLA Neptune, a UCLA-USC-SLAC collaboration is now implementing a new set of experiments that explore various DWA scenarios. These experiments are motivated by the opportunities presented by the approval of FACET facility at SLAC, as well as unique pulse-train wakefield drivers at BNL. The SLAC experiments permit further exploration of the multi-GeV/m envelope in DWAs, and will entail investigations of novel materials (e.g. CVD diamond) and geometries (Bragg cylindrical structures, slab-symmetric DWAs), and have an over-riding goal ofmore » demonstrating >GeV acceleration in {approx}33 cm DWA tubes. In the nearer term before FACET's commissioning, we are planning measurements at the BNL ATF, in which we drive {approx}50-200 MV/m fields with single pulses or pulse trains. These experiments are of high relevance to enhancing linear collider DWA designs, as they will demonstrate potential for efficient operation with pulse trains.« less

Beam-based measurements of long-range transverse wakefields in the Compact Linear Collider main-linac accelerating structure

DOE PAGES

Zha, Hao; Latina, Andrea; Grudiev, Alexej; ...

2016-01-20

The baseline design of CLIC (Compact Linear Collider) uses X-band accelerating structures for its main linacs. In order to maintain beam stability in multibunch operation, long-range transverse wakefields must be suppressed by 2 orders of magnitude between successive bunches, which are separated in time by 0.5 ns. Such strong wakefield suppression is achieved by equipping every accelerating structure cell with four damping waveguides terminated with individual rf loads. A beam-based experiment to directly measure the effectiveness of this long-range transverse wakefield and benchmark simulations was made in the FACET test facility at SLAC using a prototype CLIC accelerating structure. Furthermore,more » the experiment showed good agreement with the simulations and a strong suppression of the wakefields with an unprecedented minimum resolution of 0.1 V/(pC mm m).« less

Capturing Structural Dynamics in Crystalline Silicon Using Chirped Electrons from a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

PubMed Central

He, Z.-H.; Beaurepaire, B.; Nees, J. A.; Gallé, G.; Scott, S. A.; Pérez, J. R. Sánchez; Lagally, M. G.; Krushelnick, K.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Faure, J.

2016-01-01

Recent progress in laser wakefield acceleration has led to the emergence of a new generation of electron and X-ray sources that may have enormous benefits for ultrafast science. These novel sources promise to become indispensable tools for the investigation of structural dynamics on the femtosecond time scale, with spatial resolution on the atomic scale. Here, we demonstrate the use of laser-wakefield-accelerated electron bunches for time-resolved electron diffraction measurements of the structural dynamics of single-crystal silicon nano-membranes pumped by an ultrafast laser pulse. In our proof-of-concept study, we resolve the silicon lattice dynamics on a picosecond time scale by deflecting the momentum-time correlated electrons in the diffraction peaks with a static magnetic field to obtain the time-dependent diffraction efficiency. Further improvements may lead to femtosecond temporal resolution, with negligible pump-probe jitter being possible with future laser-wakefield-accelerator ultrafast-electron-diffraction schemes. PMID:27824086

Capturing Structural Dynamics in Crystalline Silicon Using Chirped Electrons from a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

DOE PAGES

He, Z. -H.; Beaurepaire, B.; Nees, J. A.; ...

2016-11-08

Recent progress in laser wakefield acceleration has led to the emergence of a new generation of electron and X-ray sources that may have enormous benefits for ultrafast science. These novel sources promise to become indispensable tools for the investigation of structural dynamics on the femtosecond time scale, with spatial resolution on the atomic scale. Here in this paper, we demonstrate the use of laser-wakefield-accelerated electron bunches for time-resolved electron diffraction measurements of the structural dynamics of single-crystal silicon nano-membranes pumped by an ultrafast laser pulse. In our proof-of-concept study, we resolve the silicon lattice dynamics on a picosecond time scalemore » by deflecting the momentum-time correlated electrons in the diffraction peaks with a static magnetic field to obtain the time-dependent diffraction efficiency. Further improvements may lead to femtosecond temporal resolution, with negligible pump-probe jitter being possible with future laser-wakefield-accelerator ultrafast-electron-diffraction schemes.« less

High-energy coherent terahertz radiation emitted by wide-angle electron beams from a laser-wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xue; Brunetti, Enrico; Jaroszynski, Dino A.

2018-04-01

High-charge electron beams produced by laser-wakefield accelerators are potentially novel, scalable sources of high-power terahertz radiation suitable for applications requiring high-intensity fields. When an intense laser pulse propagates in underdense plasma, it can generate femtosecond duration, self-injected picocoulomb electron bunches that accelerate on-axis to energies from 10s of MeV to several GeV, depending on laser intensity and plasma density. The process leading to the formation of the accelerating structure also generates non-injected, sub-picosecond duration, 1–2 MeV nanocoulomb electron beams emitted obliquely into a hollow cone around the laser propagation axis. These wide-angle beams are stable and depend weakly on laser and plasma parameters. Here we perform simulations to characterise the coherent transition radiation emitted by these beams if passed through a thin metal foil, or directly at the plasma–vacuum interface, showing that coherent terahertz radiation with 10s μJ to mJ-level energy can be produced with an optical to terahertz conversion efficiency up to 10‑4–10‑3.

Experimental, Theoretical and Computational Studies of Plasma-Based Concepts for Future High Energy Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joshi, Chan; Mori, W.

2013-10-21

This is the final report on the DOE grant number DE-FG02-92ER40727 titled, “Experimental, Theoretical and Computational Studies of Plasma-Based Concepts for Future High Energy Accelerators.” During this grant period the UCLA program on Advanced Plasma Based Accelerators, headed by Professor C. Joshi has made many key scientific advances and trained a generation of students, many of whom have stayed in this research field and even started research programs of their own. In this final report however, we will focus on the last three years of the grant and report on the scientific progress made in each of the four tasksmore » listed under this grant. Four tasks are focused on: Plasma Wakefield Accelerator Research at FACET, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, In House Research at UCLA’s Neptune and 20 TW Laser Laboratories, Laser-Wakefield Acceleration (LWFA) in Self Guided Regime: Experiments at the Callisto Laser at LLNL, and Theory and Simulations. Major scientific results have been obtained in each of the four tasks described in this report. These have led to publications in the prestigious scientific journals, graduation and continued training of high quality Ph.D. level students and have kept the U.S. at the forefront of plasma-based accelerators research field.« less

Betatron x-ray radiation from laser-plasma accelerators driven by femtosecond and picosecond laser systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albert, F.; Lemos, N.; Shaw, J. L.; King, P. M.; Pollock, B. B.; Goyon, C.; Schumaker, W.; Saunders, A. M.; Marsh, K. A.; Pak, A.; Ralph, J. E.; Martins, J. L.; Amorim, L. D.; Falcone, R. W.; Glenzer, S. H.; Moody, J. D.; Joshi, C.

2018-05-01

A comparative experimental study of betatron x-ray radiation from laser wakefield acceleration in the blowout and self-modulated regimes is presented. Our experiments use picosecond duration laser pulses up to 150 J (self-modulated regime) and 60 fs duration laser pulses up to 10 J (blowout regime), for plasmas with electronic densities on the order of 1019 cm-3. In the self-modulated regime, where betatron radiation has been very little studied compared to the blowout regime, electrons accelerated in the wake of the laser pulse are subject to both the longitudinal plasma and transverse laser electrical fields. As a result, their motion within the wake is relatively complex; consequently, the experimental and theoretical properties of the x-ray source based on self-modulation differ from the blowout regime of laser wakefield acceleration. In our experimental configuration, electrons accelerated up to about 250 MeV and betatron x-ray spectra with critical energies of about 10-20 keV and photon fluxes between 108 and 1010 photons/eV Sr are reported. Our experiments open the prospect of using betatron x-ray radiation for applications, and the source is competitive with current x-ray backlighting methods on multi-kilojoule laser systems.

Calculating the radiation characteristics of accelerated electrons in laser-plasma interactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, X. F.; Graduate School of Engineering, Utsunomiya University, 7-1-2 Yohtoh, Utsunomiya 321-8585; Yu, Q.

2016-03-15

In this paper, we studied the characteristics of radiation emitted by electrons accelerated in a laser–plasma interaction by using the Lienard–Wiechert field. In the interaction of a laser pulse with a underdense plasma, electrons are accelerated by two mechanisms: direct laser acceleration (DLA) and laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). At the beginning of the process, the DLA electrons emit most of the radiation, and the DLA electrons emit a much higher peak photon energy than the LWFA electrons. As the laser–plasma interaction progresses, the LWFA electrons become the major radiation emitter; however, even at this stage, the contribution from DLA electronsmore » is significant, especially to the peak photon energy.« less

Direct Laser Acceleration in Laser Wakefield Accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, J. L.; Froula, D. H.; Marsh, K. A.; Joshi, C.; Lemos, N.

2017-10-01

The direct laser acceleration (DLA) of electrons in a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) has been investigated. We show that when there is a significant overlap between the drive laser and the trapped electrons in a LWFA cavity, the accelerating electrons can gain energy from the DLA mechanism in addition to LWFA. The properties of the electron beams produced in a LWFA, where the electrons are injected by ionization injection, have been investigated using particle-in-cell (PIC) code simulations. Particle tracking was used to demonstrate the presence of DLA in LWFA. Further PIC simulations comparing LWFA with and without DLA show that the presence of DLA can lead to electron beams that have maximum energies that exceed the estimates given by the theory for the ideal blowout regime. The magnitude of the contribution of DLA to the energy gained by the electron was found to be on the order of the LWFA contribution. The presence of DLA in a LWFA can also lead to enhanced betatron oscillation amplitudes and increased divergence in the direction of the laser polarization. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

Optimization of gas-filled quartz capillary discharge waveguide for high-energy laser wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Zhiyong; Li, Wentao; Liu, Jiansheng; Liu, Jiaqi; Yu, Changhai; Wang, Wentao; Qi, Rong; Zhang, Zhijun; Fang, Ming; Feng, Ke; Wu, Ying; Ke, Lintong; Chen, Yu; Wang, Cheng; Li, Ruxin; Xu, Zhizhan

2018-04-01

A hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide made of quartz is presented for high-energy laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). The experimental parameters (discharge current and gas pressure) were optimized to mitigate ablation by a quantitative analysis of the ablation plasma density inside the hydrogen-filled quartz capillary. The ablation plasma density was obtained by combining a spectroscopic measurement method with a calibrated gas transducer. In order to obtain a controllable plasma density and mitigate the ablation as much as possible, the range of suitable parameters was investigated. The experimental results demonstrated that the ablation in the quartz capillary could be mitigated by increasing the gas pressure to ˜7.5-14.7 Torr and decreasing the discharge current to ˜70-100 A. These optimized parameters are promising for future high-energy LWFA experiments based on the quartz capillary discharge waveguide.

Progress of plasma wakefield self-modulation experiments at FACET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adli, E.; Berglyd Olsen, V. K.; Lindstrøm, C. A.; Muggli, P.; Reimann, O.; Vieira, J. M.; Amorim, L. D.; Clarke, C. I.; Gessner, S. J.; Green, S. Z.; Hogan, M. J.; Litos, M. D.; O`Shea, B. D.; Yakimenko, V.; Clayton, C.; Marsh, K. A.; Mori, W. B.; Joshi, C.; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N.; Williams, O.

2016-09-01

Simulations and theory predict that long electron and positron beams may under favorable conditions self-modulate in plasmas. We report on the progress of experiments studying the self-modulation instability in plasma wakefield experiments at FACET. The experimental results obtained so far, while not being fully conclusive, appear to be consistent with the presence of the self-modulation instability.

Laser pulse propagation in inhomogeneous magnetoplasma channels and wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, B. S.; Jain, Archana; Jaiman, N. K.; Gupta, D. N.; Jang, D. G.; Suk, H.; Kulagin, V. V.

2014-02-01

Wakefield excitation in a preformed inhomogeneous parabolic plasma channel by an intense relativistic (≃1019 W/cm2) circularly polarized Gaussian laser pulse is investigated analytically and numerically in the presence of an external longitudinal magnetic field. A three dimensional envelope equation for the evolution of the laser pulse is derived, which includes the effect of the nonparaxial and applied external magnetic field. A relation for the channel radius with the laser spot size is derived and examines numerically to see the external magnetic field effect. It is observed that the channel radius depends on the applied external magnetic field. An analytical expression for the wakefield is derived and validated with the help of a two dimensional particle in cell (2D PIC) simulation code. It is shown that the electromagnetic nature of the wakes in an inhomogeneous plasma channel makes their excitation nonlocal, which results in change of fields with time and external magnetic field due to phase mixing of the plasma oscillations with spatially varying frequencies. The magnetic field effect on perturbation of the plasma density and decreasing length is also analyzed numerically. In addition, it has been shown that the electron energy gain in the inhomogeneous parabolic magnetoplasma channel can be increased significantly compared with the homogeneous plasma channel.

Comparative study of active plasma lenses in high-quality electron accelerator transport lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Tilborg, J.; Barber, S. K.; Benedetti, C.; Schroeder, C. B.; Isono, F.; Tsai, H.-E.; Geddes, C. G. R.; Leemans, W. P.

2018-05-01

Electrically discharged active plasma lenses (APLs) are actively pursued in compact high-brightness plasma-based accelerators due to their high-gradient, tunable, and radially symmetric focusing properties. In this manuscript, the APL is experimentally compared with a conventional quadrupole triplet, highlighting the favorable reduction in the energy dependence (chromaticity) in the transport line. Through transport simulations, it is explored how the non-uniform radial discharge current distribution leads to beam-integrated emittance degradation and a charge density reduction at focus. However, positioning an aperture at the APL entrance will significantly reduce emittance degradation without additional loss of charge in the high-quality core of the beam. An analytical model is presented that estimates the emittance degradation from a short beam driving a longitudinally varying wakefield in the APL. Optimizing laser plasma accelerator operation is discussed where emittance degradation from the non-uniform discharge current (favoring small beams inside the APL) and wakefield effects (favoring larger beam sizes) is minimized.

Comparative study of active plasma lenses in high-quality electron accelerator transport lines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

van Tilborg, J.; Barber, S. K.; Benedetti, C.

Electrically discharged active plasma lenses (APLs) are actively pursued in compact high-brightness plasma-based accelerators due to their high-gradient, tunable, and radially symmetric focusing properties. In this paper, the APL is experimentally compared with a conventional quadrupole triplet, highlighting the favorable reduction in the energy dependence (chromaticity) in the transport line. Through transport simulations, it is explored how the non-uniform radial discharge current distribution leads to beam-integrated emittance degradation and a charge density reduction at focus. However, positioning an aperture at the APL entrance will significantly reduce emittance degradation without additional loss of charge in the high-quality core of the beam.more » An analytical model is presented that estimates the emittance degradation from a short beam driving a longitudinally varying wakefield in the APL. Finally, optimizing laser plasma accelerator operation is discussed where emittance degradation from the non-uniform discharge current (favoring small beams inside the APL) and wakefield effects (favoring larger beam sizes) is minimized.« less

Comparative study of active plasma lenses in high-quality electron accelerator transport lines

DOE PAGES

van Tilborg, J.; Barber, S. K.; Benedetti, C.; ...

2018-03-13

Electrically discharged active plasma lenses (APLs) are actively pursued in compact high-brightness plasma-based accelerators due to their high-gradient, tunable, and radially symmetric focusing properties. In this paper, the APL is experimentally compared with a conventional quadrupole triplet, highlighting the favorable reduction in the energy dependence (chromaticity) in the transport line. Through transport simulations, it is explored how the non-uniform radial discharge current distribution leads to beam-integrated emittance degradation and a charge density reduction at focus. However, positioning an aperture at the APL entrance will significantly reduce emittance degradation without additional loss of charge in the high-quality core of the beam.more » An analytical model is presented that estimates the emittance degradation from a short beam driving a longitudinally varying wakefield in the APL. Finally, optimizing laser plasma accelerator operation is discussed where emittance degradation from the non-uniform discharge current (favoring small beams inside the APL) and wakefield effects (favoring larger beam sizes) is minimized.« less

Effects of Ionization in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McGuffey, C.; Schumaker, W.; Matsuoka, T.

2010-11-04

Experimental results are presented from studies of the ionization injection process in laser wakefield acceleration using the Hercules laser with laser power up to 100 TW. Gas jet targets consisting of gas mixtures reduced the density threshold required for electron injection and increased the maximum beam charge. Gas mixture targets produced smooth beams even at densities which would produce severe beam breakup in pure He targets and the divergence was found to increase with gas mixture pressure.

Stability condition for the drive bunch in a collinear wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baturin, S. S.; Zholents, A.

The beam breakup instability of the drive bunch in the structure-based collinear wakefield accelerator is considered and a stabilizing method is proposed. The method includes using the specially designed beam focusing channel, applying the energy chirp along the electron bunch, and keeping energy chirp constant during the drive bunch deceleration. A stability condition is derived that defines the limit on the accelerating field for the witness bunch.

Spectrum bandwidth narrowing of Thomson scattering X-rays with energy chirped electron beams from laser wakefield acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Tong; Chen, Min, E-mail: minchen@sjtu.edu.cn; Li, Fei-Yu

2014-01-06

We study incoherent Thomson scattering between an ultrashort laser pulse and an electron beam accelerated from a laser wakefield. The energy chirp effects of the accelerated electron beam on the final radiation spectrum bandwidth are investigated. It is found that the scattered X-ray radiation has the minimum spectrum width and highest intensity as electrons are accelerated up to around the dephasing point. Furthermore, it is proposed that the electron acceleration process inside the wakefield can be studied by use of 90° Thomson scattering. The dephasing position and beam energy chirp can be deduced from the intensity and bandwidth of themore » scattered radiation.« less

Threshold for electron self-injection in a nonlinear laser-plasma accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benedetti, Carlo; Schroeder, Carl; Esarey, Eric; Leemans, Wim

2012-10-01

The process of electron self-injection in the nonlinear bubble-wake generated by a short and intense laser pulse propagating in an uniform underdense plasma is investigated. A detailed analysis of particle orbit in the wakefield is performed by using reduced analytical models and numerical simulations carried out with the 2D cylindrical, envelope, ponderomotive, hybrid PIC/fluid code INF&RNO. In particular, we consider a wake generated by a frozen (non-evolving) laser driver traveling with a prescribed velocity, which then sets the properties of the wake, so the injection dynamics is decoupled from driver evolution but a realistic structure for the wakefield is retained. We investigate the dependence of the injection threshold on laser intensity, plasma temperature and wake velocity for a range of parameters of interest for current and future laser plasma accelerators. The phase-space properties of the injected particle bunch will also be discussed.

Transition from wakefield generation to soliton formation.

PubMed

Holkundkar, Amol R; Brodin, Gert

2018-04-01

It is well known that when a short laser pulse propagates in an underdense plasma, it induces longitudinal plasma oscillations at the plasma frequency after the pulse, typically referred to as the wakefield. However, for plasma densities approaching the critical density, wakefield generation is suppressed, and instead the EM-pulse (electromagnetic pulse) undergoes nonlinear self-modulation. In this article we have studied the transition from the wakefield generation to formation of quasi-solitons as the plasma density is increased. For this purpose we have applied a one-dimensional relativistic cold fluid model, which has also been compared with particle-in-cell simulations. A key result is that the energy loss of the EM-pulse due to wakefield generation has its maximum for a plasma density of the order 10% of the critical density, but that wakefield generation is sharply suppressed when the density is increased further.

Transition from wakefield generation to soliton formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holkundkar, Amol R.; Brodin, Gert

2018-04-01

It is well known that when a short laser pulse propagates in an underdense plasma, it induces longitudinal plasma oscillations at the plasma frequency after the pulse, typically referred to as the wakefield. However, for plasma densities approaching the critical density, wakefield generation is suppressed, and instead the EM-pulse (electromagnetic pulse) undergoes nonlinear self-modulation. In this article we have studied the transition from the wakefield generation to formation of quasi-solitons as the plasma density is increased. For this purpose we have applied a one-dimensional relativistic cold fluid model, which has also been compared with particle-in-cell simulations. A key result is that the energy loss of the EM-pulse due to wakefield generation has its maximum for a plasma density of the order 10% of the critical density, but that wakefield generation is sharply suppressed when the density is increased further.

Simulation study of the sub-terawatt laser wakefield acceleration operated in self-modulated regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsieh, C.-Y.; Lin, M.-W.; Chen, S.-H.

2018-02-01

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) can be accomplished by introducing a sub-terawatt (TW) laser pulse into a thin, high-density gas target. In this way, the self-focusing effect and the self-modulation that happened on the laser pulse produce a greatly enhanced laser peak intensity that can drive a nonlinear plasma wave to accelerate electrons. A particle-in-cell model is developed to study sub-TW LWFA when a 0.6-TW laser pulse interacts with a dense hydrogen plasma. Gas targets having a Gaussian density profile or a flat-top distribution are defined for investigating the properties of sub-TW LWFA when conducting with a gas jet or a gas cell. In addition to using 800-nm laser pulses, simulations are performed with 1030-nm laser pulses, as they represent a viable approach to realize the sub-TW LWFA driven by high-frequency, diode-pumped laser systems. The peak density which allows the laser peak power PL˜2 Pc r of self-focusing critical power is favourable for conducting sub-TW LWFA. Otherwise, an excessively high peak density can induce an undesired filament effect which rapidly disintegrates the laser field envelope and violates the process of plasma wave excitation. The plateau region of a flat-top density distribution allows the self-focusing and the self-modulation of the laser pulse to develop, from which well-established plasma bubbles can be produced to accelerate electrons. The process of electron injection is complicated in such high-density plasma conditions; however, increasing the length of the plateau region represents a straightforward method to realize the injection and acceleration of electrons within the first bubble, such that an improved LWFA performance can be accomplished.

Experimental signatures of direct-laser-acceleration-assisted laser wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, J. L.; Lemos, N.; Marsh, K. A.; Froula, D. H.; Joshi, C.

2018-04-01

The direct laser acceleration (DLA) of electrons in a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) operating in the forced or quasi-blowout regimes has been investigated through experiment and simulation. When there is a significant overlap between the trapped electrons and the drive laser in a LWFA cavity, the resulting electrons can gain energy from both the LWFA and the DLA mechanisms. Experimental work investigates the properties of the electron beams produced in a LWFA with ionization injection by dispersing those beams in the direction perpendicular to the laser polarization. These electron beams show certain spectral features that are characteristic of DLA. These characteristic features are reproduced using particle-in-cell simulations, where particle tracking was used to elucidate the roles of LWFA and DLA to the energy gain of the electrons in this experimental regime and to demonstrate that such spectral features are definitive signatures of the presence of DLA in LWFA.

Emittance preservation in plasma-based accelerators with ion motion

DOE PAGES

Benedetti, C.; Schroeder, C. B.; Esarey, E.; ...

2017-11-01

In a plasma-accelerator-based linear collider, the density of matched, low-emittance, high-energy particle bunches required for collider applications can be orders of magnitude above the background ion density, leading to ion motion, perturbation of the focusing fields, and, hence, to beam emittance growth. By analyzing the response of the background ions to an ultrahigh density beam, analytical expressions, valid for nonrelativistic ion motion, are derived for the transverse wakefield and for the final (i.e., after saturation) bunch emittance. Analytical results are validated against numerical modeling. Initial beam distributions are derived that are equilibrium solutions, which require head-to-tail bunch shaping, enabling emittancemore » preservation with ion motion.« less

Quasi-static modeling of beam-plasma and laser-plasma interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chengkun

Plasma wave wakefields excited by either laser or particle beams can sustain acceleration gradients three orders of magnitude larger than conventional RF accelerators. They are promising for accelerating particles in short distances for applications such as future high-energy colliders, and medical and industrial accelerators. In a Plasma Wakefield Accelerator (PWFA) or a Laser Wakefield Accelerator (LWFA), an intense particle or laser beam drives a plasma wave and generates a strong wakefield which has a phase velocity equal to the velocity of the driver. This wakefield can then be used to accelerate part of the drive beam or a separate trailing beam. The interaction between the plasma and the driver is highly nonlinear and therefore a particle description is required for computer modeling. A highly efficient, fully parallelized, fully relativistic, three-dimensional particle-in-cell code called QuickPIC for simulating plasma and laser wakefield acceleration has been developed. The model is based on the quasi-static or frozen field approximation, which assumes that the drive beam and/or the laser does not evolve during the time it takes for it to pass a plasma particle. The electromagnetic fields of the plasma wake and its associated index of refraction are then used to evolve the driver using very large time steps. This algorithm reduces the computational time by at least 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. Comparison between the new algorithm and a fully explicit model (OSIRIS) are presented. The agreement is excellent for problems of interest. Direction for future work is also discussed. QuickPIC has been used to study the "afterburner" concept. In this concept a fraction of an existing high-energy beam is separated out and used as a trailing beam with the goal that the trailing beam acquires at least twice the energy of the drive beam. Several critical issues such as the efficient transfer of energy and the stable propagation of both the drive and trailing beams in

Preferential acceleration and magnetic field enhancement in plasmas with e{sup +}/e{sup −} beam injection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huynh, Cong Tuan; Ryu, Chang-Mo, E-mail: ryu201@postech.ac.kr

A theoretical model of current filaments predicting preferential acceleration/deceleration and magnetic field enhancement in a plasma with e{sup +}/e{sup −} beam injection is presented. When the e{sup +}/e{sup −} beams are injected into a plasma, current filaments are formed. The beam particles are accelerated or decelerated depending on the types of current filaments in which they are trapped. It is found that in the electron/ion ambient plasma, the e{sup +} beam particles are preferentially accelerated, while the e{sup −} beam particles are preferentially decelerated. The preferential particle acceleration/deceleration is absent when the ambient plasma is the e{sup +}/e{sup −} plasma.more » We also find that the particle momentum decrease can explain the magnetic field increase during the development of Weibel/filamentation instability. Supporting simulation results of particle acceleration/deceleration and magnetic field enhancement are presented. Our findings can be applied to a wide range of astrophysical plasmas with the e{sup +}/e{sup −} beam injection.« less

3D printing of gas jet nozzles for laser-plasma accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Döpp, A.; Guillaume, E.; Thaury, C.

2016-07-15

Recent results on laser wakefield acceleration in tailored plasma channels have underlined the importance of controlling the density profile of the gas target. In particular, it was reported that the appropriate density tailoring can result in improved injection, acceleration, and collimation of laser-accelerated electron beams. To achieve such profiles, innovative target designs are required. For this purpose, we have reviewed the usage of additive layer manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, in order to produce gas jet nozzles. Notably we have compared the performance of two industry standard techniques, namely, selective laser sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA). Furthermore we havemore » used the common fused deposition modeling to reproduce basic gas jet designs and used SLA and SLS for more sophisticated nozzle designs. The nozzles are characterized interferometrically and used for electron acceleration experiments with the SALLE JAUNE terawatt laser at Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée.« less

Advanced Accelerator Development Strategy Report: DOE Advanced Accelerator Concepts Research Roadmap Workshop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

Over a full two day period, February 2–3, 2016, the Office of High Energy Physics convened a workshop in Gaithersburg, MD to seek community input on development of an Advanced Accelerator Concepts (AAC) research roadmap. The workshop was in response to a recommendation by the HEPAP Accelerator R&D Subpanel [1] [2] to “convene the university and laboratory proponents of advanced acceleration concepts to develop R&D roadmaps with a series of milestones and common down selection criteria towards the goal for constructing a multi-TeV e+e– collider” (the charge to the workshop can be found in Appendix A). During the workshop, proponentsmore » of laser-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (LWFA), particle-beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA), and dielectric wakefield acceleration (DWFA), along with a limited number of invited university and laboratory experts, presented and critically discussed individual concept roadmaps. The roadmap workshop was preceded by several preparatory workshops. The first day of the workshop featured presentation of three initial individual roadmaps with ample time for discussion. The individual roadmaps covered a time period extending until roughly 2040, with the end date assumed to be roughly appropriate for initial operation of a multi-TeV e+e– collider. The second day of the workshop comprised talks on synergies between the roadmaps and with global efforts, potential early applications, diagnostics needs, simulation needs, and beam issues and challenges related to a collider. During the last half of the day the roadmaps were revisited but with emphasis on the next five to ten years (as specifically requested in the charge) and on common challenges. The workshop concluded with critical and unanimous endorsement of the individual roadmaps and an extended discussion on the characteristics of the common challenges. (For the agenda and list of participants see Appendix B.)« less

Efficiency Versus Instability in Plasma Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lebedev, Valeri; Burov, Alexey; Nagaitsev, Sergei

2017-01-05

Plasma wake-field acceleration in a strongly nonlinear (a.k.a. the blowout) regime is one of the main candidates for future high-energy colliders. For this case, we derive a universal efficiency-instability relation, between the power efficiency and the key instability parameter of the witness bunch. We also show that in order to stabilize the witness bunch in a regime with high power efficiency, the bunch needs to have high energy spread, which is not presently compatible with collider-quality beam properties. It is unclear how such limitations could be overcome for high-luminosity linear colliders.

Self-mapping the longitudinal field structure of a nonlinear plasma accelerator cavity

DOE PAGES

Clayton, C. E.; Adli, E.; Allen, J.; ...

2016-08-16

The preservation of emittance of the accelerating beam is the next challenge for plasma-based accelerators envisioned for future light sources and colliders. The field structure of a highly nonlinear plasma wake is potentially suitable for this purpose but has not been yet measured. Here we show that the longitudinal variation of the fields in a nonlinear plasma wakefield accelerator cavity produced by a relativistic electron bunch can be mapped using the bunch itself as a probe. We find that, for much of the cavity that is devoid of plasma electrons, the transverse force is constant longitudinally to within ±3% (r.m.s.).more » Moreover, comparison of experimental data and simulations has resulted in mapping of the longitudinal electric field of the unloaded wake up to 83 GV m –1 to a similar degree of accuracy. Lastly, these results bode well for high-gradient, high-efficiency acceleration of electron bunches while preserving their emittance in such a cavity.« less

Self-mapping the longitudinal field structure of a nonlinear plasma accelerator cavity

PubMed Central

Clayton, C. E.; Adli, E.; Allen, J.; An, W.; Clarke, C. I.; Corde, S.; Frederico, J.; Gessner, S.; Green, S. Z.; Hogan, M. J.; Joshi, C.; Litos, M.; Lu, W.; Marsh, K. A.; Mori, W. B.; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N.; Xu, X.; Yakimenko, V.

2016-01-01

The preservation of emittance of the accelerating beam is the next challenge for plasma-based accelerators envisioned for future light sources and colliders. The field structure of a highly nonlinear plasma wake is potentially suitable for this purpose but has not been yet measured. Here we show that the longitudinal variation of the fields in a nonlinear plasma wakefield accelerator cavity produced by a relativistic electron bunch can be mapped using the bunch itself as a probe. We find that, for much of the cavity that is devoid of plasma electrons, the transverse force is constant longitudinally to within ±3% (r.m.s.). Moreover, comparison of experimental data and simulations has resulted in mapping of the longitudinal electric field of the unloaded wake up to 83 GV m−1 to a similar degree of accuracy. These results bode well for high-gradient, high-efficiency acceleration of electron bunches while preserving their emittance in such a cavity. PMID:27527569

Status of Plasma Electron Hose Instability Studies in FACET

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adli, Erik; /U. Oslo; England, Robert Joel

In the FACET plasma-wakefield acceleration experiment a dense 23 GeV electron beam will interact with lithium and cesium plasmas, leading to plasma ion-channel formation. The interaction between the electron beam and the plasma sheath-electrons may lead to a fast growing electron hose instability. By using optics dispersion knobs to induce a controlled z-x tilt along the beam entering the plasma, we investigate the transverse behavior of the beam in the plasma as function of the tilt. We seek to quantify limits on the instability in order to further explore potential limitations on future plasma wakefield accelerators due to the electronmore » hose instability. The FACET plasma-wakefield experiment at SLAC will study beam driven plasma wakefield acceleration. A dense 23 GeV electron beam will interact with lithium or cesium plasma, leading to plasma ion-channel formation. The interaction between the electron beam and the plasma sheath-electrons drives the electron hose instability, as first studied by Whittum. While Ref. [2] indicates the possibility of a large instability growth rate for typical beam and plasma parameters, other studies including have shown that several physical effects may mitigate the hosing growth rate substantially. So far there has been no quantitative benchmarking of experimentally observed hosing in previous experiments. At FACET we aim to perform such benchmarking by for example inducing a controlled z-x tilt along the beamentering the plasma, and observing the transverse behavior of the beam in the plasma as function. The long-term objective of these studies is to quantify potential limitations on future plasma wakefield accelerators due to the electron hose instability.« less

Laser-wakefield accelerators as hard x-ray sources for 3D medical imaging of human bone

PubMed Central

Cole, J. M.; Wood, J. C.; Lopes, N. C.; Poder, K.; Abel, R. L.; Alatabi, S.; Bryant, J. S. J.; Jin, A.; Kneip, S.; Mecseki, K.; Symes, D. R.; Mangles, S. P. D.; Najmudin, Z.

2015-01-01

A bright μm-sized source of hard synchrotron x-rays (critical energy Ecrit > 30 keV) based on the betatron oscillations of laser wakefield accelerated electrons has been developed. The potential of this source for medical imaging was demonstrated by performing micro-computed tomography of a human femoral trabecular bone sample, allowing full 3D reconstruction to a resolution below 50 μm. The use of a 1 cm long wakefield accelerator means that the length of the beamline (excluding the laser) is dominated by the x-ray imaging distances rather than the electron acceleration distances. The source possesses high peak brightness, which allows each image to be recorded with a single exposure and reduces the time required for a full tomographic scan. These properties make this an interesting laboratory source for many tomographic imaging applications. PMID:26283308

Drive Beam Shaping and Witness Bunch Generation for the Plasma Wakefield Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

England, R. J.; Frederico, J.; Hogan, M. J.

2010-11-04

High transformer ratio operation of the plasma wake field accelerator requires a tailored drive beam current profile followed by a short witness bunch. We discuss techniques for generating the requisite dual bunches and for obtaining the desired drive beam profile, with emphasis on the FACET experiment at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

On the properties of synchrotron-like X-ray emission from laser wakefield accelerated electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGuffey, C.; Schumaker, W.; Matsuoka, T.; Chvykov, V.; Dollar, F.; Kalintchenko, G.; Kneip, S.; Najmudin, Z.; Mangles, S. P. D.; Vargas, M.; Yanovsky, V.; Maksimchuk, A.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Krushelnick, K.

2018-04-01

The electric and magnetic fields responsible for electron acceleration in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator (LWFA) also cause electrons to radiate x-ray photons. Such x-ray pulses have several desirable properties including short duration and being well collimated with tunable high energy. We measure the scaling of this x-ray source experimentally up to laser powers greater than 100 TW. An increase in laser power allows electron trapping at a lower density as well as with an increased trapped charge. These effects resulted in an x-ray fluence that was measured to increase non-linearly with laser power. The fluence of x-rays was also compared with that produced from K-α emission resulting from a solid target interaction for the same energy laser pulse. The flux was shown to be comparable, but the LWFA x-rays had a significantly smaller source size. This indicates that such a source may be useful as a backlighter for probing high energy density plasmas with ultrafast temporal resolution.

High-quality electron beam generation and bright betatron radiation from a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jiansheng; Wang, Wentao; Li, Wentao; Qi, Rong; Zhang, Zhijun; Yu, Changhai; Wang, Cheng; Liu, Jiaqi; Qing, Zhiyong; Ming, Fang; Xu, Yi; Leng, Yuxin; Li, Ruxin; Xu, Zhizhan

2017-05-01

One of the major goals of developing laser wakefiled accelerators (LWFAs) is to produce compact high-energy electron beam (e-beam) sources, which are expected to be applied in developing compact x-ray free-electron lasers and monoenergetic gamma-ray sources. Although LWFAs have been demonstrated to generate multi-GeV e-beams, to date they are still failed to produce high quality e beams with several essential properties (narrow energy spread, small transverse emittance and high beam charge) achieved simultaneously. Here we report on the demonstration of a high-quality cascaded LWFA experimentally via manipulating electron injection, seeding in different periods of the wakefield, as well as controlling energy chirp for the compression of energy spread. The cascaded LWFA was powered by a 1-Hz 200-TW femtosecond laser facility at SIOM. High-brightness e beams with peak energies in the range of 200-600 MeV, 0.4-1.2% rms energy spread, 10-80 pC charge, and 0.2 mrad rms divergence are experimentally obtained. Unprecedentedly high 6-dimensional (6-D) brightness B6D,n in units of A/m2/0.1% was estimated at the level of 1015-16, which is very close to the typical brightness of e beams from state-of-the-art linac drivers and several-fold higher than those of previously reported LWFAs. Furthermore, we propose a scheme to minimize the energy spread of an e beam in a cascaded LWFA to the one-thousandth-level by inserting a stage to compress its longitudinal spatial distribution via velocity bunching. In this scheme, three-segment plasma stages are designed for electron injection, e-beam length compression, and e-beam acceleration, respectively. A one-dimensional theory and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations have demonstrated this scheme and an e beam with 0.2% rms energy spread and low transverse emittance could be generated without loss of charge. Based on the high-quality e beams generated in the LWFA, we have experimentally realized a new scheme to enhance the

Laser beam coupling with capillary discharge plasma for laser wakefield acceleration applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagdasarov, G. A.; Sasorov, P. V.; Gasilov, V. A.; Boldarev, A. S.; Olkhovskaya, O. G.; Benedetti, C.; Bulanov, S. S.; Gonsalves, A.; Mao, H.-S.; Schroeder, C. B.; van Tilborg, J.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.; Levato, T.; Margarone, D.; Korn, G.

2017-08-01

One of the most robust methods, demonstrated to date, of accelerating electron beams by laser-plasma sources is the utilization of plasma channels generated by the capillary discharges. Although the spatial structure of the installation is simple in principle, there may be some important effects caused by the open ends of the capillary, by the supplying channels etc., which require a detailed 3D modeling of the processes. In the present work, such simulations are performed using the code MARPLE. First, the process of capillary filling with cold hydrogen before the discharge is fired, through the side supply channels is simulated. Second, the simulation of the capillary discharge is performed with the goal to obtain a time-dependent spatial distribution of the electron density near the open ends of the capillary as well as inside the capillary. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness of the beam coupling with the channeling plasma wave guide and of the electron acceleration, modeling of the laser-plasma interaction was performed with the code INF&RNO.

Self-modulated laser wakefield accelerators as x-ray sources

DOE PAGES

Lemos, N.; Martins, J. L.; Tsung, F. S.; ...

2016-02-17

The development of a directional, small-divergence, and short-duration picosecond x-ray probe beam with an energy greater than 50 keV is desirable for high energy density science experiments. We therefore explore through particle-in-cell (PIC) computer simulations the possibility of using x-rays radiated by betatron-like motion of electrons from a self-modulated laser wakefield accelerator as a possible candidate to meet this need. Two OSIRIS 2D PIC simulations with mobile ions are presented, one with a normalized vector potential a 0 = 1.5 and the other with an a 0 = 3. We find that in both cases direct laser acceleration (DLA) ismore » an important additional acceleration mechanism in addition to the longitudinal electric field of the plasma wave. Together these mechanisms produce electrons with a continuous energy spectrum with a maximum energy of 300 MeV for a 0 = 3 case and 180 MeV in the a 0 = 1.5 case. Forward-directed x-ray radiation with a photon energy up to 100 keV was calculated for the a 0 = 3 case and up to 12 keV for the a 0 = 1.5 case. The x-ray spectrum can be fitted with a sum of two synchrotron spectra with critical photon energies of 13 and 45 keV for the a 0 of 3 and critical photon energies of 0.3 and 1.4 keV for a 0 of 1.5 in the plane of polarization of the laser. As a result, the full width at half maximum divergence angle of the x-rays was 62 × 1.9 mrad for a 0 = 3 and 77 × 3.8 mrad for a 0 = 1.5.« less

Time-resolved measurements with streaked diffraction patterns from electrons generated in laser plasma wakefield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Zhaohan; Nees, John; Hou, Bixue; Krushelnick, Karl; Thomas, Alec; Beaurepaire, Benoît; Malka, Victor; Faure, Jérôme

2013-10-01

Femtosecond bunches of electrons with relativistic to ultra-relativistic energies can be robustly produced in laser plasma wakefield accelerators (LWFA). Scaling the electron energy down to sub-relativistic and MeV level using a millijoule laser system will make such electron source a promising candidate for ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) applications due to the intrinsic short bunch duration and perfect synchronization with the optical pump. Recent results of electron diffraction from a single crystal gold foil, using LWFA electrons driven by 8-mJ, 35-fs laser pulses at 500 Hz, will be presented. The accelerated electrons were collimated with a solenoid magnetic lens. By applying a small-angle tilt to the magnetic lens, the diffraction pattern can be streaked such that the temporal evolution is separated spatially on the detector screen after propagation. The observable time window and achievable temporal resolution are studied in pump-probe measurements of photo-induced heating on the gold foil.

Extremely short relativistic-electron-bunch generation in the laser wakefield via novel bunch injection scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khachatryan, A. G.; van Goor, F. A.; Boller, K.-J.; Reitsma, A. J.; Jaroszynski, D. A.

2004-12-01

Recently a new electron-bunch injection scheme for the laser wakefield accelerator has been proposed [

Possibility for ultra-bright electron beam acceleration in dielectric wakefield accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simakov, Evgenya I.; Carlsten, Bruce E.; Shchegolkov, Dmitry Yu.

2012-12-21

We describe a conceptual proposal to combine the Dielectric Wakefield Accelerator (DWA) with the Emittance Exchanger (EEX) to demonstrate a high-brightness DWA with a gradient of above 100 MV/m and less than 0.1% induced energy spread in the accelerated beam. We currently evaluate the DWA concept as a performance upgrade for the future LANL signature facility MaRIE with the goal of significantly reducing the electron beam energy spread. The preconceptual design for MaRIE is underway at LANL, with the design of the electron linear accelerator being one of the main research goals. Although generally the baseline design needs to bemore » conservative and rely on existing technology, any future upgrade would immediately call for looking into the advanced accelerator concepts capable of boosting the electron beam energy up by a few GeV in a very short distance without degrading the beam's quality. Scoping studies have identified large induced energy spreads as the major cause of beam quality degradation in high-gradient advanced accelerators for free-electron lasers. We describe simulations demonstrating that trapezoidal bunch shapes can be used in a DWA to greatly reduce the induced beam energy spread, and, in doing so, also preserve the beam brightness at levels never previously achieved. This concept has the potential to advance DWA technology to a level that would make it suitable for the upgrades of the proposed Los Alamos MaRIE signature facility.« less

Two-Color Laser High-Harmonic Generation in Cavitated Plasma Wakefields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schroeder, Carl; Benedetti, Carlo; Esarey, Eric

2016-10-03

A method is proposed for producing coherent x-rays via high-harmonic generation using a laser interacting with highly-stripped ions in cavitated plasma wakefields. Two laser pulses of different colors are employed: a long-wavelength pulse for cavitation and a short-wavelength pulse for harmonic generation. This method enables efficient laser harmonic generation in the sub-nm wavelength regime.

Short-pulse, high-energy radiation generation from laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumaker, Will

2013-10-01

Recent experimental results of laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) of ~GeV electrons driven by the 200TW HERCULES and the 400TW ASTRA-GEMINI laser systems and their subsequent generation of photons, positrons, and neutrons are presented. In LWFA, high-intensity (I >1019 W /cm2), ultra-short (τL < 1 / (2 πωpe)) laser pulses drive highly nonlinear plasma waves which can trap ~ nC of electrons and accelerate them to ~GeV energies over ~cm lengths. These electron beams can then be converted by a high-Z target via bremsstrahlung into low-divergence (< 20 mrad) beams of high-energy (<600 MeV) photons and subsequently into positrons via the Bethe-Heitler process. By increasing the material thickness and Z, the resulting Ne+ /Ne- ratio can approach unity, resulting in a near neutral density plasma jet. These quasi-neutral beams are presumed to retain the short-pulse (τL < 40 fs) characteristic of the electron beam, resulting in a high peak density of ne- /e+ ~ 1016 cm-3 , making the source an excellent candidate for laboratory study of astrophysical leptonic jets. Alternatively, the electron beam can be interacted with a counter-propagating, ultra-high intensity (I >1021 W /cm2) laser pulse to undergo inverse Compton scattering and emit a high-peak brightness beam of high-energy photons. Preliminary results and experimental sensitivities of the electron-laser beam overlap are presented. The high-energy photon beams can be spectrally resolved using a forward Compton scattering spectrometer. Moreover, the photon flux can be characterized by a pixelated scintillator array and by nuclear activation and (γ,n) neutron measurements from the photons interacting with a secondary solid target. Monte-Carlo simulations were performed using FLUKA to support the yield estimates. This research was supported by DOE/NSF-PHY 0810979, NSF CAREER 1054164, DARPA AXiS N66001-11-1-4208, SF/DNDO F021166, and the Leverhulme Trust ECF-2011-383.

Effects of Higher-Order Relativistic Nonlinearity and Wakefield During a Moderately Intense Laser Pulse Propagation in a Plasma Channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ming-Ping; Liu, Bing-Bing; Liu, San-Qiu; Zhang, Fu-Yang; Liu, Jie

2013-08-01

Using a variational approach, the propagation of a moderately intense laser pulse in a parabolic preformed plasma channel is investigated. The effects of higher-order relativistic nonlinearity (HRN) and wakefield are included. The effect of HRN serves as an additional defocusing mechanism and has the same order of magnitude in the spot size as that of the transverse wakefield (TWF). The effect of longitudinal wakefield is much larger than those of HRN and TWF for an intense laser pulse with the pulse length equaling the plasma wavelength. The catastrophic focusing of the laser spot size would be prevented in the present of HRN and then it varies with periodic focusing oscillations.

Generation of annular, high-charge electron beams at the Argonne wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wisniewski, E. E.; Li, C.; Gai, W.; Power, J.

2012-12-01

We present and discuss the results from the experimental generation of high-charge annular(ring-shaped)electron beams at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA). These beams were produced by using laser masks to project annular laser profiles of various inner and outer diameters onto the photocathode of an RF gun. The ring beam is accelerated to 15 MeV, then it is imaged by means of solenoid lenses. Transverse profiles are compared for different solenoid settings. Discussion includes a comparison with Parmela simulations, some applications of high-charge ring beams,and an outline of a planned extension of this study.

Two-screen single-shot electron spectrometer for laser wakefield accelerated electron beams.

PubMed

Soloviev, A A; Starodubtsev, M V; Burdonov, K F; Kostyukov, I Yu; Nerush, E N; Shaykin, A A; Khazanov, E A

2011-04-01

The laser wakefield acceleration electron beams can essentially deviate from the axis of the system, which distinguishes them greatly from beams of conventional accelerators. In case of energy measurements by means of a permanent-magnet electron spectrometer, the deviation angle can affect accuracy, especially for high energies. A two-screen single-shot electron spectrometer that correctly allows for variations of the angle of entry is considered. The spectrometer design enables enhancing accuracy of measuring narrow electron beams significantly as compared to a one-screen spectrometer with analogous magnetic field, size, and angular acceptance. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Innovative single-shot diagnostics for electrons accelerated through laser-plasma interaction at FLAME

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bisesto, F. G.; Anania, M. P.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Costa, G.; Curcio, A.; Ferrario, M.; Galletti, M.; Pompili, R.; Schleifer, E.; Zigler, A.

2017-05-01

Plasma wakefield acceleration is the most promising acceleration technique known nowadays, able to provide very high accelerating fields (> 100 GV/m), enabling acceleration of electrons to GeV energy in few centimeters. Here we present all the plasma related activities currently underway at SPARC LAB exploiting the high power laser FLAME. In particular, we will give an overview of the single shot diagnostics employed: Electro Optic Sampling (EOS) for temporal measurement and optical transition radiation (OTR) for an innovative one shot emittance measurements. In detail, the EOS technique has been employed to measure for the first time the longitudinal profile of electric field of fast electrons escaping from a solid target, driving the ions and protons acceleration, and to study the impact of using different target shapes. Moreover, a novel scheme for one shot emittance measurements based on OTR, developed and tested at SPARC LAB LINAC, will be shown.

Laser acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajima, T.; Nakajima, K.; Mourou, G.

2017-02-01

The fundamental idea of Laser Wakefield Acceleration (LWFA) is reviewed. An ultrafast intense laser pulse drives coherent wakefield with a relativistic amplitude robustly supported by the plasma. While the large amplitude of wakefields involves collective resonant oscillations of the eigenmode of the entire plasma electrons, the wake phase velocity ˜ c and ultrafastness of the laser pulse introduce the wake stability and rigidity. A large number of worldwide experiments show a rapid progress of this concept realization toward both the high-energy accelerator prospect and broad applications. The strong interest in this has been spurring and stimulating novel laser technologies, including the Chirped Pulse Amplification, the Thin Film Compression, the Coherent Amplification Network, and the Relativistic Mirror Compression. These in turn have created a conglomerate of novel science and technology with LWFA to form a new genre of high field science with many parameters of merit in this field increasing exponentially lately. This science has triggered a number of worldwide research centers and initiatives. Associated physics of ion acceleration, X-ray generation, and astrophysical processes of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are reviewed. Applications such as X-ray free electron laser, cancer therapy, and radioisotope production etc. are considered. A new avenue of LWFA using nanomaterials is also emerging.

Optical Diagnostics for Plasma-based Particle Accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muggli, Patric

2009-05-01

One of the challenges for plasma-based particle accelerators is to measure the spatio-temporal characteristics of the accelerated particle bunch. ``Optical'' diagnostics are particularly interesting and useful because of the large number of techniques that exits to determine the properties of photon pulses. The accelerated bunch can produce photons pulses that carry information about its characteristics for example through synchrotron radiation in a magnet, Cherenkov radiation in a gas, and transition radiation (TR) at the boundary between two media with different dielectric constants. Depending on the wavelength of the emission when compared to the particle bunch length, the radiation can be incoherent or coherent. Incoherent TR in the optical range (or OTR) is useful to measure the transverse spatial characteristics of the beam, such as charge distribution and size. Coherent TR (or CTR) carries information about the bunch length that can in principle be retrieved by standard auto-correlation or interferometric techniques, as well as by spectral measurements. A measurement of the total CTR energy emitted by bunches with constant charge can also be used as a shot-to-shot measurement for the relative bunch length as the CTR energy is proportional to the square of the bunch population and inversely proportional to its length (for a fixed distribution). Spectral interferometry can also yield the spacing between bunches in the case where multiple bunches are trapped in subsequent buckets of the plasma wave. Cherenkov radiation can be used as an energy threshold diagnostic for low energy particles. Cherenkov, synchrotron and transition radiation can be used in a dispersive section of the beam line to measure the bunch energy spectrum. The application of these diagnostics to plasma-based particle accelerators, with emphasis on the beam-driven, plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will be discussed.

Injection of externally produced kinetic electrons into a self-guided laser wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pollock, Bradley; Ralph, Joseph; Albert, Felicie; Shaw, Jessica; Clayton, Christopher; Marsh, Ken; Joshi, Chan; Mori, Warren; Kesler, Leigh; Mills, Sarah; Severson, Brian; Rigby, Alexandra; Glenzer, Siegfried

2012-10-01

A two-stage laser wakefield accelerator is being developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory using the Callisto laser system. The first stage is a high density (˜10^19 cm-3), 5 mm He gas jet plasma which is driven by 30 TW of 800 nm laser light focused to an a0˜ 2. The <100 MeV electrons produced in this stage are deflected by a 0.5 T dipole magnet onto the axis of the second stage, which is a low density (˜10^18 cm-3), 15 mm He gas cell driven by 200 TW of 800 nm light also focused to an a0˜ 2; no additional electrons are trapped in this stage. Electrons injected into the second stage can then be further accelerated to higher energy without increasing the energy spread. Measurements of the transmitted laser profile and spectrum from the second stage indicate that the laser pulse is self-guided throughout the gas cell and that a strong wake is driven. These results compare well with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations performed with the code OSIRIS. This work was performed under the auspices of the United States Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. DE-AC52-07NA-27344.

Controlled Electron Injection into Plasma Accelerators and SpaceCharge Estimates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fubiani, Gwenael G.J.

2005-09-01

Plasma based accelerators are capable of producing electron sources which are ultra-compact (a few microns) and high energies (up to hundreds of MeVs) in much shorter distances than conventional accelerators. This is due to the large longitudinal electric field that can be excited without the limitation of breakdown as in RF structures.The characteristic scale length of the accelerating field is the plasma wavelength and for typical densities ranging from 10 18 - 10 19 cm -3, the accelerating fields and scale length can hence be on the order of 10-100GV/m and 10-40 μm, respectively. The production of quasimonoenergetic beams wasmore » recently obtained in a regime relying on self-trapping of background plasma electrons, using a single laser pulse for wakefield generation. In this dissertation, we study the controlled injection via the beating of two lasers (the pump laser pulse creating the plasma wave and a second beam being propagated in opposite direction) which induce a localized injection of background plasma electrons. The aim of this dissertation is to describe in detail the physics of optical injection using two lasers, the characteristics of the electron beams produced (the micrometer scale plasma wavelength can result in femtosecond and even attosecond bunches) as well as a concise estimate of the effects of space charge on the dynamics of an ultra-dense electron bunch with a large energy spread.« less

Control of Laser Plasma Based Accelerators up to 1 GeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nakamura, Kei

2007-12-01

This dissertation documents the development of a broadband electron spectrometer (ESM) for GeV class Laser Wakefield Accelerators (LWFA), the production of high quality GeV electron beams (e-beams) for the first time in a LWFA by using a capillary discharge guide (CDG), and a statistical analysis of CDG-LWFAs. An ESM specialized for CDG-LWFAs with an unprecedented wide momentum acceptance, from 0.01 to 1.1 GeV in a single shot, has been developed. Simultaneous measurement of e-beam spectra and output laser properties as well as a large angular acceptance (> ± 10 mrad) were realized by employing a slitless scheme. A scintillating screenmore » (LANEX Fast back, LANEX-FB)--camera system allowed faster than 1 Hz operation and evaluation of the spatial properties of e-beams. The design provided sufficient resolution for the whole range of the ESM (below 5% for beams with 2 mrad divergence). The calibration between light yield from LANEX-FB and total charge, and a study on the electron energy dependence (0.071 to 1.23 GeV) of LANEX-FB were performed at the Advanced light source (ALS), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Using this calibration data, the developed ESM provided a charge measurement as well. The production of high quality electron beams up to 1 GeV from a centimeter-scale accelerator was demonstrated. The experiment used a 310 μm diameter gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide that channeled relativistically-intense laser pulses (42 TW, 4.5 x 10 18 W/cm 2) over 3.3 centimeters of sufficiently low density (≃ 4.3 x 10 18/cm 3) plasma. Also demonstrated was stable self-injection and acceleration at a beam energy of ≃ 0.5 GeV by using a 225 μm diameter capillary. Relativistically-intense laser pulses (12 TW, 1.3 x 10 18W/cm 2) were guided over 3.3 centimeters of low density (≃ 3.5 x 10 18/cm 3) plasma in this experiment. A statistical analysis of the CDG-LWFAs performance was carried out. By taking advantage of the high repetition rate

Analysis of radial and longitudinal force of plasma wakefield generated by a chirped pulse laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghasemi, Leila; Afhami, Saeedeh; Eslami, Esmaeil, E-mail: eeslami@iust.ac.ir

2015-08-15

In present paper, the chirp effect of an electromagnetic pulse via an analytical model of wakefield generation is studied. Different types of chirps are employed in this study. Our results show that by the use of nonlinear chirped pulse the longitudinal wakefield and focusing force is stronger than that of linear chirped pulse. It is indicated that quadratic nonlinear chirped pulses are globally much efficient than periodic nonlinear chirped pulses. Our calculations also predict that in nonlinear chirped pulse case, the overlap of focusing and accelerating regions is broader than that achieved in linear chirped pulse.

UNDULATOR-BASED LASER WAKEFIELD ACCELERATOR ELECTRON BEAM DIAGNOSTIC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bakeman, M.S.; Fawley, W.M.; Leemans, W. P.

to couple the THUNDER undulator to the LOASIS Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA). Currently the LWFA has achieved quasi-monoenergetic electron beams with energies up to 1 GeV. These ultra-short, high-peak-current, electron beams are ideal for driving a compact XUV free electron laser (FEL). Understanding the electron beam properties such as the energy spread and emittance is critical for achieving high quality light sources with high brightness. By using an insertion device such as an undulator and observing changes in the spontaneous emission spectrum, the electron beam energy spread and emittance can be measured with high precision.more » The initial experiments will use spontaneous emission from 1.5 m of undulator. Later experiments will use up to 5 m of undulator with a goal of a high gain, XUV FEL.« less

Differences in 1D electron plasma wake field acceleration in MeV versus GeV and linear versus blowout regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsiklauri, David

2018-03-01

In some laboratory and most astrophysical situations, plasma wake-field acceleration of electrons is one dimensional, i.e., variation transverse to the beam's motion can be ignored. Thus, one dimensional, particle-in-cell (PIC), fully electromagnetic simulations of electron plasma wake field acceleration are conducted in order to study the differences in electron plasma wake field acceleration in MeV versus GeV and linear versus blowout regimes. First, we show that caution needs to be taken when using fluid simulations, as PIC simulations prove that an approximation for an electron bunch not to evolve in time for a few hundred plasma periods only applies when it is sufficiently relativistic. This conclusion is true irrespective of the plasma temperature. We find that in the linear regime and GeV energies, the accelerating electric field generated by the plasma wake is similar to the linear and MeV regimes. However, because GeV energy driving bunch stays intact for a much longer time, the final acceleration energies are much larger in the GeV energies case. In the GeV energy range and blowout regime, the wake's accelerating electric field is much larger in amplitude compared with the linear case and also plasma wake geometrical size is much larger. Thus, the correct positioning of the trailing bunch is needed to achieve the efficient acceleration. For the considered case, optimally, there should be approximately (90-100)c/ωpe distance between the trailing and driving electron bunches in the GeV blowout regime.

Generation of high-field narrowband terahertz radiation by counterpropagating plasma wakefields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timofeev, I. V.; Annenkov, V. V.; Volchok, E. P.

2017-10-01

It is found that nonlinear interaction of plasma wakefields driven by counterpropagating laser or particle beams can efficiently generate high-power electromagnetic radiation at the second harmonic of the plasma frequency. Using a simple analytical theory and particle-in-cell simulations, we show that this phenomenon can be attractive for producing high-field ( ˜10 MV/cm) tunable terahertz radiation with a narrow line width. For laser drivers produced by existing petawatt-class systems, this nonlinear process opens the way to the generation of gigawatt, multi-millijoule terahertz pulses which are not presently available for any other generating schemes.

Improvements to laser wakefield accelerated electron beam stability, divergence, and energy spread using three-dimensional printed two-stage gas cell targets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vargas, M.; Schumaker, W.; He, Z.-H.

2014-04-28

High intensity, short pulse lasers can be used to accelerate electrons to ultra-relativistic energies via laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) [T. Tajima and J. M. Dawson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 267 (1979)]. Recently, it was shown that separating the injection and acceleration processes into two distinct stages could prove beneficial in obtaining stable, high energy electron beams [Gonsalves et al., Nat. Phys. 7, 862 (2011); Liu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 035001 (2011); Pollock et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 045001 (2011)]. Here, we use a stereolithography based 3D printer to produce two-stage gas targets for LWFA experiments on themore » HERCULES laser system at the University of Michigan. We demonstrate substantial improvements to the divergence, pointing stability, and energy spread of a laser wakefield accelerated electron beam compared with a single-stage gas cell or gas jet target.« less

Application of Plasma Waveguides to High Energy Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Milchberg, Howard M

2013-03-30

schemes. We will continue our development of advanced simulation tools by modifying the QuickPIC algorithm to allow for the simulation of plasma particle pick-up by the wake fields. We have also performed extensive simulations of plasma slow wave structures for efficient THz generation by guided laser beams or accelerated electron beams. We will pursue experimental studies of direct laser acceleration, and THz generation by two methods, ponderomotive-induced THz polarization, and THz radiation by laser accelerated electron beams. We also plan to study both conventional and corrugated plasma channels using our new 30 TW in our new lab facilities. We will investigate production of very long hydrogen plasma waveguides (5 cm). We will study guiding at increasing power levels through the onset of laser-induced cavitation (bubble regime) to assess the role played by the preformed channel. Experiments in direct acceleration will be performed, using laser plasma wakefields as the electron injector. Finally, we will use 2-colour ionization of gases as a high frequency THz source (<60 THz) in order for femtosecond measurements of low plasma densities in waveguides and beams.« less

Laser Wakefield Acceleration: Structural and Dynamic Studies. Final Technical Report ER40954

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Downer, Michael C.

2014-04-30

Particle accelerators enable scientists to study the fundamental structure of the universe, but have become the largest and most expensive of scientific instruments. In this project, we advanced the science and technology of laser-plasma accelerators, which are thousands of times smaller and less expensive than their conventional counterparts. In a laser-plasma accelerator, a powerful laser pulse exerts light pressure on an ionized gas, or plasma, thereby driving an electron density wave, which resembles the wake behind a boat. Electrostatic fields within this plasma wake reach tens of billions of volts per meter, fields far stronger than ordinary non-plasma matter (suchmore » as the matter that a conventional accelerator is made of) can withstand. Under the right conditions, stray electrons from the surrounding plasma become trapped within these “wake-fields”, surf them, and acquire energy much faster than is possible in a conventional accelerator. Laser-plasma accelerators thus might herald a new generation of compact, low-cost accelerators for future particle physics, x-ray and medical research. In this project, we made two major advances in the science of laser-plasma accelerators. The first of these was to accelerate electrons beyond 1 gigaelectronvolt (1 GeV) for the first time. In experimental results reported in Nature Communications in 2013, about 1 billion electrons were captured from a tenuous plasma (about 1/100 of atmosphere density) and accelerated to 2 GeV within about one inch, while maintaining less than 5% energy spread, and spreading out less than ½ milliradian (i.e. ½ millimeter per meter of travel). Low energy spread and high beam collimation are important for applications of accelerators as coherent x-ray sources or particle colliders. This advance was made possible by exploiting unique properties of the Texas Petawatt Laser, a powerful laser at the University of Texas at Austin that produces pulses of 150 femtoseconds (1 femtosecond

Collective effects on the wakefield and stopping power of an ion beam pulse in plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Ling-yu; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049; Zhao, Xiao-ying

A two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell simulation is carried out to study the collective effects on the wakefield and stopping power for a hydrogen ion beam pulse propagation in hydrogen plasmas. The dependence of collective effects on the beam velocity and density is obtained and discussed. For the beam velocity, it is found that the collective effects have the strongest impact on the wakefield as well as the stopping power in the case of the intermediate beam velocities, in which the stopping power is also the largest. For the beam density, it is found that at low beam densities, the collective contributionmore » to the stopping power increase linearly with the increase of the beam density, which corresponds well to the results calculated using the dielectric theory. However, at high beam densities, our results show that after reaching a maximum value, the collective contribution to the stopping power starts to decrease significantly with the increase of the beam density. Besides, at high beam densities, the wakefield loses typical V-shaped cone structures, and the wavelength of the oscillation wakefield increases as the beam density increases.« less

Automatic Beam Path Analysis of Laser Wakefield Particle Acceleration Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rubel, Oliver; Geddes, Cameron G.R.; Cormier-Michel, Estelle

2009-10-19

Numerical simulations of laser wakefield particle accelerators play a key role in the understanding of the complex acceleration process and in the design of expensive experimental facilities. As the size and complexity of simulation output grows, an increasingly acute challenge is the practical need for computational techniques that aid in scientific knowledge discovery. To that end, we present a set of data-understanding algorithms that work in concert in a pipeline fashion to automatically locate and analyze high energy particle bunches undergoing acceleration in very large simulation datasets. These techniques work cooperatively by first identifying features of interest in individual timesteps,more » then integrating features across timesteps, and based on the information derived perform analysis of temporally dynamic features. This combination of techniques supports accurate detection of particle beams enabling a deeper level of scientific understanding of physical phenomena than hasbeen possible before. By combining efficient data analysis algorithms and state-of-the-art data management we enable high-performance analysis of extremely large particle datasets in 3D. We demonstrate the usefulness of our methods for a variety of 2D and 3D datasets and discuss the performance of our analysis pipeline.« less

Temporal characterization of ultrashort linearly chirped electron bunches generated from a laser wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, C. J.; Hua, J. F.; Wan, Y.

A new method for diagnosing the temporal characteristics of ultrashort electron bunches with linear energy chirp generated from a laser wakefield accelerator is described. When the ionization-injected bunch interacts with the back of the drive laser, it is deflected and stretched along the direction of the electric field of the laser. Upon exiting the plasma, if the bunch goes through a narrow slit in front of the dipole magnet that disperses the electrons in the plane of the laser polarization, it can form a series of bunchlets that have different energies but are separated by half a laser wavelength. Sincemore » only the electrons that are undeflected by the laser go through the slit, the energy spectrum of the bunch is modulated. By analyzing the modulated energy spectrum, the shots where the bunch has a linear energy chirp can be recognized. Consequently, the energy chirp and beam current profile of those bunches can be reconstructed. Lastly, this method is demonstrated through particle-in-cell simulations and experiment.« less

Formation of electrostatic structures by wakefield acceleration in ultrarelativistic plasma flows: Electron acceleration to cosmic ray energies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dieckmann, M.E.; Shukla, P.K.; Eliasson, B.

2006-06-15

The ever increasing performance of supercomputers is now enabling kinetic simulations of extreme astrophysical and laser produced plasmas. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of relativistic shocks have revealed highly filamented spatial structures and their ability to accelerate particles to ultrarelativistic speeds. However, these PIC simulations have not yet revealed mechanisms that could produce particles with tera-electron volt energies and beyond. In this work, PIC simulations in one dimension (1D) of the foreshock region of an internal shock in a gamma ray burst are performed to address this issue. The large spatiotemporal range accessible to a 1D simulation enables the self-consistent evolutionmore » of proton phase space structures that can accelerate particles to giga-electron volt energies in the jet frame of reference, and to tens of tera-electron volt in the Earth's frame of reference. One potential source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays may thus be the thermalization of relativistically moving plasma.« less

Frequency-Domain Tomography for Single-shot, Ultrafast Imaging of Evolving Laser-Plasma Accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhengyan; Zgadzaj, Rafal; Wang, Xiaoming; Downer, Michael

2011-10-01

Intense laser pulses propagating through plasma create plasma wakefields that often evolve significantly, e.g. by expanding and contracting. However, such dynamics are known in detail only through intensive simulations. Laboratory visualization of evolving plasma wakes in the ``bubble'' regime is important for optimizing and scaling laser-plasma accelerators. Recently snap-shots of quasi-static wakes were recorded using frequency-domain holography (FDH). To visualize the wake's evolution, we have generalized FDH to frequency-domain tomography (FDT), which uses multiple probes propagating at different angles with respect to the pump pulse. Each probe records a phase streak, imprinting a partial record of the evolution of pump-created structures. We then topographically reconstruct the full evolution from all phase streaks. To prove the concept, a prototype experiment visualizing nonlinear index evolution in glass is demonstrated. Four probes propagating at 0, 0.6, 2, 14 degrees to the index ``bubble'' are angularly and temporally multiplexed to a single spectrometer to achieve cost-effective FDT. From these four phase streaks, an FDT algorithm analogous to conventional CT yields a single-shot movie of the pump's self-focusing dynamics.

Note: Real-time monitoring via second-harmonic interferometry of a flow gas cell for laser wakefield acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandi, F.; Giammanco, F.; Conti, F.; Sylla, F.; Lambert, G.; Gizzi, L. A.

2016-08-01

The use of a gas cell as a target for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) offers the possibility to obtain stable and manageable laser-plasma interaction process, a mandatory condition for practical applications of this emerging technique, especially in multi-stage accelerators. In order to obtain full control of the gas particle number density in the interaction region, thus allowing for a long term stable and manageable LWFA, real-time monitoring is necessary. In fact, the ideal gas law cannot be used to estimate the particle density inside the flow cell based on the preset backing pressure and the room temperature because the gas flow depends on several factors like tubing, regulators, and valves in the gas supply system, as well as vacuum chamber volume and vacuum pump speed/throughput. Here, second-harmonic interferometry is applied to measure the particle number density inside a flow gas cell designed for LWFA. The results demonstrate that real-time monitoring is achieved and that using low backing pressure gas (<1 bar) and different cell orifice diameters (<2 mm) it is possible to finely tune the number density up to the 1019 cm-3 range well suited for LWFA.

Note: Real-time monitoring via second-harmonic interferometry of a flow gas cell for laser wakefield acceleration.

PubMed

Brandi, F; Giammanco, F; Conti, F; Sylla, F; Lambert, G; Gizzi, L A

2016-08-01

The use of a gas cell as a target for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) offers the possibility to obtain stable and manageable laser-plasma interaction process, a mandatory condition for practical applications of this emerging technique, especially in multi-stage accelerators. In order to obtain full control of the gas particle number density in the interaction region, thus allowing for a long term stable and manageable LWFA, real-time monitoring is necessary. In fact, the ideal gas law cannot be used to estimate the particle density inside the flow cell based on the preset backing pressure and the room temperature because the gas flow depends on several factors like tubing, regulators, and valves in the gas supply system, as well as vacuum chamber volume and vacuum pump speed/throughput. Here, second-harmonic interferometry is applied to measure the particle number density inside a flow gas cell designed for LWFA. The results demonstrate that real-time monitoring is achieved and that using low backing pressure gas (<1 bar) and different cell orifice diameters (<2 mm) it is possible to finely tune the number density up to the 10(19) cm(-3) range well suited for LWFA.

Analysis of radial and longitudinal field of plasma wakefield generated by a Laguerre-Gauss laser pulse

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Firouzjaei, Ali Shekari; Shokri, Babak

In the present paper, we study the wakes known as the donut wake which is generated by Laguerre-Gauss (LG) laser pulses. Effects of the special spatial profile of a LG pulse on the radial and longitudinal wakefields are presented via an analytical model in a weakly non-linear regime in two dimensions. Different aspects of the donut-shaped wakefields have been analyzed and compared with Gaussian-driven wakes. There is also some discussion about the accelerating-focusing phase of the donut wake. Variations of longitudinal and radial wakes with laser amplitude, pulse length, and pulse spot size have been presented and discussed. Finally, wemore » present the optimum pulse duration for such wakes.« less

Compact Plasma Accelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, John E.

2004-01-01

A plasma accelerator has been conceived for both material-processing and spacecraft-propulsion applications. This accelerator generates and accelerates ions within a very small volume. Because of its compactness, this accelerator could be nearly ideal for primary or station-keeping propulsion for spacecraft having masses between 1 and 20 kg. Because this accelerator is designed to generate beams of ions having energies between 50 and 200 eV, it could also be used for surface modification or activation of thin films.

Low Emittance, High Brilliance Relativistic Electron Beams from a Laser-Plasma Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brunetti, E.; Shanks, R. P.; Manahan, G. G.

2010-11-19

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 1{pi} 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{+-}0.1{pi} 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 5x10{sup 15} A m{sup -1} rad{sup -1} makes it suitable for compact XUVmore » FELs.« less

Note: Real-time monitoring via second-harmonic interferometry of a flow gas cell for laser wakefield acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brandi, F., E-mail: fernando.brandi@ino.it; Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia; Giammanco, F.

2016-08-15

The use of a gas cell as a target for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) offers the possibility to obtain stable and manageable laser-plasma interaction process, a mandatory condition for practical applications of this emerging technique, especially in multi-stage accelerators. In order to obtain full control of the gas particle number density in the interaction region, thus allowing for a long term stable and manageable LWFA, real-time monitoring is necessary. In fact, the ideal gas law cannot be used to estimate the particle density inside the flow cell based on the preset backing pressure and the room temperature because the gasmore » flow depends on several factors like tubing, regulators, and valves in the gas supply system, as well as vacuum chamber volume and vacuum pump speed/throughput. Here, second-harmonic interferometry is applied to measure the particle number density inside a flow gas cell designed for LWFA. The results demonstrate that real-time monitoring is achieved and that using low backing pressure gas (<1 bar) and different cell orifice diameters (<2 mm) it is possible to finely tune the number density up to the 10{sup 19} cm{sup −3} range well suited for LWFA.« less

Beam-Dynamics Analysis of Long-Range Wakefield Effects on the SCRF Cavities at the Fast Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shin, Young-Min; Bishofberger, Kip; Carlsten, Bruce

Long-range wakefields in superconducting RF (SCRF) cavities create complicated effects on beam dynamics in SCRF-based FEL beamlines. The driving bunch excites effectively an infinite number of structure modes (including HOMs) which oscillate within the SCRF cavity. Couplers with loads are used to damp the HOMs. However, these HOMs can persist for long periods of time in superconducting structures, which leads to long-range wakefields. Clear understanding of the long-range wakefield effects is a critical element for risk mitigation of future SCRF accelerators such as XFEL at DESY, LCLS-II XFEL, and MaRIE XFEL. We are currently developing numerical tools for simulating long-rangemore » wakefields in SCRF accelerators and plan to experimentally verify the tools by measuring these wakefields at the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility. This paper previews the experimental conditions at the FAST 50 MeV beamline based on the simulation results.« less

Stable generation of GeV-class electron beams from self-guided laser-plasma channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hafz, Nasr A. M.; Jeong, Tae Moon; Choi, Il Woo; Lee, Seong Ku; Pae, Ki Hong; Kulagin, Victor V.; Sung, Jae Hee; Yu, Tae Jun; Hong, Kyung-Han; Hosokai, Tomonao; Cary, John R.; Ko, Do-Kyeong; Lee, Jongmin

2008-09-01

Table-top laser-driven plasma accelerators are gaining attention for their potential use in miniaturizing future high-energy accelerators. By irradiating gas jet targets with ultrashort intense laser pulses, the generation of quasimonoenergetic electron beams was recently observed. Currently, the stability of beam generation and the ability to scale to higher electron beam energies are critical issues for practical laser acceleration. Here, we demonstrate the first generation of stable GeV-class electron beams from stable few-millimetre-long plasma channels in a self-guided wakefield acceleration process. As primary evidence of the laser wakefield acceleration in a bubble regime, we observed a boost of both the electron beam energy and quality by reducing the plasma density and increasing the plasma length in a 1-cm-long gas jet. Subsequent three-dimensional simulations show the possibility of achieving even higher electron beam energies by minimizing plasma bubble elongation, and we anticipate dramatic increases in beam energy and quality in the near future. This will pave the way towards ultracompact, all-optical electron beam accelerators and their applications in science, technology and medicine.

Acceleration of electrons in strong beam-plasma interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilhelm, K.; Bernstein, W.; Kellogg, P. J.; Whalen, B. A.

1984-01-01

The effects of strong beam-plasma interactions on the electron population of the upper atmosphere have been investigated in an electron acceleration experiment performed with a sounding rocket. The rocket carried the Several Complex Experiments (SCEX) payload which included an electron accelerator, three disposable 'throwaway' detectors (TADs), and a stepped electron energy analyzer. The payload was launched in an auroral arc over the rocket at altitudes of 157 and 178 km, respectively. The performance characteristics of the instruments are discussed in detail. The data are combined with the results of laboratory measurements and show that electrons with energies of at least two and probably four times the injection energy of 2 keV were observed during strong beam-plasma interaction events. The interaction events occurred at pitch angles of 54 and 126 degrees. On the basis of the data it is proposed that the superenergization of the electrons is correlated with the length of the beam-plasma interaction region.

Capturing relativistic wakefield structures in plasmas using ultrashort high-energy electrons as a probe

DOE PAGES

Zhang, C. J.; Hua, J. F.; Xu, X. L.; ...

2016-07-11

A new method capable of capturing coherent electric field structures propagating at nearly the speed of light in plasma with a time resolution as small as a few femtoseconds is proposed. This method uses a few femtoseconds long relativistic electron bunch to probe the wake produced in a plasma by an intense laser pulse or an ultra-short relativistic charged particle beam. As the probe bunch traverses the wake, its momentum is modulated by the electric field of the wake, leading to a density variation of the probe after free-space propagation. This variation of probe density produces a snapshot of themore » wake that can directly give many useful information of the wake structure and its evolution. Furthermore, this snapshot allows detailed mapping of the longitudinal and transverse components of the wakefield. We develop a theoretical model for field reconstruction and verify it using 3-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. This model can accurately reconstruct the wakefield structure in the linear regime, and it can also qualitatively map the major features of nonlinear wakes. As a result, the capturing of the injection in a nonlinear wake is demonstrated through 3D PIC simulations as an example of the application of this new method.« less

Technical Design Report for the FACET-II Project at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

Electrons can “surf” on waves of plasma – a hot gas of charged particles – gaining very high energies in very short distances. This approach, called plasma wakefield acceleration, has the potential to dramatically shrink the size and cost of particle accelerators. Research at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has demonstrated that plasmas can provide 1,000 times the acceleration in a given distance compared with current technologies. Developing revolutionary and more efficient acceleration techniques that allow for an affordable high-energy collider has been the focus of FACET, a National User Facility at SLAC. FACET used part of SLAC’s two-mile-long linearmore » accelerator to generate high-density beams of electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons. Research into plasma wakefield acceleration was the primary motivation for constructing FACET. In April 2016, FACET operations came to an end to make way for the second phase of SLAC’s x-ray laser, the LCLS-II, which will use part of the tunnel occupied by FACET. FACET-II is a new test facility to provide the unique capability to develop advanced acceleration and coherent radiation techniques with high-energy electron and positron beams. FACET-II represents a major upgrade over current FACET capabilities and the breadth of the potential research program makes it truly unique.« less

Numerical Calculations of Short-Range Wakefields of Collimators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, C. K.

2001-12-01

The performance of future linear colliders are limited by the effect of short-range collimator wakefields on the beam. The beam quality is sensitive to the positioning of collimators at the end of the linac. The determination of collimator wakefields has been difficult, largely because of the scarcity of measurement data, and of the limitation of applicability of analytical results to realistic structures. In this paper, numerical methods using codes such as MAFIA are used to determine a series of tapered collimators with rectangular apertures that have been built for studies at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). We will study the dependences of the wakefield on the collimator taper angle, the collimator gap as well as the bunch length. Calculations are also compared with measurements.

Effect of injection-gas concentration on the electron beam quality from a laser-plasma accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzaie, Mohammad; Zhang, Guobo; Li, Song; Gao, Kai; Li, Guangyu; Ain, Quratul; Hafz, Nasr A. M.

2018-04-01

By using 25-45 TW ultra-short (30 fs) laser pulses, we report on the effect of the injection gas concentration on the quality of electron beams generated by a laser-driven plasma wakefield acceleration employing the ionization-injection. For a plasma formed from helium-nitrogen gas mixture and depending on the concentration of the nitrogen gas, we could distinguish a clear trend for the quality of the generated electron beams in terms of their peak energy, energy-spread, divergence angle, and beam charge. The results clearly showed that the lower the nitrogen concentration, the better the quality (higher peak energy, smaller energy spread, and smaller emittance) of the generated electron beams. The results are in reasonable agreement with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

Relativistic Electron Acceleration with Ultrashort Mid-IR Laser Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feder, Linus; Woodbury, Daniel; Shumakova, Valentina; Gollner, Claudia; Miao, Bo; Schwartz, Robert; Pugžlys, Audrius; Baltuška, Andrius; Milchberg, Howard

2017-10-01

We report the first results of laser plasma wakefield acceleration driven by ultrashort mid-infrared laser pulses (λ = 3.9 μm , pulsewidth 100 fs, energy <20 mJ, peak power <1 TW), which enables near- and above-critical density interactions with moderate-density gas jets. We present thresholds for electron acceleration based on critical parameters for relativistic self-focusing and target width, as well as trends in the accelerated beam profiles, charge and energy spectra which are supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations. These results extend earlier work with sub-TW self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration using near IR drivers to the Mid-IR, and enable us to capture time-resolved images of relativistic self-focusing of the laser pulse. This work supported by DOE (DESC0010706TDD, DESC0015516); AFOSR(FA95501310044, FA95501610121); NSF(PHY1535519); DHS.

Fluid simulation of relativistic electron beam driven wakefield in a cold plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bera, Ratan Kumar; Sengupta, Sudip; Das, Amita

Excitation of wakefield in a cold homogeneous plasma, driven by an ultra-relativistic electron beam is studied in one dimension using fluid simulation techniques. For a homogeneous rigid beam having density (n{sub b}) less than or equal to half the plasma density (n{sub 0}), simulation results are found to be in good agreement with the analytical work of Rosenzweig [Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 555 (1987)]. Here, Rosenzweig's work has been analytically extended to regimes where the ratio of beam density to plasma density is greater than half and results have been verified using simulation. Further in contrast to Rosenzweig's work, ifmore » the beam is allowed to evolve in a self-consistent manner, several interesting features are observed in simulation viz. splitting of the beam into beam-lets (for l{sub b} > λ{sub p}) and compression of the beam (for l{sub b} < λ{sub p}), l{sub b} and λ{sub p}, respectively, being the initial beam length and plasma wavelength.« less

Roles of individual radicals generated by a submerged dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor during Escherichia coli O157:H7 inactivation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khan, Muhammad Saiful Islam; Lee, Eun-Jung; Kim, Yun-Ji, E-mail: yunji@kfri.re.kr

A submerged dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor (underwater DBD) has been used on Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC 35150). Plasma treatment was carried out using clean dry air gas to investigate the individual effects of the radicals produced by underwater DBD on an E. coli O157:H7 suspension (8.0 log CFU/ml). E. coli O157:H7 was reduced by 6.0 log CFU/ml for 2 min of underwater DBD plasma treatment. Optical Emission Spectra (OES) shows that OH and NO (α, β) radicals, generated by underwater DBD along with ozone gas. E. coli O157:H7 were reduced by 2.3 log CFU/ml for 10 min of underwatermore » DBD plasma treatment with the terephthalic acid (TA) OH radical scavenger solution, which is significantly lower (3.7 log CFU/ml) than the result obtained without using the OH radical scavenger. A maximum of 1.5 ppm of ozone gas was produced during the discharge of underwater DBD, and the obtained reduction difference in E.coli O157:H7 in presence and in absence of ozone gas was 1.68 log CFU/ml. The remainder of the 0.62 log CFU/ml reduction might be due to the effect of the NO (α, β) radicals or due to the combined effect of all the radicals produced by underwater DBD. A small amount of hydrogen peroxide was also generated but does not play any role in E. coli O157:H7 inactivation.« less

Roles of individual radicals generated by a submerged dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor during Escherichia coli O157:H7 inactivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Muhammad Saiful Islam; Lee, Eun-Jung; Kim, Yun-Ji

2015-10-01

A submerged dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor (underwater DBD) has been used on Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC 35150). Plasma treatment was carried out using clean dry air gas to investigate the individual effects of the radicals produced by underwater DBD on an E. coli O157:H7 suspension (8.0 log CFU/ml). E. coli O157:H7 was reduced by 6.0 log CFU/ml for 2 min of underwater DBD plasma treatment. Optical Emission Spectra (OES) shows that OH and NO (α, β) radicals, generated by underwater DBD along with ozone gas. E. coli O157:H7 were reduced by 2.3 log CFU/ml for 10 min of underwater DBD plasma treatment with the terephthalic acid (TA) OH radical scavenger solution, which is significantly lower (3.7 log CFU/ml) than the result obtained without using the OH radical scavenger. A maximum of 1.5 ppm of ozone gas was produced during the discharge of underwater DBD, and the obtained reduction difference in E.coli O157:H7 in presence and in absence of ozone gas was 1.68 log CFU/ml. The remainder of the 0.62 log CFU/ml reduction might be due to the effect of the NO (α, β) radicals or due to the combined effect of all the radicals produced by underwater DBD. A small amount of hydrogen peroxide was also generated but does not play any role in E. coli O157:H7 inactivation.

Generation, and applications of stable, 100-500-MeV, dark-current-free beams, from a laser-wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Sudeep

2011-10-01

This talk will report the production of high energy, quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches without the low-energy electron background that is typically detected from self-injected laser-wakefield accelerators. These electron bunches are produced when the accelerator is operated in the blowout regime, and the laser and plasma parameters are optimized. High-contrast, high power (30-60 TW) and ultra-short-duration (30 fs) laser pulses are focused onto He-gas-jet targets. The high energy (300-400 MeV) monoenergetic (energy spread < 10%) beams are characterized by 1-4-mrad divergence, pointing stability of 1-2 mrad, and a few-percent shot-to-shot fluctuation of peak energy. The results are scalable: the beam energy can be tuned by appropriate choice of acceleration length, laser power and plasma density. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that these electron beams are generated when the accelerator is operated near the self-injection threshold, which suppresses dark current (continuous injection in the first bucket). Suppression of dark current is required to minimize noise, improve the quality of secondary radiation sources, and minimize shielding requirements for high repetition-rate operation. Also reported, is the application of this novel electron-beam source to radiography of dense objects with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. In this case, the energetic electron beam is incident on a 2''-thick steel target with embedded voids, which are detected with image plates. Current progress on the generation of GeV energy electron beams with petawatt peak power laser pulses, from the upgraded DIOCLES laser system, will also be discussed. Work supported by U. S. DOE grants DEFG02-05ER15663, DE-FG02-08ER55000; DARPA grant FA9550-09-1-0009; DTRA grant HDTRA1-11-C-0001 and, DHS grant 2007-DN-007-ER0007-02. The laser is supported by AFOSR contracts FA 9550-08-1-0232, FA9550-07-1-0521.

Ultra-High Gradient Channeling Acceleration in Nanostructures: Design/Progress of Proof-of-Concept (POC) Experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shin, Young Min; Green, A.; Lumpkin, A. H.

2016-09-16

A short bunch of relativistic particles or a short-pulse laser perturbs the density state of conduction electrons in a solid crystal and excites wakefields along atomic lattices in a crystal. Under a coupling condition the wakes, if excited, can accelerate channeling particles with TeV/m acceleration gradients in principle since the density of charge carriers (conduction electrons) in solids n 0 = ~ 10 20 – 10 23 cm -3 is significantly higher than what can be obtained in gaseous plasma. Nanostructures have some advantages over crystals for channeling applications of high power beams. The dechanneling rate can be reduced andmore » the beam acceptance increased by the large size of the channels. For beam-driven acceleration, a bunch length with a sufficient charge density would need to be in the range of the plasma wavelength to properly excite plasma wakefields, and channeled particle acceleration with the wakefields must occur before the ions in the lattices move beyond the restoring threshold. In the case of the excitation by short laser pulses, the dephasing length is appreciably increased with the larger channel, which enables channeled particles to gain sufficient amounts of energy. This paper describes simulation analyses on beam- and laser (X-ray)-driven accelerations in effective nanotube models obtained from Vsim and EPOCH codes. Experimental setups to detect wakefields are also outlined with accelerator facilities at Fermilab and NIU. In the FAST facility, the electron beamline was successfully commissioned at 50 MeV and it is being upgraded toward higher energies for electron accelerator R&D. The 50 MeV injector beamline of the facility is used for X-ray crystal-channeling radiation with a diamond target. It has been proposed to utilize the same diamond crystal for a channeling acceleration POC test. Another POC experiment is also designed for the NIU accelerator lab with time-resolved electron diffraction. Recently, a stable generation of single

Ultra-high gradient channeling acceleration in nanostructures: Design/progress of proof-of-concept (POC) experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Y. M.; Green, A.; Lumpkin, A. H.; Thurman-Keup, R. M.; Shiltsev, V.; Zhang, X.; Farinella, D. M.-A.; Taborek, P.; Tajima, T.; Wheeler, J. A.; Mourou, G.

2017-03-01

A short bunch of relativistic particles, or a short-pulse laser, perturb the density state of conduction electrons in a solid crystal and excite wakefields along atomic lattices in a crystal. Under a coupling condition between a driver and plasma, the wakes, if excited, can accelerate channeling particles with TeV/m acceleration gradients [1], in principle, since the density of charge carriers (conduction electrons) in solids n0 = 1020 - 1023 cm-3 is significantly higher than what was considered above in gaseous plasma. Nanostructures have some advantages over crystals for channeling applications of high power beams. The de-channeling rate can be reduced and the beam acceptance increased by the large size of the channels. For beam-driven acceleration, a bunch length with a sufficient charge density would need to be in the range of the plasma wavelength to properly excite plasma wakefields, and channeled particle acceleration with the wakefields must occur before the ions in the lattices move beyond the restoring threshold. In the case of the excitation by short laser pulses, the dephasing length is appreciably increased with the larger channel, which enables channeled particles to gain sufficient amounts of energy. This paper describes simulation analyses on beam- and laser (X-ray)-driven accelerations in effective nanotube models obtained from the Vsim and EPOCH codes. Experimental setups to detect wakefields are also outlined with accelerator facilities at Fermilab and Northern Illinois University (NIU). In the FAST facility, the electron beamline was successfully commissioned at 50 MeV, and it is being upgraded toward higher energies for electron accelerator R&D. The 50 MeV injector beamline of the facility is used for X-ray crystal-channeling radiation with a diamond target. It has been proposed to utilize the same diamond crystal for a channeling acceleration proof-of-concept (POC). Another POC experiment is also designed for the NIU accelerator lab with time

Collaborative Research: Simulation of Beam-Electron Cloud Interactions in Circular Accelerators Using Plasma Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katsouleas, Thomas; Decyk, Viktor

Berkeley National Lab later implemented a similar basic quasistatic scheme including pipelining in the code WARP [9] and found good to very good quantitative agreement between the two codes in modeling e-clouds. References [1] C. Huang, V. K. Decyk, C. Ren, M. Zhou, W. Lu, W. B. Mori, J. H. Cooley, T. M. Antonsen, Jr., and T. Katsouleas, "QUICKPIC: A highly efficient particle-in-cell code for modeling wakefield acceleration in plasmas," J. Computational Phys. 217, 658 (2006). [2] B. Feng, C. Huang, V. K. Decyk, W. B. Mori, P. Muggli, and T. Katsouleas, "Enhancing parallel quasi-static particle-in-cell simulations with a pipelining algorithm," J. Computational Phys, 228, 5430 (2009). [3] C. Huang, V. K. Decyk, M. Zhou, W. Lu, W. B. Mori, J. H. Cooley, T. M. Antonsen, Jr., and B. Feng, T. Katsouleas, J. Vieira, and L. O. Silva, "QUICKPIC: A highly efficient fully parallelized PIC code for plasma-based acceleration," Proc. of the SciDAC 2006 Conf., Denver, Colorado, June, 2006 [Journal of Physics: Conference Series, W. M. Tang, Editor, vol. 46, Institute of Physics, Bristol and Philadelphia, 2006], p. 190. [4] B. Feng, C. Huang, V. Decyk, W. B. Mori, T. Katsouleas, P. Muggli, "Enhancing Plasma Wakefield and E-cloud Simulation Performance Using a Pipelining Algorithm," Proc. 12th Workshop on Advanced Accelerator Concepts, Lake Geneva, WI, July, 2006, p. 201 [AIP Conf. Proceedings, vol. 877, Melville, NY, 2006]. [5] B. Feng, P. Muggli, T. Katsouleas, V. Decyk, C. Huang, and W. Mori, "Long Time Electron Cloud Instability Simulation Using QuickPIC with Pipelining Algorithm," Proc. of the 2007 Particle Accelerator Conference, Albuquerque, NM, June, 2007, p. 3615. [6] B. Feng, C. Huang, V. Decyk, W. B. Mori, G. H. Hoffstaetter, P. Muggli, T. Katsouleas, "Simulation of Electron Cloud Effects on Electron Beam at ERL with Pipelined QuickPIC," Proc. 13th Workshop on Advanced Accelerator Concepts, Santa Cruz, CA, July-August, 2008, p. 340 [AIP Conf. Proceedings, vol. 1086, Melville, NY

Automated detection and analysis of particle beams in laser-plasma accelerator simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ushizima, Daniela Mayumi; Geddes, C.G.; Cormier-Michel, E.

Numerical simulations of laser-plasma wakefield (particle) accelerators model the acceleration of electrons trapped in plasma oscillations (wakes) left behind when an intense laser pulse propagates through the plasma. The goal of these simulations is to better understand the process involved in plasma wake generation and how electrons are trapped and accelerated by the wake. Understanding of such accelerators, and their development, offer high accelerating gradients, potentially reducing size and cost of new accelerators. One operating regime of interest is where a trapped subset of electrons loads the wake and forms an isolated group of accelerated particles with low spread inmore » momentum and position, desirable characteristics for many applications. The electrons trapped in the wake may be accelerated to high energies, the plasma gradient in the wake reaching up to a gigaelectronvolt per centimeter. High-energy electron accelerators power intense X-ray radiation to terahertz sources, and are used in many applications including medical radiotherapy and imaging. To extract information from the simulation about the quality of the beam, a typical approach is to examine plots of the entire dataset, visually determining the adequate parameters necessary to select a subset of particles, which is then further analyzed. This procedure requires laborious examination of massive data sets over many time steps using several plots, a routine that is unfeasible for large data collections. Demand for automated analysis is growing along with the volume and size of simulations. Current 2D LWFA simulation datasets are typically between 1GB and 100GB in size, but simulations in 3D are of the order of TBs. The increase in the number of datasets and dataset sizes leads to a need for automatic routines to recognize particle patterns as particle bunches (beam of electrons) for subsequent analysis. Because of the growth in dataset size, the application of machine learning techniques

Neutron Source from Laser Plasma Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Xuejing; Shaw, Joseph; McCary, Eddie; Downer, Mike; Hegelich, Bjorn

2016-10-01

Laser driven electron beams and ion beams were utilized to produce neutron sources via different mechanism. On the Texas Petawatt laser, deuterized plastic, gold and DLC foil targets of varying thickness were shot with 150 J , 150 fs laser pulses at a peak intensity of 2 ×1021W /cm2 . Ions were accelerated by either target normal sheath acceleration or Breakout Afterburner acceleration. Neutrons were produced via the 9Be(d,n) and 9Be(p,n) reactions when accelerated ions impinged on a Beryllium converter as well as by deuteron breakup reactions. We observed 2 ×1010 neutron per shot in average, corresponding to 5 ×1018n /s . The efficiencies for different targets are comparable. In another experiment, 38fs , 0.3 J UT3 laser pulse interacted with mixed gas target. Electrons with energy 40MeV were produced via laser wakefield acceleration. Neutron flux of 2 ×106 per shot was generated through bremsstrahlung and subsequent photoneutron reactions on a Copper converter.

Self-consistent Simulation of Microparticle and Ion Wakefield Configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanford, Dustin; Brooks, Beau; Ellis, Naoki; Matthews, Lorin; Hyde, Truell

2017-10-01

In a complex plasma, positively charged ions often have a directed flow with respect to the negatively charged dust grains. The resulting interaction between the dust and the flowing plasma creates an ion wakefield downstream from the dust particles, with the resulting positive space region modifying the interaction between the grains and contributing to the observed dynamics and equilibrium structure of the system. Here we present a proof of concept method that uses a molecular dynamics simulation to model the ion wakefield allowing the dynamics of the dust particles to be determined self-consistently. The trajectory of each ion is calculated including the forces from all other ions, which are treated as ``Yukawa particles'' and shielded from thermal electrons and the forces of the charged dust particles. Both the dust grain charge and the wakefield structure are also self-consistently determined for various particle configurations. The resultant wakefield potentials are then used to provide dynamic simulations of dust particle pairs. These results will be employed to analyze the formation and dynamics of field-aligned chains in CASPER's PK4 experiment onboard the International Space Station, allowing examination of extended dust chains without the masking force of gravity. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants PHY-1414523 and PHY-1740203.

Plasma density characterization at SPARC_LAB through Stark broadening of Hydrogen spectral lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippi, F.; Anania, M. P.; Bellaveglia, M.; Biagioni, A.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Di Giovenale, D.; Di Pirro, G.; Ferrario, M.; Mostacci, A.; Palumbo, L.; Pompili, R.; Shpakov, V.; Vaccarezza, C.; Villa, F.; Zigler, A.

2016-09-01

Plasma-based acceleration techniques are of great interest for future, compact accelerators due to their high accelerating gradient. Both particle-driven and laser-driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration experiments are foreseen at the SPARC_LAB Test Facility (INFN National Laboratories of Frascati, Italy), with the aim to accelerate high-brightness electron beams. In order to optimize the efficiency of the acceleration in the plasma and preserve the quality of the accelerated beam, the knowledge of the plasma electron density is mandatory. The Stark broadening of the Hydrogen spectral lines is one of the candidates used to characterize plasma density. The implementation of this diagnostic for plasma-based experiments at SPARC_LAB is presented.

Experimental evidence of nonthermal acceleration of relativistic electrons by an intensive laser pulse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuramitsu, Y.; Nakanii, N.; Kondo, K.; Sakawa, Y.; Mori, Y.; Miura, E.; Tsuji, K.; Kimura, K.; Fukumochi, S.; Kashihara, M.; Tanimoto, T.; Nakamura, H.; Ishikura, T.; Takeda, K.; Tampo, M.; Kodama, R.; Kitagawa, Y.; Mima, K.; Tanaka, K. A.; Hoshino, M.; Takabe, H.

2011-02-01

Nonthermal acceleration of relativistic electrons is investigated with an intensive laser pulse. An energy distribution function of energetic particles in the universe or cosmic rays is well represented by a power-law spectrum, therefore, nonthermal acceleration is essential to understand the origin of cosmic rays. A possible candidate for the origin of cosmic rays is wakefield acceleration at relativistic astrophysical perpendicular shocks. The wakefield is considered to be excited by large-amplitude precursor light waves in the upstream of the shocks. Substituting an intensive laser pulse for the large amplitude light waves, we performed a model experiment of the shock environments in a laboratory plasma. An intensive laser pulse was propagated in a plasma tube created by imploding a hollow polystyrene cylinder, as the large amplitude light waves propagated in the upstream plasma at an astrophysical shock. Nonthermal electrons were generated, and the energy distribution functions of the electrons have a power-law component with an index of ~2. We described the detailed procedures to obtain the nonthermal components from data obtained by an electron spectrometer.

Non-Maxwellian electron distributions by direct laser acceleration in near-critical plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toncian, T.; Wang, C.; Arefiev, A.; McCary, E.; Meadows, A.; Blakeney, J.; Chester, C.; Roycroft, R.; Fu, H.; Yan, X. Q.; Schreiber, J.; Pomerantz, I.; Quevedo, H.; Dyer, G.; Gaul, E.; Ditmire, T.; Hegelich, B. M.

2015-11-01

The irradiation of few nm thick targets by a finite-contrast high-intensity short-pulse laser results in a strong pre-expansion of these targets at the arrival time of the main pulse. The targets will decompress to near and lower than critical electron densities plasmas extending over lengths of few micrometers. The laser-matter interaction of the main pulse with such a highly localized but inhomogeneous the target leads to the generation of a channel and further self focussing of the laser beam. As measured in a experiment conducted with the GHOST laser system at UT Austin, 2D PIC simulations predict Direct Laser Acceleration of non-Maxwellian electron distribution in the laser propagation direction for such targets. The hereby high density electron bunches have potential applications as injector beams for a further wakefield acceleration stage. This work was supported by NNSA cooperative agreement DE-NA0002008, the DARPA's PULSE program (12-63-PULSE-FP014) and the AFOSR (FA9550-14-1-0045).

Exploiting multi-scale parallelism for large scale numerical modelling of laser wakefield accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fonseca, R. A.; Vieira, J.; Fiuza, F.; Davidson, A.; Tsung, F. S.; Mori, W. B.; Silva, L. O.

2013-12-01

A new generation of laser wakefield accelerators (LWFA), supported by the extreme accelerating fields generated in the interaction of PW-Class lasers and underdense targets, promises the production of high quality electron beams in short distances for multiple applications. Achieving this goal will rely heavily on numerical modelling to further understand the underlying physics and identify optimal regimes, but large scale modelling of these scenarios is computationally heavy and requires the efficient use of state-of-the-art petascale supercomputing systems. We discuss the main difficulties involved in running these simulations and the new developments implemented in the OSIRIS framework to address these issues, ranging from multi-dimensional dynamic load balancing and hybrid distributed/shared memory parallelism to the vectorization of the PIC algorithm. We present the results of the OASCR Joule Metric program on the issue of large scale modelling of LWFA, demonstrating speedups of over 1 order of magnitude on the same hardware. Finally, scalability to over ˜106 cores and sustained performance over ˜2 P Flops is demonstrated, opening the way for large scale modelling of LWFA scenarios.

In-package inhibition of E. coli O157:H7 on bulk Romaine lettuce using cold plasma.

PubMed

Min, Sea C; Roh, Si Hyeon; Niemira, Brendan A; Boyd, Glenn; Sites, Joseph E; Uknalis, Joseph; Fan, Xuetong

2017-08-01

Dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma (DACP) treatment was evaluated for the inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, surface morphology, color, carbon dioxide generation, and weight loss of bulk Romaine lettuce in a commercial plastic clamshell container. The lettuce samples were packed in a model bulk packaging configuration (three rows with either 1, 3, 5, or 7 layers) in the container and treated by DACP (42.6 kV, 10 min). DACP treatment reduced the number of E. coli O157:H7 in the leaf samples in the 1-, 3-, and 5-layer configurations by 0.4-0.8 log CFU/g lettuce, with no significant correlation to the sample location (P > 0.05). In the largest bulk stacking with 7 layers, a greater degree of reduction (1.1 log CFU/g lettuce) was observed at the top layer, but shaking the container increased the uniformity of the inhibition. DACP did not significantly change the surface morphology, color, respiration rate, or weight loss of the samples, nor did these properties differ significantly according to their location in the bulk stack. DACP treatment inhibited E. coli O157:H7 on bulk lettuce in clamshell containers in a uniform manner, without affecting the physical and biological properties and thus holds promise as a post-packaging process for fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ionization Injection of Electrons into a Plasma Wakefield Accelerator at FACET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clayton, Chris; E-200 At Facet Collaboration

2013-10-01

In the PWFA experiments at FACET, a low ionization-potential (IP) metal vapor gas (Li) is confined within a heat-pipe oven by a higher IP buffer gas (typically He). The Li is easily field-ionized by the FACET beam. A non-linear wake is formed in the blowout regime when the 20.3 GeV bunch containing 2e10 electrons in a σz ~ 30 μm is focused to a (vacuum) σr < 25 near the ~ 10cm-long boundary region. There the Li density rises from zero up to the oven's 30cm-long flat-topped density of 2.5e17 cm-3. To obtain a mono-energetic beam from accelerated ionization-injected electrons at the far end of the oven--the goal of this experiment--it is necessary for the FACET beam to have a betatron pinch just where the flat-topped region begins; i.e., where the wake wavelength is no longer changing. If the buffer gas contains a mixture of He and a moderate IP gas, the ``impurity'' gases will also be field ionized and potentially contribute more charge to the injected bunch than with He alone. Moderate IP gases were added to the He buffer gas: 10%, 20%, and 50% Ar (balance He) and 30% Ne (balance He) have been used. Evidence for ionization injection and acceleration appears through the observation of distinct features, characterized by their very narrow size and thus angular spread, at the image plane of a magnetic imaging spectrometer. Analysis aimed at characterizing these features with respect to energy, charge, and angular spread is underway and will be presented. This work was supported by the DOE and the NSF.

Optimization of the combined proton acceleration regime with a target composition scheme

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yao, W. P.; Graduate School, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Beijing 100088; Li, B. W., E-mail: li-baiwen@iapcm.ac.cn

A target composition scheme to optimize the combined proton acceleration regime is presented and verified by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations by using an ultra-intense circularly polarized (CP) laser pulse irradiating an overdense hydrocarbon (CH) target, instead of a pure hydrogen (H) one. The combined acceleration regime is a two-stage proton acceleration scheme combining the radiation pressure dominated acceleration (RPDA) stage and the laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) stage sequentially together. Protons get pre-accelerated in the first stage when an ultra-intense CP laser pulse irradiating an overdense CH target. The wakefield is driven by the laser pulse after penetrating through the overdense CHmore » target and propagating in the underdense tritium plasma gas. With the pre-accelerate stage, protons can now get trapped in the wakefield and accelerated to much higher energy by LWFA. Finally, protons with higher energies (from about 20 GeV up to about 30 GeV) and lower energy spreads (from about 18% down to about 5% in full-width at half-maximum, or FWHM) are generated, as compared to the use of a pure H target. It is because protons can be more stably pre-accelerated in the first RPDA stage when using CH targets. With the increase of the carbon-to-hydrogen density ratio, the energy spread is lower and the maximum proton energy is higher. It also shows that for the same laser intensity around 10{sup 22} W cm{sup −2}, using the CH target will lead to a higher proton energy, as compared to the use of a pure H target. Additionally, proton energy can be further increased by employing a longitudinally negative gradient of a background plasma density.« less

A compact tunable polarized X-ray source based on laser-plasma helical undulators

PubMed Central

Luo, J.; Chen, M.; Zeng, M.; Vieira, J.; Yu, L. L.; Weng, S. M.; Silva, L. O.; Jaroszynski, D. A.; Sheng, Z. M.; Zhang, J.

2016-01-01

Laser wakefield accelerators have great potential as the basis for next generation compact radiation sources because of their extremely high accelerating gradients. However, X-ray radiation from such devices still lacks tunability, especially of the intensity and polarization distributions. Here we propose a tunable polarized radiation source based on a helical plasma undulator in a plasma channel guided wakefield accelerator. When a laser pulse is initially incident with a skew angle relative to the channel axis, the laser and accelerated electrons experience collective spiral motions, which leads to elliptically polarized synchrotron-like radiation with flexible tunability on radiation intensity, spectra and polarization. We demonstrate that a radiation source with millimeter size and peak brilliance of 2 × 1019 photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1% bandwidth can be made with moderate laser and electron beam parameters. This brilliance is comparable with third generation synchrotron radiation facilities running at similar photon energies, suggesting that laser plasma based radiation sources are promising for advanced applications. PMID:27377126

Experimental Characterization of Electron-Beam-Driven Wakefield Modes in a Dielectric-Woodpile Cartesian Symmetric Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoang, P. D.; Andonian, G.; Gadjev, I.; Naranjo, B.; Sakai, Y.; Sudar, N.; Williams, O.; Fedurin, M.; Kusche, K.; Swinson, C.; Zhang, P.; Rosenzweig, J. B.

2018-04-01

Photonic structures operating in the terahertz (THz) spectral region enable the essential characteristics of confinement, modal control, and electric field shielding for very high gradient accelerators based on wakefields in dielectrics. We report here an experimental investigation of THz wakefield modes in a three-dimensional photonic woodpile structure. Selective control in exciting or suppressing of wakefield modes with a nonzero transverse wave vector is demonstrated by using drive beams of varying transverse ellipticity. Additionally, we show that the wakefield spectrum is insensitive to the offset position of strongly elliptical beams. These results are consistent with analytic theory and three-dimensional simulations and illustrate a key advantage of wakefield systems with Cartesian symmetry: the suppression of transverse wakes by elliptical beams.

Improved plasma accelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, D. Y.

1971-01-01

Converging, coaxial accelerator electrode configuration operates in vacuum as plasma gun. Plasma forms by periodic injections of high pressure gas that is ionized by electrical discharges. Deflagration mode of discharge provides acceleration, and converging contours of plasma gun provide focusing.

High field terahertz pulse generation from plasma wakefield driven by tailored laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zi-Yu

2013-06-01

A scheme to generate high field terahertz (THz) pulses by using tailored laser pulses interaction with a gas target is proposed. The laser wakefield based THz source is emitted from the asymmetric laser shape induced plasma transverse transient net currents. Particle-in-cell simulations show that THz emission with electric filed strength over 1 GV/cm can be obtained with incident laser at 1×1019 W/cm2 level, and the corresponding energy conversion efficiency is more than 10-4. The intensity scaling holds up to high field strengths. Such a source also has a broad tunability range in amplitude, frequency spectra, and temporal shape.

Electron diffraction using ultrafast electron bunches from a laser-wakefield accelerator at kHz repetition rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Z.-H.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Beaurepaire, B.; Nees, J. A.; Hou, B.; Malka, V.; Krushelnick, K.; Faure, J.

2013-02-01

We show that electron bunches in the 50-100 keV range can be produced from a laser wakefield accelerator using 10 mJ, 35 fs laser pulses operating at 0.5 kHz. It is shown that using a solenoid magnetic lens, the electron bunch distribution can be shaped. The resulting transverse and longitudinal coherence is suitable for producing diffraction images from a polycrystalline 10 nm aluminum foil. The high repetition rate, the stability of the electron source, and the fact that its uncorrelated bunch duration is below 100 fs make this approach promising for the development of sub-100 fs ultrafast electron diffraction experiments.

Forward directed x-ray from source produced by relativistic electrons from a Self-Modulated Laser Wakefield Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemos, Nuno; Albert, Felicie; Shaw, Jessica; King, Paul; Milder, Avi; Marsh, Ken; Pak, Arthur; Joshi, Chan

2017-10-01

Plasma-based particle accelerators are now able to provide the scientific community with novel light sources. Their applications span many disciplines, including high-energy density sciences, where they can be used as probes to explore the physics of dense plasmas and warm dense matter. A recent advance is in the experimental and theoretical characterization of x-ray emission from electrons in the self-modulated laser wakefield regime (SMLWFA) where little is known about the x-ray properties. A series of experiments at the LLNL Jupiter Laser Facility, using the 1 ps 150 J Titan laser, have demonstrated low divergence electron beams with energies up to 300 MeV and 6 nCs of charge, and betatron x-rays with critical energies up to 20 keV. This work identifies two other mechanisms which produce high energy broadband x-rays and gamma-rays from the SMLWFA: Bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton scattering. We demonstrate the use of Compton scattering and bremsstrahlung to generate x/Gamma-rays from 3 keV up to 1.5 MeV with a source size of 50um and a divergence of 100 mrad. This work is an important step towards developing this x-ray light source on large-scale international laser facilities, and also opens up the prospect of using them for applications. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.

Extending laser plasma accelerators into the mid-IR spectral domain with a next-generation ultra-fast CO 2 laser

DOE PAGES

Pogorelsky, I. V.; Babzien, M.; Ben-Zvi, I.; ...

2016-01-20

Here we discuss how expanding the scope of relativistic plasma research to wavelengths longer than λ/≈0.8₋1.1μm covered by conventional mode-locked solid-state lasers would offer attractive opportunities due to the quadratic scaling of the ponderomotive electron energy and critical plasma density with λ. Answering this quest, a next-generation mid-IR laser project is being advanced at the BNL ATF as a part of the user facility upgrade. We discuss the technical approach to this conceptually new 100 TW, 100 fs, λ=9₋11 μm CO 2 laser BESTIA (Brookhaven Experimental Supra-Terawatt Infrared at ATF) that encompasses several innovations applied for the first time tomore » molecular gas lasers. BESTIA will enable new regimes of laser plasma accelerators. One for example is shock-wave ion acceleration from gas jets. We review ongoing efforts to achieve stable, monoenergetic proton acceleration by dynamically shaping the plasma density profile from a hydrogen gas target with laser-produced blast waves. At its full power, 100 TW BESTIA promises to achieve proton beams at energy exceeding 200 MeV. In addition to ion acceleration in over-critical plasma, the ultra-intense mid-IR laser BESTIA will open new opportunities in driving wakefields in tenuous plasmas, expanding the landscape of Laser Wake Field Accelerator (LWFA) studies into unexplored long-wavelength spectral domain. Simple wavelength scaling suggests that a 100-TW CO2 laser beam will be capable to efficiently generate plasma “bubbles” thousand times bigger in volume compared to a near-IR solid state laser of an equivalent power. Combined with a femtosecond electron linac available at the ATF, this wavelength scaling will facilitate study of external seeding and staging of LWFA.« less

Electron density measurement in gas discharge plasmas by optical and acoustic methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biagioni, A.; Anania, M. P.; Bellaveglia, M.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Di Giovenale, D.; Di Pirro, G.; Ferrario, M.; Filippi, F.; Mostacci, A.; Pompili, R.; Shpakov, V.; Vaccarezza, C.; Villa, F.; Zigler, A.

2016-08-01

Plasma density represents a very important parameter for both laser wakefield and plasma wakefield acceleration, which use a gas-filled capillary plasma source. Several techniques can be used to measure the plasma density within a capillary discharge, which are mainly based on optical diagnostic methods, as for example the well-known spectroscopic method using the Stark broadening effect. In this work, we introduce a preliminary study on an alternative way to detect the plasma density, based on the shock waves produced by gas discharge in a capillary. Firstly, the measurements of the acoustic spectral content relative to the laser-induced plasmas by a solid target allowed us to understand the main properties of the acoustic waves produced during this kind of plasma generation; afterwards, we have extended such acoustic technique to the capillary plasma source in order to calibrate it by comparison with the stark broadening method.

Acceleration Modes and Transitions in Pulsed Plasma Accelerators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polzin, Kurt A.; Greve, Christine M.

2018-01-01

Pulsed plasma accelerators typically operate by storing energy in a capacitor bank and then discharging this energy through a gas, ionizing and accelerating it through the Lorentz body force. Two plasma accelerator types employing this general scheme have typically been studied: the gas-fed pulsed plasma thruster and the quasi-steady magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) accelerator. The gas-fed pulsed plasma accelerator is generally represented as a completely transient device discharging in approximately 1-10 microseconds. When the capacitor bank is discharged through the gas, a current sheet forms at the breech of the thruster and propagates forward under a j (current density) by B (magnetic field) body force, entraining propellant it encounters. This process is sometimes referred to as detonation-mode acceleration because the current sheet representation approximates that of a strong shock propagating through the gas. Acceleration of the initial current sheet ceases when either the current sheet reaches the end of the device and is ejected or when the current in the circuit reverses, striking a new current sheet at the breech and depriving the initial sheet of additional acceleration. In the quasi-steady MPD accelerator, the pulse is lengthened to approximately 1 millisecond or longer and maintained at an approximately constant level during discharge. The time over which the transient phenomena experienced during startup typically occur is short relative to the overall discharge time, which is now long enough for the plasma to assume a relatively steady-state configuration. The ionized gas flows through a stationary current channel in a manner that is sometimes referred to as the deflagration-mode of operation. The plasma experiences electromagnetic acceleration as it flows through the current channel towards the exit of the device. A device that had a short pulse length but appeared to operate in a plasma acceleration regime different from the gas-fed pulsed plasma

Photoinjector optimization using a derivative-free, model-based trust-region algorithm for the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neveu, N.; Larson, J.; Power, J. G.; Spentzouris, L.

2017-07-01

Model-based, derivative-free, trust-region algorithms are increasingly popular for optimizing computationally expensive numerical simulations. A strength of such methods is their efficient use of function evaluations. In this paper, we use one such algorithm to optimize the beam dynamics in two cases of interest at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) facility. First, we minimize the emittance of a 1 nC electron bunch produced by the AWA rf photocathode gun by adjusting three parameters: rf gun phase, solenoid strength, and laser radius. The algorithm converges to a set of parameters that yield an emittance of 1.08 μm. Second, we expand the number of optimization parameters to model the complete AWA rf photoinjector (the gun and six accelerating cavities) at 40 nC. The optimization algorithm is used in a Pareto study that compares the trade-off between emittance and bunch length for the AWA 70MeV photoinjector.

Brookhaven National Laboratory's Accelerator Test Facility: research highlights and plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pogorelsky, I. V.; Ben-Zvi, I.

2014-08-01

The Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has served as a user facility for accelerator science for over a quarter of a century. In fulfilling this mission, the ATF offers the unique combination of a high-brightness 80 MeV electron beam that is synchronized to a 1 TW picosecond CO2 laser. We unveil herein our plan to considerably expand the ATF's floor space with an upgrade of the electron beam's energy to 300 MeV and the CO2 laser's peak power to 100 TW. This upgrade will propel the ATF even further to the forefront of research on advanced accelerators and radiation sources, supporting the most innovative ideas in this field. We discuss emerging opportunities for scientific breakthroughs, including the following: plasma wakefield acceleration studies in research directions already active at the ATF; laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), where the longer laser wavelengths are expected to engender a proportional increase in the beam's charge while our linac will assure, for the first time, the opportunity to undertake detailed studies of seeding and staging of the LWFA; proton acceleration to the 100-200 MeV level, which is essential for medical applications; and others.

Dusty-Plasma Particle Accelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, John E.

2005-01-01

A dusty-plasma apparatus is being investigated as means of accelerating nanometer- and micrometer-sized particles. Applications for the dusty-plasma particle accelerators fall into two classes: Simulation of a variety of rapidly moving dust particles and micrometeoroids in outer-space environments that include micrometeoroid streams, comet tails, planetary rings, and nebulae and Deposition or implantation of nanoparticles on substrates for diverse industrial purposes that could include hardening, increasing thermal insulation, altering optical properties, and/or increasing permittivities of substrate materials. Relative to prior apparatuses used for similar applications, dusty-plasma particle accelerators offer such potential advantages as smaller size, lower cost, less complexity, and increased particle flux densities. A dusty-plasma particle accelerator exploits the fact that an isolated particle immersed in plasma acquires a net electric charge that depends on the relative mobilities of electrons and ions. Typically, a particle that is immersed in a low-temperature, partially ionized gas, wherein the average kinetic energy of electrons exceeds that of ions, causes the particle to become negatively charged. The particle can then be accelerated by applying an appropriate electric field. A dusty-plasma particle accelerator (see figure) includes a plasma source such as a radio-frequency induction discharge apparatus containing (1) a shallow cup with a biasable electrode to hold the particles to be accelerated and (2) a holder for the substrate on which the particles are to impinge. Depending on the specific design, a pair of electrostatic-acceleration grids between the substrate and discharge plasma can be used to both collimate and further accelerate particles exiting the particle holder. Once exposed to the discharge plasma, the particles in the cup quickly acquire a negative charge. Application of a negative voltage pulse to the biasable electrode results in the

HOM-Free Linear Accelerating Structure for e+ e- Linear Collider at C-Band

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kubo, Kiyoshi

2003-07-07

HOM-free linear acceleration structure using the choke mode cavity (damped cavity) is now under design for e{sup +}e{sup -} linear collider project at C-band frequency (5712 MHz). Since this structure shows powerful damping effect on most of all HOMs, there is no multibunch problem due to long range wakefields. The structure will be equipped with the microwave absorbers in each cells and also the in-line dummy load in the last few cells. The straightness tolerance for 1.8 m long structure is closer than 30 {micro}m for 25% emittance dilution limit, which can be achieved by standard machining and braising techniques.more » Since it has good vacuum pumping conductance through annular gaps in each cell, instabilities due to the interaction of beam with the residual-gas and ions can be minimized.« less

Demonstration of Current Profile Shaping using Double Dog-Leg Emittance Exchange Beam Line at Argonne Wakefield Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ha, Gwanghui; Cho, Moo-Hyun; Conde, Manoel

Emittance exchange (EEX) based longitudinal current profile shaping is the one of the promising current profile shaping technique. This method can generate high quality arbitrary current profiles under the ideal conditions. The double dog-leg EEX beam line was recently installed at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) to explore the shaping capability and confirm the quality of this method. To demonstrate the arbitrary current profile generation, several different transverse masks are applied to generate different final current profiles. The phase space slopes and the charge of incoming beam are varied to observe and suppress the aberrations on the ideal profile. Wemore » present current profile shaping results, aberrations on the shaped profile, and its suppression.« less

A tunable electron beam source using trapping of electrons in a density down-ramp in laser wakefield acceleration.

PubMed

Ekerfelt, Henrik; Hansson, Martin; Gallardo González, Isabel; Davoine, Xavier; Lundh, Olle

2017-09-25

One challenge in the development of laser wakefield accelerators is to demonstrate sufficient control and reproducibility of the parameters of the generated bunches of accelerated electrons. Here we report on a numerical study, where we demonstrate that trapping using density down-ramps allows for tuning of several electron bunch parameters by varying the properties of the density down-ramp. We show that the electron bunch length is determined by the difference in density before and after the ramp. Furthermore, the transverse emittance of the bunch is controlled by the steepness of the ramp. Finally, the amount of trapped charge depends both on the density difference and on the steepness of the ramp. We emphasize that both parameters of the density ramp are feasible to vary experimentally. We therefore conclude that this tunable electron accelerator makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, from those requiring short pulse length and low emittance, such as the free-electron lasers, to those requiring high-charge, large-emittance bunches to maximize betatron X-ray generation.

Generation of Ramped Current Profiles in Relativistic Electron Beams Using Wakefields in Dielectric Structures

DOE PAGES

Andonian, G.; Barber, S.; O’Shea, F. H.; ...

2017-02-03

We show that temporal pulse tailoring of charged-particle beams is essential to optimize efficiency in collinear wakefield acceleration schemes. In this Letter, we demonstrate a novel phase space manipulation method that employs a beam wakefield interaction in a dielectric structure, followed by bunch compression in a permanent magnet chicane, to longitudinally tailor the pulse shape of an electron beam. This compact, passive, approach was used to generate a nearly linearly ramped current profile in a relativistic electron beam experiment carried out at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Accelerator Test Facility. Here, we report on these experimental results including beam and wakefieldmore » diagnostics and pulse profile reconstruction techniques.« less

An Undulator-Based Laser Wakefield Accelerator Electron Beam Diagnostic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakeman, Michael S.

Currently particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider use RF cavities with a maximum field gradient of 50-100 MV/m to accelerate particles over long distances. A new type of plasma based accelerator called a Laser Plasma Accelerator (LPA) is being investigated at the LOASIS group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory which can sustain field gradients of 10-100 GV/m. This new type of accelerator offers the potential to create compact high energy accelerators and light sources. In order to investigate the feasibility of producing a compact light source an undulator-based electron beam diagnostic for use on the LOASIS LPA has been built and calibrated. This diagnostic relies on the principal that the spectral analysis of synchrotron radiation from an undulator can reveal properties of the electron beam such as emittance, energy and energy spread. The effects of electron beam energy spread upon the harmonics of undulator produced synchrotron radiation were derived from the equations of motion of the beam and numerically simulated. The diagnostic consists of quadrupole focusing magnets to collimate the electron beam, a 1.5 m long undulator to produce the synchrotron radiation, and a high resolution high gain XUV spectrometer to analyze the radiation. The undulator was aligned and tuned in order to maximize the flux of synchrotron radiation produced. The spectrometer was calibrated at the Advanced Light Source, with the results showing the ability to measure electron beam energy spreads at resolutions as low as 0.1% rms, a major improvement over conventional magnetic spectrometers. Numerical simulations show the ability to measure energy spreads on realistic LPA produced electron beams as well as the improvements in measurements made with the quadrupole magnets. Experimentally the quadrupoles were shown to stabilize and focus the electron beams at specific energies for their insertion into the undulator, with the eventual hope of producing an all optical

Current driven instabilities of an electromagnetically accelerated plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chouetri, E. Y.; Kelly, A. J.; Jahn, R. G.

1988-01-01

A plasma instability that strongly influences the efficiency and lifetime of electromagnetic plasma accelerators was quantitatively measured. Experimental measurements of dispersion relations (wave phase velocities), spatial growth rates, and stability boundaries are reported. The measured critical wave parameters are in excellent agreement with theoretical instability boundary predictions. The instability is current driven and affects a wide spectrum of longitudinal (electrostatic) oscillations. Current driven instabilities, which are intrinsic to the high-current-carrying magnetized plasma of the magnetoplasmadynmic (MPD) accelerator, were investigated with a kinetic theoretical model based on first principles. Analytical limits of the appropriate dispersion relation yield unstable ion acoustic waves for T(i)/T(e) much less than 1 and electron acoustic waves for T(i)/T(e) much greater than 1. The resulting set of nonlinear equations for the case of T(i)/T(e) = 1, of most interest to the MPD thruster Plasma Wave Experiment, was numerically solved to yield a multiparameter set of stability boundaries. Under certain conditions, marginally stable waves traveling almost perpendicular to the magnetic field would travel at a velocity equal to that of the electron current. Such waves were termed current waves. Unstable current waves near the upper stability boundary were observed experimentally and are in accordance with theoretical predictions. This provides unambiguous proof of the existence of such instabilites in electromagnetic plasma accelerators.

Influence of Ionization and Beam Quality on Interaction of TW-Peak CO2 Laser with Hydrogen Plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samulyak, Roman

3D numerical simulations of the interaction of a powerful CO2 laser with hydrogen jets demonstrating the role of ionization and laser beam quality are presented. Simulations are performed in support of the plasma wakefield accelerator experiments being conducted at the BNL Accelerator Test Facility (ATF). The CO2 laser at BNL ATF has several potential advantages for laser wakefield acceleration compared to widely used solid-state lasers. SPACE, a parallel relativistic Particle-in-Cell code, developed at SBU and BNL, has been used in these studies. A novelty of the code is its set of efficient atomic physics algorithms that compute ionization and recombinationmore » rates on the grid and transfer them to particles. The primary goal of the initial BNL experiments was to characterize the plasma density by measuring the sidebands in the spectrum of the probe laser. Simulations, that resolve hydrogen ionization and laser spectra, help explain several trends that were observed in the experiments.« less

Stable electron beams from laser wakefield acceleration with few-terawatt driver using a supersonic air jet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boháček, K.; Kozlová, M.; Nejdl, J.; Chaulagain, U.; Horný, V.; Krůs, M.; Ta Phuoc, K.

2018-03-01

The generation of stable electron beams produced by the laser wakefield acceleration mechanism with a few-terawatt laser system (600 mJ, 50 fs) in a supersonic synthetic air jet is reported and the requirements necessary to build such a stable electron source are experimentally investigated in conditions near the bubble regime threshold. The resulting electron beams have stable energies of (17.4 ± 1.1) MeV and an energy spread of (13.5 ± 1.5) MeV (FWHM), which has been achieved by optimizing the properties of the supersonic gas jet target for the given laser system. Due to the availability of few-terawatt laser systems in many laboratories around the world these stable electron beams open possibilities for applications of this type of particle source.

Tailored electron bunches with smooth current profiles for enhanced transformer ratios in beam-driven acceleration

DOE PAGES

Lemery, F.; Piot, P.

2015-08-03

Collinear high-gradient O(GV/m) beam-driven wakefield methods for charged-particle acceleration could be critical to the realization of compact, cost-efficient, accelerators, e.g., in support of TeV-scale lepton colliders or multiple-user free-electron laser facilities. To make these options viable, the high accelerating fields need to be complemented with large transformer ratios >2, a parameter characterizing the efficiency of the energy transfer between a wakefield-exciting “drive” bunch to an accelerated “witness” bunch. While several potential current distributions have been discussed, their practical realization appears challenging due to their often discontinuous nature. In this paper we propose several alternative continuously differentiable (smooth) current profiles whichmore » support enhanced transformer ratios. We especially demonstrate that one of the devised shapes can be implemented in a photo-emission electron source by properly shaping the photocathode-laser pulse. We finally discuss a possible superconducting linear-accelerator concept that could produce shaped drive bunches at high-repetition rates to drive a dielectric-wakefield accelerator with accelerating fields on the order of ~60 MV/m and a transformer ratio ~5 consistent with a recently proposed multiuser free-electron laser facility.« less

Tailored electron bunches with smooth current profiles for enhanced transformer ratios in beam-driven acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lemery, F.; Piot, P.

Collinear high-gradient O(GV/m) beam-driven wakefield methods for charged-particle acceleration could be critical to the realization of compact, cost-efficient, accelerators, e.g., in support of TeV-scale lepton colliders or multiple-user free-electron laser facilities. To make these options viable, the high accelerating fields need to be complemented with large transformer ratios >2, a parameter characterizing the efficiency of the energy transfer between a wakefield-exciting “drive” bunch to an accelerated “witness” bunch. While several potential current distributions have been discussed, their practical realization appears challenging due to their often discontinuous nature. In this paper we propose several alternative continuously differentiable (smooth) current profiles whichmore » support enhanced transformer ratios. We especially demonstrate that one of the devised shapes can be implemented in a photo-emission electron source by properly shaping the photocathode-laser pulse. We finally discuss a possible superconducting linear-accelerator concept that could produce shaped drive bunches at high-repetition rates to drive a dielectric-wakefield accelerator with accelerating fields on the order of ~60 MV/m and a transformer ratio ~5 consistent with a recently proposed multiuser free-electron laser facility.« less

Electrostatic Plasma Accelerator (EPA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brophy, John R.; Aston, Graeme

1989-01-01

The Electrostatic Plasma Accelerator (EPA) is a thruster concept which promises specific impulse levels between low power arcjets and those of the ion engine while retaining the relative simplicity of the arcjet. The EPA thruster produces thrust through the electrostatic acceleration of a moderately dense plasma. No accelerating electrodes are used and the specific impulse is a direct function of the applied discharge voltage and the propellant atomic mass. The goal of the present program is to demonstrate feasibility of the EPA thruster concept through experimental and theoretical investigations of the EPA acceleration mechanism and discharge chamber performance. Experimental investigations will include operating the test bed ion (TBI) engine as an EPA thruster and parametrically varying the thruster geometry and operating conditions to quantify the electrostatic plasma acceleration effect. The theoretical investigations will include the development of a discharge chamber model which describes the relationships between the engine size, plasma properties, and overall performance. For the EPA thruster to be a viable propulsion concept, overall thruster efficiencies approaching 30% with specific impulses approaching 1000 s must be achieved.

Sequential effect of phages and cold nitrogen plasma against Escherichia coli O157:H7 biofilms on different vegetables.

PubMed

Cui, Haiying; Bai, Mei; Yuan, Lu; Surendhiran, Duraiarasan; Lin, Lin

2018-03-02

Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) is one of the most common pathogens in fresh vegetables and fruits, and most of the diseases produced by E. coli O157:H7 are associated with biofilms. Cold nitrogen plasma (CNP) is a cold sterilization technique which has no residue. However to completely eliminate the biofilm on the surface of vegetables the processing power and time of CNP have to be enhanced, which will impact on the quality of fruits and vegetables. Thus the sequential treatment of CNP and phage techniques was engineered in this study. Compared to treatment performed separately, sequential treatment not only had more mild treatment conditions as 400W CNP treatment for 2min and 5% phage treatment for 30min, but also exhibited more remarkable effect on eradicating E. coli O157:H7 biofilms in vitro and on vegetables. The population of E. coli O157:H7 was approximately reduced by 2logCFU/cm 2 after individual treatment of 5% phages for 30min or 500W CNP for 3min. While the sequential treatment of CNP (400W, 2min) and phages (5%, 30min) reduced the E. coli O157:H7 viable count in biofilm by 5.71logCFU/cm 2 . Therefore, the sequential treatment holds a great promise to improve the current treatment systems of bacterial contamination on different vegetable surfaces. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bremsstrahlung hard x-ray source driven by an electron beam from a self-modulated laser wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemos, N.; Albert, F.; Shaw, J. L.; Papp, D.; Polanek, R.; King, P.; Milder, A. L.; Marsh, K. A.; Pak, A.; Pollock, B. B.; Hegelich, B. M.; Moody, J. D.; Park, J.; Tommasini, R.; Williams, G. J.; Chen, Hui; Joshi, C.

2018-05-01

An x-ray source generated by an electron beam produced using a Self-Modulated Laser Wakefield Accelerator (SM-LWFA) is explored for use in high energy density science facilities. By colliding the electron beam, with a maximum energy of 380 MeV, total charge of >10 nC and a divergence of 64 × 100 mrad, from a SM-LWFA driven by a 1 ps 120 J laser, into a high-Z foil, an x/gamma-ray source was generated. A broadband bremsstrahlung energy spectrum with temperatures ranging from 0.8 to 2 MeV was measured with an almost 2 orders of magnitude flux increase when compared with other schemes using LWFA. GEANT4 simulations were done to calculate the source size and divergence.

Prevalence of O157:H7 and non-O157 E. coli in Iranian domestic sheep.

PubMed

Tahamtan, Yahya; Namavari, Mehdi

2014-01-01

The aim of the present study was the isolation of both E. coli O157 and non-O157 in sheep. Verotoxins (VT) 1, 2 and eae genes were tested for this propose. Sheep faces are an important source of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a highly virulent food-borne pathogen and threat to public health. Rectal swab samples from sheep were collected during 2009-2010. Conventional plating and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) were carried out according to virulence factors (Stx1, Stx2 and eaeA).There significant differences between prevalence of STEC and session were observed. It was at highest in spring and late summer. Six (3.92%) sheep carcasses were contaminated by E. coli O157:H7.Only six samples were positive by PCR specific for the VT2 gene and produced verocytotoxin VT2, whereas all isolates were negative for the presence of VT1 and eae virulence genes considered. Geographical variations and season may be influenced in the prevalence rate. The composition of the gastrointestinal flora may be changed by different diet and, therefore O157 STEC rate in sheep and lamb was different. Iranian sheep indicated as a natural host of E. coli O157 strains therefore, may be potentially pathogenic for humans. This is the first report of E. coli O157 detection from sheep in Iran.

Protection against an infectious disease by enterohaemorrhagic E. coli 0-157.

PubMed

Ota, A

1999-07-01

Preventive measures against infection by enterohaemorrhagic E. coli 0-157 are described. Eating yoghurt and Kefir supposedly induces more bifid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria to colonize in the intestines, thereby protecting humans from infection by E. coli 0-157. Some foods, such as plum extract, act as a mild antibiotic and produce an acidic environment within the intestine, thus interfering with growth of the E. coli 0-157. The natural colonization of harmless E. coli or other bacteria that are more powerful than E. coli 0-157 can possibly protect against infection. A vaccination against E. coli 0-157 H7 may also be effective. In addition, it has been suggested that the correct levels of nitric oxide and calcium in the blood may activate immunity and protect against infection by E. coli 0-157.

Modeling of thermalization phenomena in coaxial plasma accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramaniam, Vivek; Panneerchelvam, Premkumar; Raja, Laxminarayan L.

2018-05-01

Coaxial plasma accelerators are electromagnetic acceleration devices that employ a self-induced Lorentz force to produce collimated plasma jets with velocities ~50 km s‑1. The accelerator operation is characterized by the formation of an ionization/thermalization zone near gas inlet of the device that continually processes the incoming neutral gas into a highly ionized thermal plasma. In this paper, we present a 1D non-equilibrium plasma model to resolve the plasma formation and the electron-heavy species thermalization phenomena that take place in the thermalization zone. The non-equilibrium model is based on a self-consistent multi-species continuum description of the plasma with finite-rate chemistry. The thermalization zone is modelled by tracking a 1D gas-bit as it convects down the device with an initial gas pressure of 1 atm. The thermalization process occurs in two stages. The first is a plasma production stage, associated with a rapid increase in the charged species number densities facilitated by cathode surface electron emission and volumetric production processes. The production stage results in the formation of a two-temperature plasma with electron energies of ~2.5 eV in a low temperature background gas of ~300 K. The second, a temperature equilibration stage, is characterized by the energy transfer between the electrons and heavy species. The characteristic length scale for thermalization is found to be comparable to axial length of the accelerator thus putting into question the equilibrium magnetohydrodynamics assumption used in modeling coaxial accelerators.

ICPP: Relativistic Plasma Physics with Ultra-Short High-Intensity Laser Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer-Ter-Vehn, Juergen

2000-10-01

Recent progress in generating ultra-short high-intensity laser pulses has opened a new branch of relativistic plasma physics, which is discussed in this talk in terms of particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. These pulses create small plasma volumes of high-density plasma with plasma fields above 10^12 V/m and 10^8 Gauss. At intensities beyond 10^18 W/cm^2, now available from table-top systems, they drive relativistic electron currents in self-focussing plasma channels. These currents are close to the Alfven limit and allow to study relativistic current filamentation. A most remarkable feature is the generation of well collimated relativistic electron beams emerging from the channels with energies up to GeV. In dense matter they trigger cascades of gamma-rays, e^+e^- pairs, and a host of nuclear and particle processes. One of the applications may be fast ignition of compressed inertial fusion targets. Above 10^23 W/cm^2, expected to be achieved in the future, solid-density matter becomes relativistically transparent for optical light, and the acceleration of protons to multi-GeV energies is predicted in plasma layers less than 1 mm thick. These results open completely new perspectives for plasma-based accelerator schemes. Three-dimensional PIC simulations turn out to be the superior tool to explore the relativistic plasma kinetics at such intensities. Results obtained with the VLPL code [1] are presented. Different mechanisms of particle acceleration are discussed. Both laser wakefield and direct laser acceleration in plasma channels (by a mechanism similar to inverse free electron lasers) have been identified. The latter describes recent MPQ experimental results. [1] A. Pukhov, J. Plasma Physics 61, 425 - 433 (1999): Three-dimensional electromagnetic relativistic particle-in-cell code VLPL (Virtual Laser Plasma Laboratory).

Anomalous acceleration of ions in a plasma accelerator with an anodic layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

V, M. BARDAKOV; S, D. IVANOV; A, V. KAZANTSEV; N, A. STROKIN; A, N. STUPIN; Binhao, JIANG; Zhenyu, WANG

2018-03-01

In a plasma accelerator with an anodic layer (PAAL), we discovered experimentally the effect of ‘super-acceleration’ of the bulk of the ions to energies W exceeding the energy equivalent to the discharge voltage V d. The E × B discharge was ignited in an environment of atomic argon and helium and molecular nitrogen. Singly charged argon ions were accelerated most effectively in the case of the largest discharge currents and pressure P of the working gas. Helium ions with W > eV d (e being the electron charge) were only recorded at maximum pressures. Molecular nitrogen was not accelerated to energies W > eV d. Anomalous acceleration is realized in the range of radial magnetic fields on the anode 2.8 × 10 -2 ≤ B rA ≤ 4 × 10 -2 T. It was also found analytically that the cathode of the accelerator can receive anomalously accelerated ions. In this case, the value of the potential in the anodic layer becomes higher than the anode potential, and the anode current exceeds some critical value. Numerical modeling in terms of the developed theory showed qualitative agreement between modeling data and measurements.

Wakefield Simulation of CLIC PETS Structure Using Parallel 3D Finite Element Time-Domain Solver T3P

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Candel, A.; Kabel, A.; Lee, L.

In recent years, SLAC's Advanced Computations Department (ACD) has developed the parallel 3D Finite Element electromagnetic time-domain code T3P. Higher-order Finite Element methods on conformal unstructured meshes and massively parallel processing allow unprecedented simulation accuracy for wakefield computations and simulations of transient effects in realistic accelerator structures. Applications include simulation of wakefield damping in the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) power extraction and transfer structure (PETS).

Electrodeless plasma acceleration system using rotating magnetic field method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furukawa, T.; Takizawa, K.; Kuwahara, D.; Shinohara, S.

2017-11-01

We have proposed Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) acceleration method as one of electrodeless plasma accelerations. In our experimental scheme, plasma generated by an rf (radio frequency) antenna, is accelerated by RMF antennas, which consist of two-pair, opposed, facing coils, and these antennas are outside of a discharge tube. Therefore, there is no wear of electrodes, degrading the propulsion performance. Here, we will introduce our RMF acceleration system developed, including the experimental device, e.g., external antennas, a tapered quartz tube, a vacuum chamber, external magnets, and a pumping system. In addition, we can change RMF operation parameters (RMF applied current IRMF and RMF current phase difference ϕ, focusing on RMF current frequency fRMF) by adjusting matching conditions of RMF, and investigate the dependencies on plasma parameters (electron density ne and ion velocity vi); e.g., higher increases of ne and vi (˜360 % and 55 %, respectively) than previous experimental results were obtained by decreasing fRMF from 5 MHz to 0.7 MHz, whose RMF penetration condition was better according to Milroy's expression. Moreover, time-varying component of RMF has been measured directly to survey the penetration condition experimentally.

Experimental Evidence of Radiation Reaction in the Collision of a High-Intensity Laser Pulse with a Laser-Wakefield Accelerated Electron Beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, J. M.; Behm, K. T.; Gerstmayr, E.; Blackburn, T. G.; Wood, J. C.; Baird, C. D.; Duff, M. J.; Harvey, C.; Ilderton, A.; Joglekar, A. S.; Krushelnick, K.; Kuschel, S.; Marklund, M.; McKenna, P.; Murphy, C. D.; Poder, K.; Ridgers, C. P.; Samarin, G. M.; Sarri, G.; Symes, D. R.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Warwick, J.; Zepf, M.; Najmudin, Z.; Mangles, S. P. D.

2018-02-01

The dynamics of energetic particles in strong electromagnetic fields can be heavily influenced by the energy loss arising from the emission of radiation during acceleration, known as radiation reaction. When interacting with a high-energy electron beam, today's lasers are sufficiently intense to explore the transition between the classical and quantum radiation reaction regimes. We present evidence of radiation reaction in the collision of an ultrarelativistic electron beam generated by laser-wakefield acceleration (ɛ >500 MeV ) with an intense laser pulse (a0>10 ). We measure an energy loss in the postcollision electron spectrum that is correlated with the detected signal of hard photons (γ rays), consistent with a quantum description of radiation reaction. The generated γ rays have the highest energies yet reported from an all-optical inverse Compton scattering scheme, with critical energy ɛcrit>30 MeV .

Electron self-injection and trapping into an evolving plasma bubble.

PubMed

Kalmykov, S; Yi, S A; Khudik, V; Shvets, G

2009-09-25

The blowout (or bubble) regime of laser wakefield acceleration is promising for generating monochromatic high-energy electron beams out of low-density plasmas. It is shown analytically and by particle-in-cell simulations that self-injection of the background plasma electrons into the quasistatic plasma bubble can be caused by slow temporal expansion of the bubble. Sufficient criteria for the electron trapping and bubble's expansion rate are derived using a semianalytic nonstationary Hamiltonian theory. It is further shown that the combination of bubble's expansion and contraction results in monoenergetic electron beams.

Use of low dose e-beam irradiation to reduce E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 (VTEC) E. coli and Salmonella viability on meat surfaces.

PubMed

Kundu, Devapriya; Gill, Alexander; Lui, Chenyuan; Goswami, Namita; Holley, Richard

2014-01-01

This study determined the extent that irradiation of fresh beef surfaces with an absorbed dose of 1 kGy electron (e-) beam irradiation might reduce the viability of mixtures of O157 and non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) and Salmonella. These were grouped together based on similar resistances to irradiation and inoculated on beef surfaces (outside flat and inside round, top and bottom muscle cuts), and then e-beam irradiated. Salmonella serovars were most resistant to 1 kGy treatment, showing a reduction of ≤1.9 log CFU/g. This treatment reduced the viability of two groups of non-O157 E. coli mixtures by ≤4.5 and ≤3.9 log CFU/g. Log reductions of ≤4.0 log CFU/g were observed for E. coli O157:H7 cocktails. Since under normal processing conditions the levels of these pathogens on beef carcasses would be lower than the lethality caused by the treatment used, irradiation at 1 kGy would be expected to eliminate the hazard represented by VTEC E. coli. © 2013.

2D hydrodynamic simulations of a variable length gas target for density down-ramp injection of electrons into a laser wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kononenko, O.; Lopes, N. C.; Cole, J. M.; Kamperidis, C.; Mangles, S. P. D.; Najmudin, Z.; Osterhoff, J.; Poder, K.; Rusby, D.; Symes, D. R.; Warwick, J.; Wood, J. C.; Palmer, C. A. J.

2016-09-01

In this work, two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic simulations of a variable length gas cell were performed using the open source fluid code OpenFOAM. The gas cell was designed to study controlled injection of electrons into a laser-driven wakefield at the Astra Gemini laser facility. The target consists of two compartments: an accelerator and an injector section connected via an aperture. A sharp transition between the peak and plateau density regions in the injector and accelerator compartments, respectively, was observed in simulations with various inlet pressures. The fluid simulations indicate that the length of the down-ramp connecting the sections depends on the aperture diameter, as does the density drop outside the entrance and the exit cones. Further studies showed, that increasing the inlet pressure leads to turbulence and strong fluctuations in density along the axial profile during target filling, and consequently, is expected to negatively impact the accelerator stability.

Investigation of the Electron Acceleration by a High-Power Laser and a Density-Tapered Mixed-Gas Cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jinju; Phung, Vanessa L. J.; Kim, Minseok; Hur, Min-Sup; Suk, Hyyong

2017-10-01

Plasma-based accelerators can generate about 1000 times stronger acceleration field compared with RF-based conventional accelerators, which can be done by high power laser and plasma. There are many issues in this research and one of them is development of a good plasma source for higher electron beam energy. For this purpose, we are investigating a special type of plasma source, which is a density-tapered gas cell with a mixed-gas for easy injection. By this type of special gas cell, we expect higher electron beam energies with easy injection in the wakefield. In this poster, some experimental results for electron beam generation with the density-tapered mixed-gas cell are presented. In addition to the experimental results, CFD (Computational-Fluid-Dynamics) and PIC (Particle-In-Cell) simulation results are also presented for comparison studies.

Optical control of hard X-ray polarization by electron injection in a laser wakefield accelerator

PubMed Central

Schnell, Michael; Sävert, Alexander; Uschmann, Ingo; Reuter, Maria; Nicolai, Maria; Kämpfer, Tino; Landgraf, Björn; Jäckel, Oliver; Jansen, Oliver; Pukhov, Alexander; Kaluza, Malte Christoph; Spielmann, Christian

2013-01-01

Laser-plasma particle accelerators could provide more compact sources of high-energy radiation than conventional accelerators. Moreover, because they deliver radiation in femtosecond pulses, they could improve the time resolution of X-ray absorption techniques. Here we show that we can measure and control the polarization of ultra-short, broad-band keV photon pulses emitted from a laser-plasma-based betatron source. The electron trajectories and hence the polarization of the emitted X-rays are experimentally controlled by the pulse-front tilt of the driving laser pulses. Particle-in-cell simulations show that an asymmetric plasma wave can be driven by a tilted pulse front and a non-symmetric intensity distribution of the focal spot. Both lead to a notable off-axis electron injection followed by collective electron–betatron oscillations. We expect that our method for an all-optical steering is not only useful for plasma-based X-ray sources but also has significance for future laser-based particle accelerators. PMID:24026068

Evaluation of lactic acid as an initial and secondary subprimal intervention for Escherichia coli O157:H7, non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, and a nonpathogenic E. coli surrogate for E. coli O157:H7.

PubMed

Pittman, C I; Geornaras, I; Woerner, D R; Nightingale, K K; Sofos, J N; Goodridge, L; Belk, K E

2012-09-01

Lactic acid can reduce microbial contamination on beef carcass surfaces when used as a food safety intervention, but effectiveness when applied to the surface of chilled beef subprimal sections is not well documented. Studies characterizing bacterial reduction on subprimals after lactic acid treatment would be useful for validations of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) systems. The objective of this study was to validate initial use of lactic acid as a subprimal intervention during beef fabrication followed by a secondary application to vacuum-packaged product that was applied at industry operating parameters. Chilled beef subprimal sections (100 cm(2)) were either left uninoculated or were inoculated with 6 log CFU/cm(2) of a 5-strain mixture of Escherichia coli O157:H7, a 12-strain mixture of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), or a 5-strain mixture of nonpathogenic (biotype I) E. coli that are considered surrogates for E. coli O157:H7. Uninoculated and inoculated subprimal sections received only an initial or an initial and a second "rework" application of lactic acid in a custombuilt spray cabinet at 1 of 16 application parameters. After the initial spray, total inoculum counts were reduced from 6.0 log CFU/cm(2) to 3.6, 4.4, and 4.4 log CFU/cm(2) for the E. coli surrogates, E. coli O157:H7, and non-O157 STEC inoculation groups, respectively. After the second (rework) application, total inoculum counts were 2.6, 3.2, and 3.6 log CFU/cm(2) for the E. coli surrogates, E. coli O157:H7, and non-O157 STEC inoculation groups, respectively. Both the initial and secondary lactic acid treatments effectively reduced counts of pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of E. coli and natural microflora on beef subprimals. These data will be useful to the meat industry as part of the HACCP validation process.

Undulator-Based Laser Wakefield Accelerator Electron Beam Energy Spread and Emittance Diagnostic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bakeman, M. S.; University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557; Van Tilborg, J.

The design and current status of experiments to couple the Tapered Hybrid Undulator (THUNDER) to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) laser plasma accelerator (LPA) to measure electron beam energy spread and emittance are presented.

Probing electron acceleration and x-ray emission in laser-plasma accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thaury, C.; Ta Phuoc, K.; Corde, S.

2013-06-15

While laser-plasma accelerators have demonstrated a strong potential in the acceleration of electrons up to giga-electronvolt energies, few experimental tools for studying the acceleration physics have been developed. In this paper, we demonstrate a method for probing the acceleration process. A second laser beam, propagating perpendicular to the main beam, is focused on the gas jet few nanosecond before the main beam creates the accelerating plasma wave. This second beam is intense enough to ionize the gas and form a density depletion, which will locally inhibit the acceleration. The position of the density depletion is scanned along the interaction lengthmore » to probe the electron injection and acceleration, and the betatron X-ray emission. To illustrate the potential of the method, the variation of the injection position with the plasma density is studied.« less

Theoretical and Experimental Studies in Accelerator Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosenzweig, James

accelerator firm. We note also that PBPL graduates remain as close elaborators for the program after leaving UCLA. The UCLA PBPL program is a foremost developer of on-campus facilities, such as the Neptune and Pegasus Laboratories, providing a uniquely strong environment for student-based research. In addition, the PBPL is a strong user of off-campus national lab facilities, such as SLAC FACET and NLCTA, and the BNL ATF. UCLA has also vigorously participated in the development of these facilities. The dual emphases on off- and on-campus opportunities permit the PBPL to address in an agile way a wide selection of cutting-edge research topics. The topics embraced by this proposal illustrate this program aspect well. These include: GV/m dielectric wakefield acceleration/coherent Cerenkov radiation experiments at FACET (E-201) and the ATF; synergistic laser-excited dielectric accelerator and light source development; plasma wakefield (PWFA) experiments on “Trojan horse” ionization injection (FACET E-210), quasi-nonlinear PWFA at BNL and the production at Neptune high transformer ratio plasma wakes; the inauguration of a new type of RF photoinjector termed “hybrid” at UCLA, and application to PWFA; space-charge dominated beam and cathode/near cathode physics; the study of advanced IFEL systems, for very high energy gain and utilization of novel OAM modes; the physcis of inverse Compton scattering (ICS), with applications to e+ production and γγ colliders; electron diffraction; and advanced beam diagnostics using coherent imaging techniques. These subjects are addressed under the leadership of PBPL director Prof. James Rosenzweig in Task A, and Prof. Pietro Musumeci in Task J, which was initiated following his OHEP Outstanding Junior Investigator award.« less

Elimination of numerical Cherenkov instability in flowing-plasma particle-in-cell simulations by using Galilean coordinates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lehe, Remi; Kirchen, Manuel; Godfrey, Brendan B.

Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of relativistic flowing plasmas are of key interest to several fields of physics (including, e.g., laser-wakefield acceleration, when viewed in a Lorentz-boosted frame) but remain sometimes infeasible due to the well-known numerical Cherenkov instability (NCI). In this article, we show that, for a plasma drifting at a uniform relativistic velocity, the NCI can be eliminated by simply integrating the PIC equations in Galilean coordinates that follow the plasma (also sometimes known as comoving coordinates) within a spectral analytical framework. The elimination of the NCI is verified empirically and confirmed by a theoretical analysis of the instability. Moreover,more » it is shown that this method is applicable both to Cartesian geometry and to cylindrical geometry with azimuthal Fourier decomposition.« less

Elimination of numerical Cherenkov instability in flowing-plasma particle-in-cell simulations by using Galilean coordinates

DOE PAGES

Lehe, Remi; Kirchen, Manuel; Godfrey, Brendan B.; ...

2016-11-14

Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of relativistic flowing plasmas are of key interest to several fields of physics (including, e.g., laser-wakefield acceleration, when viewed in a Lorentz-boosted frame) but remain sometimes infeasible due to the well-known numerical Cherenkov instability (NCI). In this article, we show that, for a plasma drifting at a uniform relativistic velocity, the NCI can be eliminated by simply integrating the PIC equations in Galilean coordinates that follow the plasma (also sometimes known as comoving coordinates) within a spectral analytical framework. The elimination of the NCI is verified empirically and confirmed by a theoretical analysis of the instability. Moreover,more » it is shown that this method is applicable both to Cartesian geometry and to cylindrical geometry with azimuthal Fourier decomposition.« less

Therapeutic potential of pro-angiogenic BPC157 is associated with VEGFR2 activation and up-regulation.

PubMed

Hsieh, Ming-Jer; Liu, Hsien-Ta; Wang, Chao-Nin; Huang, Hsiu-Yun; Lin, Yuling; Ko, Yu-Shien; Wang, Jong-Shyan; Chang, Vincent Hung-Shu; Pang, Jong-Hwei S

2017-03-01

BPC 157, a pentadecapeptide with extensive healing effects, has recently been suggested to contribute to angiogenesis. However, the underlying mechanism is not yet clear. The present study aimed to explore the potential therapeutic effect and pro-angiogenic mechanism of BPC 157. As demonstrated by the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and endothelial tube formation assay, BPC 157 could increase the vessel density both in vivo and in vitro, respectively. BPC 157 could also accelerate the recovery of blood flow in the ischemic muscle of the rat hind limb as detected by laser Doppler scanning, indicating the promotion of angiogenesis. Histological analysis of the hind limb muscle confirmed the increased number of vessels and the enhanced vascular expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) in rat with BPC 157 treatment. In vitro study using human vascular endothelial cells further confirmed the increased mRNA and protein expressions of VEGFR2 but not VEGF-A by BPC 157. In addition, BPC 157 could promote VEGFR2 internalization in vascular endothelial cells which was blocked in the presence of dynasore, an inhibitor of endocytosis. BPC 157 time dependently activated the VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS signaling pathway which could also be suppressed by dynasore. The increase of endothelial tube formation induced by BPC 157 was also inhibited by dynasore. This study demonstrates the pro-angiogenic effects of BPC 157 that is associated with the increased expression, internalization of VEGFR2, and the activation of VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS signaling pathway. BPC 157 promotes angiogenesis in CAM assay and tube formation assay. BPC 157 accelerates the blood flow recovery and vessel number in rats with hind limb ischemia. BPC 157 up-regulates VEGFR2 expression in rats with hind limb ischemia and endothelial cell culture. BPC 157 promotes VEGFR2 internalization in association with VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS activation. BPC 157 promotes angiogenesis in CAM assay and tube

Coherent control of plasma dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Zhaohan

2014-10-01

The concept of coherent control - precise measurement or determination of a process through control of the phase of an applied oscillating field - has been applied to numerous systems with great success. Here, we demonstrate the use of coherent control on plasma dynamics in a laser wakefield electron acceleration experiment. A tightly focused femtosecond laser pulse (10 mJ, 35 fs) was used to generate electron beams by plasma wakefield acceleration in the density down ramp. The technique is based on optimization of the electron beam using a deformable mirror adaptive optical system with an iterative evolutionary genetic algorithm. The image of the electrons on a scintillator screen was processed and used in a fitness function as direct feedback for the optimization algorithm. This coherent manipulation of the laser wavefront leads to orders of magnitude improvement to the electron beam properties such as the peak charge and beam divergence. The laser beam optimized to generate the best electron beam was not the one with the ``best'' focal spot. When a particular wavefront of laser light interacts with plasma, it can affect the plasma wave structures and trapping conditions of the electrons in a complex way. For example, Raman forward scattering, envelope self-modulation, relativistic self-focusing, and relativistic self-phase modulation and many other nonlinear interactions modify both the pulse envelope and phase as the pulse propagates, in a way that cannot be easily predicted and that subsequently dictates the formation of plasma waves. The optimal wavefront could be successfully determined via the heuristic search under laser-plasma conditions that were not known a priori. Control and shaping of the electron energy distribution was found to be less effective, but was still possible. Particle-in-cell simulations were performed to show that the mode structure of the laser beam can affect the plasma wave structure and trapping conditions of electrons, which

Electron self-injection in the donut bubble wakefield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firouzjaei, Ali Shekari; Shokri, Babak

2018-05-01

We investigate electron self-injection in a donut bubble wakefield driven by a Laguerre-Gauss laser pulse. The present work discusses the electron capture by modeling the analytical donut bubble field. We discuss the self-injection of the electrons from plasma for various initial conditions and then compare the results. We show that the donut bubble can trap plasma electrons forming a hollow beam. We present the phase spaces and longitudinal momentum evolution for the trapped electrons in the bubble and discuss their characteristic behaviors and stability. It will be shown that the electrons self-injected in the front are ideal for applications in which a good stability and low energy spread are essential.

Staging and laser acceleration of ions in underdense plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ting, Antonio; Hafizi, Bahman; Helle, Michael; Chen, Yu-Hsin; Gordon, Daniel; Kaganovich, Dmitri; Polyanskiy, Mikhail; Pogorelsky, Igor; Babzien, Markus; Miao, Chenlong; Dover, Nicholas; Najmudin, Zulfikar; Ettlinger, Oliver

2017-03-01

Accelerating ions from rest in a plasma requires extra considerations because of their heavy mass. Low phase velocity fields or quasi-electrostatic fields are often necessary, either by operating above or near the critical density or by applying other slow wave generating mechanisms. Solid targets have been a favorite and have generated many good results. High density gas targets have also been reported to produce energetic ions. It is interesting to consider acceleration of ions in laser-driven plasma configurations that will potentially allow continuous acceleration in multiple consecutive stages. The plasma will be derived from gaseous targets, producing plasma densities slightly below the critical plasma density (underdense) for the driving laser. Such a plasma is experimentally robust, being repeatable and relatively transparent to externally injected ions from a previous stage. When optimized, multiple stages of this underdense laser plasma acceleration mechanism can progressively accelerate the ions to a high final energy. For a light mass ion such as the proton, relativistic velocities could be reached, making it suitable for further acceleration by high phase velocity plasma accelerators to energies appropriate for High Energy Physics applications. Negatively charged ions such as antiprotons could be similarly accelerated in this multi-staged ion acceleration scheme.

Single-stage plasma-based correlated energy spread compensation for ultrahigh 6D brightness electron beams

PubMed Central

Manahan, G. G.; Habib, A. F.; Scherkl, P.; Delinikolas, P.; Beaton, A.; Knetsch, A.; Karger, O.; Wittig, G.; Heinemann, T.; Sheng, Z. M.; Cary, J. R.; Bruhwiler, D. L.; Rosenzweig, J. B.; Hidding, B.

2017-01-01

Plasma photocathode wakefield acceleration combines energy gains of tens of GeV m−1 with generation of ultralow emittance electron bunches, and opens a path towards 5D-brightness orders of magnitude larger than state-of-the-art. This holds great promise for compact accelerator building blocks and advanced light sources. However, an intrinsic by-product of the enormous electric field gradients inherent to plasma accelerators is substantial correlated energy spread—an obstacle for key applications such as free-electron-lasers. Here we show that by releasing an additional tailored escort electron beam at a later phase of the acceleration, when the witness bunch is relativistically stable, the plasma wave can be locally overloaded without compromising the witness bunch normalized emittance. This reverses the effective accelerating gradient, and counter-rotates the accumulated negative longitudinal phase space chirp of the witness bunch. Thereby, the energy spread is reduced by an order of magnitude, thus enabling the production of ultrahigh 6D-brightness beams. PMID:28580954

Single-stage plasma-based correlated energy spread compensation for ultrahigh 6D brightness electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manahan, G. G.; Habib, A. F.; Scherkl, P.; Delinikolas, P.; Beaton, A.; Knetsch, A.; Karger, O.; Wittig, G.; Heinemann, T.; Sheng, Z. M.; Cary, J. R.; Bruhwiler, D. L.; Rosenzweig, J. B.; Hidding, B.

2017-06-01

Plasma photocathode wakefield acceleration combines energy gains of tens of GeV m-1 with generation of ultralow emittance electron bunches, and opens a path towards 5D-brightness orders of magnitude larger than state-of-the-art. This holds great promise for compact accelerator building blocks and advanced light sources. However, an intrinsic by-product of the enormous electric field gradients inherent to plasma accelerators is substantial correlated energy spread--an obstacle for key applications such as free-electron-lasers. Here we show that by releasing an additional tailored escort electron beam at a later phase of the acceleration, when the witness bunch is relativistically stable, the plasma wave can be locally overloaded without compromising the witness bunch normalized emittance. This reverses the effective accelerating gradient, and counter-rotates the accumulated negative longitudinal phase space chirp of the witness bunch. Thereby, the energy spread is reduced by an order of magnitude, thus enabling the production of ultrahigh 6D-brightness beams.

Coherent control of plasma dynamics by feedback-optimized wavefront manipulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He, Z.-H.; Hou, B.; Gao, G.

2015-05-15

Plasmas generated by an intense laser pulse can support coherent structures such as large amplitude wakefield that can affect the outcome of an experiment. We investigate the coherent control of plasma dynamics by feedback-optimized wavefront manipulation using a deformable mirror. The experimental outcome is directly used as feedback in an evolutionary algorithm for optimization of the phase front of the driving laser pulse. In this paper, we applied this method to two different experiments: (i) acceleration of electrons in laser driven plasma waves and (ii) self-compression of optical pulses induced by ionization nonlinearity. The manipulation of the laser wavefront leadsmore » to orders of magnitude improvement to electron beam properties such as the peak charge, beam divergence, and transverse emittance. The demonstration of coherent control for plasmas opens new possibilities for future laser-based accelerators and their applications.« less

Plasma Channel Lenses and Plasma Tornadoes for Optical Beam Focusing and Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbard, R. F.; Kaganovich, D.; Johnson, L. A.; Gordon, D. F.; Penano, J. R.; Hafizi, B.; Helle, M. H.; Mamonau, A. A.

2017-10-01

Shaped plasmas offer the possibility of manipulating laser pulses at intensities far above the damage limits for conventional optics. An example is the plasma channel, which is a cylindrical plasma column with an on-axis density minimum. Long plasma channels have been widely used to guide intense laser pulses, particularly in laser wakefield accelerators. A new concept, the ``plasma tornado'', offers the possibility of creating long plasma channels with no nearby structures and at densities lower than can be achieved by capillary discharges. A short plasma channel can focus a laser pulse in much the same manner as a conventional lens or off-axis parabola. When placed in front of the focal point of an intense laser pulse, a plasma channel lens (PCL) can reduce the effective f-number of conventional focusing optics. When placed beyond the focal point, it can act as a collimator. We will present experimental and modeling results for a new plasma tornado design, review experimental methods for generating short PCLs, and discuss potential applications. Supported by the Naval Research Laboratory Base Program.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Acceleration of Plasma: A Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Turchi, Peter J.; Markusic, Thomas E.; Cassibry, Jason T.; Sommer, James; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Much have been learned in the acceleration mechanisms involved in accelerating a plasma electromagnetically in the laboratory over the last 40 years since the early review by Winston Bostik of 1963, but the accumulated understanding is very much scattered throughout the literature. This literature extends back at least to the early sixties and includes Rosenbluth's snowplow model, discussions by Ralph Lovberg, Colgate's boundary-layer model of a current sheet, many papers from the activity at Columbia by Robert Gross and his colleagues, and the relevant, 1-D unsteady descriptions developed from the U. of Maryland theta-pinch studies. Recent progress on the understanding of the pulsed penetration of magnetic fields into collisionless or nearly collisionless plasmas are also be reviewed. Somewhat more recently, we have the two-dimensional, unsteady results in the collisional regime associated with so-called wall-instability in large radius pinch discharges and also in coaxial plasma guns (e.g., Plasma Flow Switch). Among other things, for example, we have the phenomenon of a high- density plasma discharge propagating in a cooaxial gun as an apparently straight sheet (vs paraboloid) because mass re-distribution (on a microsecond timescale) compensates for the 1/r- squared variation of magnetic pressure. We will attempt to collate some of this vast material and bring some coherence tc the development of the subject.

Katherine E. Weimer Award: X-ray light sources from laser-plasma and laser-electron interaction: development and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albert, Felicie

2017-10-01

Bright sources of x-rays, such as synchrotrons and x-ray free electron lasers (XFEL) are transformational tools for many fields of science. They are used for biology, material science, medicine, or industry. Such sources rely on conventional particle accelerators, where electrons are accelerated to gigaelectronvolts (GeV) energies. The accelerated particles are wiggled in magnetic structures to emit x-ray radiation that is commonly used for molecular crystallography, fluorescence studies, chemical analysis, medical imaging, and many other applications. One of the drawbacks of these machines is their size and cost, because electric field gradients are limited to about 100 V/M in conventional accelerators. Particle acceleration in laser-driven plasmas is an alternative to generate x-rays via betatron emission, Compton scattering, or bremsstrahlung. A plasma can sustain electrical fields many orders of magnitude higher than that in conventional radiofrequency accelerator structures. When short, intense laser pulses are focused into a gas, it produces electron plasma waves in which electrons can be trapped and accelerated to GeV energies. X-ray sources, driven by electrons from laser-wakefield acceleration, have unique properties that are analogous to synchrotron radiation, with a 1000-fold shorter pulse. An important use of x-rays from laser plasma accelerators is in High Energy Density (HED) science, which requires laser and XFEL facilities to create in the laboratory extreme conditions of temperatures and pressures that are usually found in the interiors of stars and planets. To diagnose such extreme states of matter, the development of efficient, versatile and fast (sub-picosecond scale) x-ray probes has become essential. In these experiments, x-ray photons can pass through dense material, and absorption of the x-rays can be directly measured, via spectroscopy or imaging, to inform scientists about the temperature and density of the targets being studied. Performed

Kinetic Simulations of Plasma Energization and Particle Acceleration in Interacting Magnetic Flux Ropes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, S.; Guo, F.; Zank, G. P.; Li, X.; Stanier, A.

2017-12-01

The interaction between magnetic flux ropes has been suggested as a process that leads to efficient plasma energization and particle acceleration (e.g., Drake et al. 2013; Zank et al. 2014). However, the underlying plasma dynamics and acceleration mechanisms are subject to examination of numerical simulations. As a first step of this effort, we carry out 2D fully kinetic simulations using the VPIC code to study the plasma energization and particle acceleration during coalescence of two magnetic flux ropes. Our analysis shows that the reconnection electric field and compression effect are important in plasma energization. The results may help understand the energization process associated with magnetic flux ropes frequently observed in the solar wind near the heliospheric current sheet.

Preliminary tests of the electrostatic plasma accelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aston, G.; Acker, T.

1990-01-01

This report describes the results of a program to verify an electrostatic plasma acceleration concept and to identify those parameters most important in optimizing an Electrostatic Plasma Accelerator (EPA) thruster based upon this thrust mechanism. Preliminary performance measurements of thrust, specific impulse and efficiency were obtained using a unique plasma exhaust momentum probe. Reliable EPA thruster operation was achieved using one power supply.

Linear analysis of active-medium two-beam accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voin, Miron; Schächter, Levi

2015-07-01

We present detailed development of the linear theory of wakefield amplification by active medium and its possible application to a two-beam accelerator (TBA) is discussed. A relativistic train of triggering microbunches traveling along a vacuum channel in an active medium confined by a cylindrical waveguide excites Cherenkov wake in the medium. The wake is a superposition of azimuthally symmetric transverse magnetic modes propagating along a confining waveguide, with a phase velocity equal to the velocity of the triggering bunches. The structure may be designed in such a way that the frequency of one of the modes is close to active-medium resonant frequency, resulting in amplification of the former and domination of a single mode far behind the trigger bunches. Another electron bunch placed in proper phase with the amplified wakefield may be accelerated by the latter. Importantly, the energy for acceleration is provided by the active medium and not the drive bunch as in a traditional TBA. Based on a simplified model, we analyze extensively the impact of various parameters on the wakefield amplification process.

Acceleration of O+ from the cusp to the plasma sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, J.; Kistler, L. M.; Mouikis, C. G.; Klecker, B.; Dandouras, I.

2015-02-01

Heavy ions from the ionosphere that are accelerated in the cusp/cleft have been identified as a direct source for the hot plasma in the plasma sheet. However, the details of the acceleration and transport that transforms the originally cold ions into the hot plasma sheet population are not fully understood. The polar orbit of the Cluster satellites covers the main transport path of the O+ from the cusp to the plasma sheet, so Cluster is ideal for tracking its velocity changes. However, because the cusp outflow is dispersed according to its velocity as it is transported to the tail, due to the velocity filter effect, the observed changes in beam velocity over the Cluster orbit may simply be the result of the spacecraft accessing different spatial regions and not necessarily evidence of acceleration. Using the Cluster Ion Spectrometry/Composition Distribution Function instrument onboard Cluster, we compare the distribution function of streaming O+ in the tail lobes with the initial distribution function observed over the cusp and reveal that the observations of energetic streaming O+ in the lobes around -20 RE are predominantly due to the velocity filter effect during nonstorm times. During storm times, the cusp distribution is further accelerated. In the plasma sheet boundary layer, however, the average O+ distribution function is above the upper range of the outflow distributions at the same velocity during both storm and nonstorm times, indicating that acceleration has taken place. Some of the velocity increase is in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field, indicating that the E × B velocity is enhanced. However, there is also an increase in the parallel direction, which could be due to nonadiabatic acceleration at the boundary or wave heating.

Radially polarized, half-cycle, attosecond pulses from laser wakefields through coherent synchrotronlike radiation.

PubMed

Li, F Y; Sheng, Z M; Chen, M; Yu, L L; Meyer-ter-Vehn, J; Mori, W B; Zhang, J

2014-10-01

Attosecond bursts of coherent synchrotronlike radiation are found when driving ultrathin relativistic electron disks in a quasi-one-dimensional regime of wakefield acceleration, in which the laser waist is larger than the wake wavelength. The disks of overcritical density shrink radially due to focusing wakefields, thus providing the transverse currents for the emission of an intense, radially polarized, half-cycle pulse of about 100 attoseconds in duration. The electromagnetic pulse first focuses to a peak intensity (7×10(20)W/cm(2)) 10 times larger than the driving pulse and then emerges as a conical beam. Basic dynamics of the radiative process are derived analytically and in agreement with particle-in-cell simulations. By making use of gas targets instead of solids to form the ultrathin disks, this method allows for high repetition rates required for applications.

Relativistically Induced Transparency Acceleration (RITA) - laser-plasma accelerated quasi-monoenergetic GeV ion-beams with existing lasers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahai, Aakash A.

2013-10-01

Laser-plasma ion accelerators have the potential to produce beams with unprecedented characteristics of ultra-short bunch lengths (100s of fs) and high bunch-charge (1010 particles) over acceleration length of about 100 microns. However, creating and controlling mono-energetic bunches while accelerating to high-energies has been a challenge. If high-energy mono-energetic beams can be demonstrated with minimal post-processing, laser (ω0)-plasma (ωpe) ion accelerators may be used in a wide-range of applications such as cancer hadron-therapy, medical isotope production, neutron generation, radiography and high-energy density science. Here we demonstrate using analysis and simulations that using relativistic intensity laser-pulses and heavy-ion (Mi ×me) targets doped with a proton (or light-ion) species (mp ×me) of trace density (at least an order of magnitude below the cold critical density) we can scale up the energy of quasi-mono-energetically accelerated proton (or light-ion) beams while controlling their energy, charge and energy spectrum. This is achieved by controlling the laser propagation into an overdense (ω0 <ωpeγ = 1) increasing plasma density gradient by incrementally inducing relativistic electron quiver and thereby rendering them transparent to the laser while the heavy-ions are immobile. Ions do not directly interact with ultra-short laser that is much shorter in duration than their characteristic time-scale (τp <<√{mp} /ω0 <<√{Mi} /ω0). For a rising laser intensity envelope, increasing relativistic quiver controls laser propagation beyond the cold critical density. For increasing plasma density (ωpe2 (x)), laser penetrates into higher density and is shielded, stopped and reflected where ωpe2 (x) / γ (x , t) =ω02 . In addition to the laser quivering the electrons, it also ponderomotively drives (Fp 1/γ∇za2) them forward longitudinally, creating a constriction of snowplowed e-s. The resulting longitudinal e--displacement from

Laser-driven electron beam acceleration and future application to compact light sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hafz, N.; Jeong, T. M.; Lee, S. K.; Pae, K. H.; Sung, J. H.; Choi, I. W.; Yu, T. J.; Jeong, Y. U.; Lee, J.

2009-07-01

Laser-driven plasma accelerators are gaining much attention by the advanced accelerator community due to the potential these accelerators hold in miniaturizing future high-energy and medium-energy machines. In the laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA), the ponderomotive force of an ultrashort high intensity laser pulse excites a longitudinal plasma wave or bubble. Due to huge charge separation, electric fields created in the plasma bubble can be several orders of magnitude higher than those available in conventional microwave and RF-based accelerator facilities which are limited (up to ˜100 MV/m) by material breakdown. Therefore, if an electron bunch is injected into the bubble in phase with its field, it will gain relativistic energies within an extremely short distance. Here, in the LWFA we show the generation of high-quality and high-energy electron beams up to the GeV-class within a few millimeters of gas-jet plasmas irradiated by tens of terawatt ultrashort laser pulses. Thus we realize approximately four orders of magnitude acceleration gradients higher than available by conventional technology. As a practical application of the stable high-energy electron beam generation, we are planning on injecting the electron beams into a few-meters long conventional undulator in order to realize compact X-ray synchrotron (immediate) and FEL (future) light sources. Stable laser-driven electron beam and radiation devices will surely open a new era in science, medicine and technology and will benefit a larger number of users in those fields.

Wakefield potentials of corrugated structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Novokhatski, A.

A corrugated structure, which is used in “dechirper” devices, is usually a pipe or two plates with small corrugations (bumps) on the walls. There is a good single-mode description of the wake potentials excited by a relativistic bunch if the wave length of the mode is much longer than the distance between the bumps in the pipe. However, ultrashort bunches, which are now used in free electron lasers, excite much higher frequency fields and the corresponding wake potentials will be very different from the single-mode description. We have made analyses of these wake potentials based on a numerical solution ofmore » Maxwell’s equations. It was confirmed that the behavior of the wakefields of ultrashort bunches in corrugated structures is not much different from the fields excited usually in accelerating structures where the wake potentials are described by the exponential function. For a practical application we present results for the SLAC “dechirper.” We also carried out calculations for a similar device, that was installed and measured at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Korea. As a result, we find very good agreement with the experimental results.« less

Wakefield potentials of corrugated structures

DOE PAGES

Novokhatski, A.

2015-10-22

A corrugated structure, which is used in “dechirper” devices, is usually a pipe or two plates with small corrugations (bumps) on the walls. There is a good single-mode description of the wake potentials excited by a relativistic bunch if the wave length of the mode is much longer than the distance between the bumps in the pipe. However, ultrashort bunches, which are now used in free electron lasers, excite much higher frequency fields and the corresponding wake potentials will be very different from the single-mode description. We have made analyses of these wake potentials based on a numerical solution ofmore » Maxwell’s equations. It was confirmed that the behavior of the wakefields of ultrashort bunches in corrugated structures is not much different from the fields excited usually in accelerating structures where the wake potentials are described by the exponential function. For a practical application we present results for the SLAC “dechirper.” We also carried out calculations for a similar device, that was installed and measured at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Korea. As a result, we find very good agreement with the experimental results.« less

Relativistic laser-plasma interactions in the quantum regime.

PubMed

Eliasson, Bengt; Shukla, P K

2011-04-01

We consider nonlinear interactions between a relativistically strong laser beam and a plasma in the quantum regime. The collective behavior of electrons is modeled by a Klein-Gordon equation, which is nonlinearly coupled with the electromagnetic wave through the Maxwell and Poisson equations. This allows us to study nonlinear interactions between arbitrarily large-amplitude electromagnetic waves and a quantum plasma. We have used our system of nonlinear equations to study theoretically the parametric instabilities involving stimulated Raman scattering and modulational instabilities. A model for quasi-steady-state propagating electromagnetic wave packets is also derived, and which shows possibility of localized solitary structures in a quantum plasma. Numerical simulations demonstrate collapse and acceleration of electrons in the nonlinear stage of the modulational instability, as well as possibility of the wake-field acceleration of electrons to relativistic speeds by short laser pulses at nanometer length scales. Our study is relevant for understanding the localization of intense electromagnetic pulses in a quantum plasma with extremely high electron densities and relatively low temperature.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Acceleration of Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Cassibry, Jason T.; Markusic, Tom E.; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A major shift in paradigm in driving pulsed plasma thruster is necessary if the original goal of accelerating a plasma sheet efficiently to high velocities as a plasma "slug" is to be realized. Firstly, the plasma interior needs to be highly collisional so that it can be dammed by the plasma edge layer not (upstream) adjacent to the driving 'vacuum' magnetic field. Secondly, the plasma edge layer needs to be strongly magnetized so that its Hall parameter is of the order of unity in this region to ensure excellent coupling of the Lorentz force to the plasma. Thirdly, to prevent and/or suppress the occurrence of secondary arcs or restrike behind the plasma, the region behind the plasma needs to be collisionless and extremely magnetized with sufficiently large Hall parameter. This places a vacuum requirement on the bore conditions prior to the shot. These requirements are quantified in the paper and lead to the introduction of three new design parameters corresponding to these three plasma requirements. The first parameter, labeled in the paper as gamma (sub 1), pertains to the permissible ratio of the diffusive excursion of the plasma during the course of the acceleration to the plasma longitudinal dimension. The second parameter is the required Hall parameter of the edge plasma region, and the third parameter the required Hall parameter of the region behind the plasma. Experimental research is required to quantify the values of these design parameters. Based upon fundamental theory of the transport processes in plasma, some theoretical guidance on the choice of these parameters are provided to help designing the necessary experiments to acquire these data.

Single-stage plasma-based correlated energy spread compensation for ultrahigh 6D brightness electron beams

DOE PAGES

Manahan, Grace G.; Habib, A. F.; Scherkl, P.; ...

2017-06-05

Plasma photocathode wakefield acceleration combines energy gains of tens of GeV m –1 with generation of ultralow emittance electron bunches, and opens a path towards 5D-brightness orders of magnitude larger than state-of-the-art. This holds great promise for compact accelerator building blocks and advanced light sources. However, an intrinsic by-product of the enormous electric field gradients inherent to plasma accelerators is substantial correlated energy spread—an obstacle for key applications such as free-electron-lasers. Here we show that by releasing an additional tailored escort electron beam at a later phase of the acceleration, when the witness bunch is relativistically stable, the plasma wavemore » can be locally overloaded without compromising the witness bunch normalized emittance. Here, this reverses the effective accelerating gradient, and counter-rotates the accumulated negative longitudinal phase space chirp of the witness bunch. Thereby, the energy spread is reduced by an order of magnitude, thus enabling the production of ultrahigh 6D-brightness beams.« less

Acceleration of plasma electrons by intense nonrelativistic ion and electron beams propagating in background plasma due to two-stream instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaganovich, Igor D.

2015-11-01

In this paper we study the effects of the two-stream instability on the propagation of intense nonrelativistic ion and electron beams in background plasma. Development of the two-stream instability between the beam ions and plasma electrons leads to beam breakup, a slowing down of the beam particles, acceleration of the plasma particles, and transfer of the beam energy to the plasma particles and wave excitations. Making use of the particle-in-cell codes EDIPIC and LSP, and analytic theory we have simulated the effects of the two-stream instability on beam propagation over a wide range of beam and plasma parameters. Because of the two-stream instability the plasma electrons can be accelerated to velocities as high as twice the beam velocity. The resulting return current of the accelerated electrons may completely change the structure of the beam self - magnetic field, thereby changing its effect on the beam from focusing to defocusing. Therefore, previous theories of beam self-electromagnetic fields that did not take into account the effects of the two-stream instability must be significantly modified. This effect can be observed on the National Drift Compression Experiment-II (NDCX-II) facility by measuring the spot size of the extracted beamlet propagating through several meters of plasma. Particle-in-cell, fluid simulations, and analytical theory also reveal the rich complexity of beam- plasma interaction phenomena: intermittency and multiple regimes of the two-stream instability in dc discharges; band structure of the growth rate of the two-stream instability of an electron beam propagating in a bounded plasma and repeated acceleration of electrons in a finite system. In collaboration with E. Tokluoglu, D. Sydorenko, E. A. Startsev, J. Carlsson, and R. C. Davidson. Research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Double-pulse THz radiation bursts from laser-plasma acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bosch, R. A.

2006-11-15

A model is presented for coherent THz radiation produced when an electron bunch undergoes laser-plasma acceleration and then exits axially from a plasma column. Radiation produced when the bunch is accelerated is superimposed with transition radiation from the bunch exiting the plasma. Computations give a double-pulse burst of radiation comparable to recent observations. The duration of each pulse very nearly equals the electron bunch length, while the time separation between pulses is proportional to the distance between the points where the bunch is accelerated and where it exits the plasma. The relative magnitude of the two pulses depends upon bymore » the radius of the plasma column. Thus, the radiation bursts may be useful in diagnosing the electron bunch length, the location of the bunch's acceleration, and the plasma radius.« less

Electron heating by intense short-pulse lasers propagating through near-critical plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debayle, A.; Mollica, F.; Vauzour, B.; Wan, Y.; Flacco, A.; Malka, V.; Davoine, X.; Gremillet, L.

2017-12-01

We investigate the electron heating induced by a relativistic-intensity laser pulse propagating through a near-critical plasma. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we show that a specific interaction regime sets in when, due to the energy depletion caused by the plasma wakefield, the laser front profile has steepened to the point of having a length scale close to the laser wavelength. Wave breaking and phase mixing have then occurred, giving rise to a relativistically hot electron population following the laser pulse. This hot electron flow is dense enough to neutralize the cold bulk electrons during their backward acceleration by the wakefield. This neutralization mechanism delays, but does not prevent the breaking of the wakefield: the resulting phase mixing converts the large kinetic energy of the backward-flowing electrons into thermal energy greatly exceeding the conventional ponderomotive scaling at laser intensities > {10}21 {{{W}}{cm}}-2 and gas densities around 10% of the critical density. We develop a semi-numerical model, based on the Akhiezer-Polovin equations, which correctly reproduces the particle-in-cell-predicted electron thermal energies over a broad parameter range. Given this good agreement, we propose a criterion for full laser absorption that includes field-induced ionization. Finally, we show that our predictions still hold in a two-dimensional geometry using a realistic gas profile.

EIDOSCOPE: particle acceleration at plasma boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaivads, A.; Andersson, G.; Bale, S. D.; Cully, C. M.; De Keyser, J.; Fujimoto, M.; Grahn, S.; Haaland, S.; Ji, H.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Lazarian, A.; Lavraud, B.; Mann, I. R.; Nakamura, R.; Nakamura, T. K. M.; Narita, Y.; Retinò, A.; Sahraoui, F.; Schekochihin, A.; Schwartz, S. J.; Shinohara, I.; Sorriso-Valvo, L.

2012-04-01

We describe the mission concept of how ESA can make a major contribution to the Japanese Canadian multi-spacecraft mission SCOPE by adding one cost-effective spacecraft EIDO (Electron and Ion Dynamics Observatory), which has a comprehensive and optimized plasma payload to address the physics of particle acceleration. The combined mission EIDOSCOPE will distinguish amongst and quantify the governing processes of particle acceleration at several important plasma boundaries and their associated boundary layers: collisionless shocks, plasma jet fronts, thin current sheets and turbulent boundary layers. Particle acceleration and associated cross-scale coupling is one of the key outstanding topics to be addressed in the Plasma Universe. The very important science questions that only the combined EIDOSCOPE mission will be able to tackle are: 1) Quantitatively, what are the processes and efficiencies with which both electrons and ions are selectively injected and subsequently accelerated by collisionless shocks? 2) How does small-scale electron and ion acceleration at jet fronts due to kinetic processes couple simultaneously to large scale acceleration due to fluid (MHD) mechanisms? 3) How does multi-scale coupling govern acceleration mechanisms at electron, ion and fluid scales in thin current sheets? 4) How do particle acceleration processes inside turbulent boundary layers depend on turbulence properties at ion/electron scales? EIDO particle instruments are capable of resolving full 3D particle distribution functions in both thermal and suprathermal regimes and at high enough temporal resolution to resolve the relevant scales even in very dynamic plasma processes. The EIDO spin axis is designed to be sun-pointing, allowing EIDO to carry out the most sensitive electric field measurements ever accomplished in the outer magnetosphere. Combined with a nearby SCOPE Far Daughter satellite, EIDO will form a second pair (in addition to SCOPE Mother-Near Daughter) of closely

Fully Implict Magneto-hydrodynamics Simulations of Coaxial Plasma Accelerators

DOE PAGES

Subramaniam, Vivek; Raja, Laxminarayan L.

2017-01-05

The resistive Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) model describes the behavior of a strongly ionized plasma in the presence of external electric and magnetic fields. We developed a fully implicit MHD simulation tool to solve the resistive MHD governing equations in the context of a cell-centered finite-volume scheme. The primary objective of this study is to use the fully-implicit algorithm to obtain insights into the plasma acceleration and jet formation processes in Coaxial Plasma accelerators; electromagnetic acceleration devices that utilize self-induced magnetic fields to accelerate thermal plasmas to large velocities. We also carry out plasma-surface simulations in order to study the impact interactionsmore » when these high velocity plasma jets impinge on target material surfaces. Scaling studies are carried out to establish some basic functional relationships between the target-stagnation conditions and the current discharged between the coaxial electrodes.« less

Electrochemical immunosensor assay (EIA) for sensitive detection of E. coli O157:H7 with signal amplification on a SG-PEDOT-AuNPs electrode interface.

PubMed

Guo, Yuna; Wang, Yu; Liu, Su; Yu, Jinghua; Wang, Hongzhi; Cui, Min; Huang, Jiadong

2015-01-21

A novel electrochemical immunosensor assay (EIA) for highly sensitive and specific detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been developed. This immunosensor is constructed by the assembly of capture antibody on SG-PEDOT-AuNPs composites modified glass carbon electrode. In the presence of target E. coli O157:H7, horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled antibody is captured on the electrode surface to form a sandwich-type system via the specific identification. As a result, E. coli O157:H7 detection is realized by outputting a redox current from electro-reduction of hydrogen peroxide reaction catalyzed by HRP. In our assay, the combination of the unique properties of sulfonated graphene (SG) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can not only accelerate electron transfer on electrode interface, but also provide an excellent scaffold for the conjugation of capture antibody that significantly improves the target capture efficiency and enhances the sensitivity of the biosensor. The results reveal the calibration plot obtained for E. coli O157:H7 is approximately linear from 7.8 × 10-7.8 × 10(6) colony-forming unit (cfu) mL(-1) with the limit of detection of 3.4 × 10 cfu mL(-1). In addition, the biosensor has been successfully applied to the quantitative assay of E. coli O157:H7 in synthetic samples (spring water and milk). Hence, the developed electrochemical-based immunosensor might provide a useful and practical tool for E. coli O157:H7 determination and related food safety analysis and clinical diagnosis.

Terahertz Frequency Electron Driven Dielectric Wakefield in Cartesian Symmetric and Photonic Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoang, Phuc Dinh

Recent works have established that electron beam driven wakefield not only can serve as a viable source for coherent narrow band terahertz radiation but also as a future candidate for high gradient compact linear accelerators. It has also been pointed out that concentric cylindrical dielectric structures, while being very efficient in extracting the energy of the drive beam, which leads to GeV/m gradient level, are susceptible to excitation of transverse modes which give unwanted trajectory kicks and cause beam breakup instabilities. At the same time, temporary high field induced dielectric conductivity was observed in the same system where in response to high field, charge carriers were injected to the conduction band of the dielectric resulting in anomalous dissipation of the wake. Evidence of this point shall be presented in this thesis. First, in order to address the issue of deflection modes, a solution was proposed to use slab structures. Exploiting the Cartesian symmetry, and the wakefield response thereof, a dielectric wakefield system, where both the structure and the beam are flat, may achieve zero net transverse deflection forces. Second, in order to confine high field to the vacuum region away from the dielectric, thus avoiding all high field related problems, photonic band gap materials may be used. Also known as photonic crystals, these structures give rise to defect modes which are confined only to the defect (vacuum) region. Further shaping of the vacuum/dielectric interface, for example by periodic corrugation, not only reduces the field across the interface on the dielectric side by 1/epsilon as consequence of boundary condition, but also brings about further options of tailoring the field. Motivated by these issues, in this thesis, through a series of relevant analytic calculations, simulations, and experiments, the possibility of using Cartesian symmetric, photonic structures for dielectric wakefield will be assessed.

Long-range attraction of an ultrarelativistic electron beam by a column of neutral plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adli, E.; Lindstrøm, C. A.; Allen, J.; Clarke, C. I.; Frederico, J.; Gessner, S. J.; Green, S. Z.; Hogan, M. J.; Litos, M. D.; O'Shea, B.; Yakimenko, V.; An, W.; Clayton, C. E.; Marsh, K. A.; Mori, W. B.; Joshi, C.; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N.; Corde, S.; Lu, W.

2016-10-01

We report on the experimental observation of the attraction of a beam of ultrarelativistic electrons towards a column of neutral plasma. In experiments performed at the FACET test facility at SLAC we observe that an electron beam moving parallel to a neutral plasma column, at an initial distance of many plasma column radii, is attracted into the column. Once the beam enters the plasma it drives a plasma wake similar to that of an electron beam entering the plasma column head-on. A simple analytical model is developed in order to capture the essential physics of the attractive force. The attraction is further studied by 3D particle-in-cell numerical simulations. The results are an important step towards better understanding of particle beam-plasma interactions in general and plasma wakefield accelerator technology in particular.

Interaction dynamics of high Reynolds number magnetized plasma flow on the CTIX plasma accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, Stephen James

The Compact Toroid Injection eXperiment, (CTIX), is a coaxial railgun that forms and accelerates magnetized plasma rings called compact toroids (CT's). CTIX consists of a pair of cylindrical coaxial electrodes with the region between them kept at high vacuum (2 m long, 15 cm outer diameter). Hydrogen is typically the dominant constituent of the CT plasma, however helium can also be used. The railgun effect that accelerates the CT can be accounted for by the Lorentz j x B force density created by the power input from a capacitor bank of roughly a Giga-Watt peak. The final velocity of the CT can be as high as 300 km/s, with an acceleration of about 3 billion times Earth's gravity. The compact toroid is able to withstand these forces because of a large internal magnetic field of about 1 Tesla. Understanding the nature of high speed flow of a magnetized plasma has been the primary challenge of this work. In this dissertation we will explore a sequence of fundamental questions regarding the plasma physics of CTIX. First we will go over some new results about the structure and dynamics of the compact toroid's magnetic field, and its electrical resistivity. Then we will present the results from a sequence of key experiments involving reconnection/compression and thermalization of the plasma during interaction of the CT with target magnetic fields of various geometries. Next, we look at the Doppler shift of a spectral line of the He II ion as a measurement of plasma velocity, and to gain insight into the ionization physics of helium in our plasma. These preliminary experiments provide the background for our primary experimental tool for investigating turbulence, a technique called Gas Puff Imaging (GPI) in which a cloud of helium can be used to enhance plasma brightness, allowing plasma density fluctuations to be imaged. We will conclude with an analysis of the images that show coherent density waves, as well as the transition to turbulence during the interaction with a

Plasma inverse transition acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Ming

It can be proved fundamentally from the reciprocity theorem with which the electromagnetism is endowed that corresponding to each spontaneous process of radiation by a charged particle there is an inverse process which defines a unique acceleration mechanism, from Cherenkov radiation to inverse Cherenkov acceleration (ICA) [1], from Smith-Purcell radiation to inverse Smith-Purcell acceleration (ISPA) [2], and from undulator radiation to inverse undulator acceleration (IUA) [3]. There is no exception. Yet, for nearly 30 years after each of the aforementioned inverse processes has been clarified for laser acceleration, inverse transition acceleration (ITA), despite speculation [4], has remained the least understood,more » and above all, no practical implementation of ITA has been found, until now. Unlike all its counterparts in which phase synchronism is established one way or the other such that a particle can continuously gain energy from an acceleration wave, the ITA to be discussed here, termed plasma inverse transition acceleration (PITA), operates under fundamentally different principle. As a result, the discovery of PITA has been delayed for decades, waiting for a conceptual breakthrough in accelerator physics: the principle of alternating gradient acceleration [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. In fact, PITA was invented [7, 8] as one of several realizations of the new principle.« less

Electrostatic Plasma Accelerator (EPA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brophy, John R.; Aston, Graeme

1995-01-01

The application of electric propulsion to communications satellites, however, has been limited to the use of hydrazine thrusters with electric heaters for thrust and specific impulse augmentation. These electrothermal thrusters operate at specific impulse levels of approximately 300 s with heater powers of about 500 W. Low power arcjets (1-3 kW) are currently being investigated as a way to increase specific impulse levels to approximately 500 s. Ion propulsion systems can easily produce specific impulses of 3000 s or greater, but have yet to be applied to communications satellites. The reasons most often given for not using ion propulsion systems are their high level of overall complexity, low thrust with long burn times, and the difficulty of integrating the propulsion system into existing commercial spacecraft busses. The Electrostatic Plasma Accelerator (EPA) is a thruster concept which promises specific impulse levels between low power arcjets and those of the ion engine while retaining the relative simplicity of the arcjet. The EPA thruster produces thrust through the electrostatic acceleration of a moderately dense plasma. No accelerating electrodes are used and the specific impulse is a direct function of the applied discharge voltage and the propellant atomic mass.

Study of plasma parameters in a pulsed plasma accelerator using triple Langmuir probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borthakur, S.; Talukdar, N.; Neog, N. K.; Borthakur, T. K.

2018-01-01

A Triple Langmuir Probe (TLP) has been used to study plasma parameters of a transient plasma produced in a newly developed Pulsed Plasma Accelerator system. In this experiment, a TLP with a capacitor based current mode biasing circuit was used that instantaneously gives voltage traces in an oscilloscope which are directly proportional to the plasma electron temperature and density. The electron temperature (Te) and plasma density (ne) of the plasma are measured with the help of this probe and found to be 24.13 eV and 3.34 × 1021/m3 at the maximum energy (-15 kV) of the system, respectively. An attempt was also made to analyse the time-dependent fluctuations in plasma parameters detected by the highly sensitive triple probe. In addition to this, the variation of these parameters under different discharge voltages was studied. The information obtained from these parameters is the initial diagnostics of a new device which is to be dedicated to study the impact of high heat flux plasma stream upon material surfaces inside an ITER like tokamak.

LCLS X-Ray FEL Output Performance in the Presence of Highly Time-Dependent Undulator Wakefields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fawley, W.M.; /LBL, Berkeley; Bane, K.L.F.

Energy loss due to wakefields within a long undulator, if not compensated by an appropriate tapering of the magnetic field strength, can degrade the FEL process by detuning the resonant FEL frequency. The wakefields arise from the vacuum chamber wall resistivity, its surface roughness, and abrupt changes in its aperture. For LCLS parameters, the resistive-wall component is the most critical and depends upon the chamber material (e.g., Cu) and its radius. Of recent interest[1] is the so-called ''AC'' component of the resistive-wall wake which can lead to strong variations on very short timescales (e.g., {approx} 20 fs). To study themore » expected performance of the LCLS in the presence of these wakefields, we have made an extensive series of start-to-end SASE simulations with tracking codes PARMELA and ELEGANT, and time-dependent FEL simulation codes GENESIS1.3 and GINGER. We discuss the impact of the wakefield losses upon output energy, spectral bandwidth, and temporal envelope of the output FEL pulse, as well as the benefits of a partial compensation of the time-dependent wake losses obtained with a slight z-dependent taper in the undulator field. We compare the taper results to those predicted analytically[2].« less

LCLS X-Ray FEL Output Performance in the Presence of HighlyTime-Dependent Undulator Wakefields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bane, Karl L.F.; Emma, Paul; Huang, Heinz-Dieter Nuhn

Energy loss due to wakefields within a long undulator, if not compensated by an appropriate tapering of the magnetic field strength, can degrade the FEL process by detuning the resonant FEL frequency. The wakefields arise from the vacuum chamber wall resistivity, its surface roughness, and abrupt changes in its aperture. For LCLS parameters, the resistive-wall component is the most critical and depends upon the chamber material (e.g., Cu) and its radius. Of recent interest[1] is the so-called ''AC'' component of the resistive-wall wake which can lead to strong variations on very short timescales (e.g., {approx} 20 0fs). To study themore » expected performance of the LCLS in the presence of these wakefields, we have made an extensive series of start-to-end SASE simulations with tracking codes PARMELA and ELEGANT, and time-dependent FEL simulation codes GENESIS1.3 and GINGER. We discuss the impact of the wakefield losses upon output energy, spectral bandwidth, and temporal envelope of the output FEL pulse, as well as the benefits of a partial compensation of the time-dependent wake losses obtained with a slight z-dependent taper in the undulator field. We compare the taper results to those predicted analytically[2].« less

Progress In Plasma Accelerator Development for Dynamic Formation of Plasma Liners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Eskridge, Richard; Martin, Adam; Smith, James; Lee, Michael; Cassibry, Jason T.; Griffin, Steven; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

An experimental plasma accelerator for magnetic target fusion (MTF) applications under development at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is described. The accelerator is a coaxial pulsed plasma thruster (Figure 1). It has been tested experimentally and plasma jet velocities of approx.50 km/sec have been obtained. The plasma jet has been photographed with 10-ns exposure times to reveal a stable and repeatable plasma structure (Figure 2). Data for velocity profile information has been obtained using light pipes and magnetic probes embedded in the gun walls to record the plasma and current transit respectively at various barrel locations. Preliminary spatially resolved spectral data and magnetic field probe data are also presented. A high speed triggering system has been developed and tested as a means of reducing the gun "jitter". This jitter is being characterized and future work for second generation "ultra-low jitter" gun development is being identified.

Mechanisms of Plasma Acceleration in Coronal Jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soto, N.; Reeves, K.; Savcheva, A. S.

2016-12-01

Jets are small explosions that occur frequently in the Sun possibly driven by the local reconfiguration of the magnetic field, or reconnection. There are two types of coronal jets: standard jets and blowout jets. The purpose of this project is to determine which mechanisms accelerate plasma in two different jets, one that occurred in January 17, 2015 at the disk of the sun and another in October 24, 2015 at the limb. Two possible acceleration mechanisms are chromospheric evaporation and magnetic acceleration. Using SDO/AIA, Hinode/XRT and IRIS data, we create height-time plots, and calculate the velocities of each wavelength for both jets. We calculate the potential magnetic field of the jet and the general region around it to gain a more detailed understanding of its structure, and determine if the jet is likely to be either a standard or blowout jet. Finally, we calculate the magnetic field strength for different heights along the jet spire, and use differential emission measures to calculate the plasma density. Once we have these two values, we calculate the Alfven speed. When analyzing our results we are looking for certain patterns in our velocities. If the plasma in a jet is accelerated by chromospheric evaporation, we expect the velocities to increase as function of temperature, which is what we observed in the October 24th jet. The magnetic models for this jet also show the Eiffel Tower shaped structure characteristic of standard jets, which tend to have plasma accelerated by this mechanism. On the other hand, if the acceleration mechanism were magnetic acceleration, we would expect the velocities to be similar regardless of temperature. For the January 17th jet, we saw that along the spire, the velocities where approximately 200 km/s in all wavelengths, but the velocities of hot plasma detected at the base were closer to the Alfven speed, which was estimated to be about 2,000 km/s. These observations suggest that the plasma in the January 17th jet is

Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 and the esophagocutaneous fistula healing therapy.

PubMed

Cesarec, Vedran; Becejac, Tomislav; Misic, Marija; Djakovic, Zeljko; Olujic, Danijela; Drmic, Domagoj; Brcic, Luka; Rokotov, Dinko Stancic; Seiwerth, Sven; Sikiric, Predrag

2013-02-15

Esophagocutaneous fistulas are a failure of the NO-system, due to NO-synthase blockage by the NOS-blocker L-NAME consequently counteracted by l-arginine and gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (l-arginine 157), precipitating a therapeutic benefit. Previously, there was an established BPC 157-NO-system interaction. BPC 157 GEPPPGKPADDAGLV, MW 1419 (LD1 not achieved), is a safe and stable anti-ulcer peptide, successful in inflammatory bowel disease trials, counteracting esophagitis, sphincter failure, gastrointestinal and skin ulcers, gastrocutaneous or colocutaneous fistulas. We treated rats with established cervical esophagocutaneous fistulas throughout four days (both open skin and esophageal defects, with significant leakage) with BPC 157 (parenterally and perorally) and L-NAME (blocking NO genesis) and l-arginine (NO-substrate) alone or in combination. RT-PCR investigated eNOS, iNOS, COX-2 mRNA levels in the fistulas. We evidenced a closely inter-related process of unhealed skin, esophageal defects, unhealed fistulas (up regulated eNOS, iNOS and COX2 mRNA levels), usually lethal, particularly NO-system related and therapy dependent. Generally, the course of fistula healing was accelerated either to a greater extent (with BPC 157 (in particular, less eNOS gene expression) completely counteracting L-NAME effects, in L-NAME+BPC 157 and L-NAME+l-arginine+BPC 157 groups), or to a lesser extent (with l-arginine). Conversely, the process was aggravated, rapidly and prominently (with L-NAME). In particular, BPC 157 was effective either given per-orally/intraperitoneally, in μg- and ng-regimens. Shortly, defects started to heal, with less fistula leakage and no mortality at day 4. Failure of pyloric and lower esophageal sphincter pressure was restored, with practically no esophagitis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Kr II laser-induced fluorescence for measuring plasma acceleration.

PubMed

Hargus, W A; Azarnia, G M; Nakles, M R

2012-10-01

We present the application of laser-induced fluorescence of singly ionized krypton as a diagnostic technique for quantifying the electrostatic acceleration within the discharge of a laboratory cross-field plasma accelerator also known as a Hall effect thruster, which has heritage as spacecraft propulsion. The 728.98 nm Kr II transition from the metastable 5d(4)D(7/2) to the 5p(4)P(5/2)(∘) state was used for the measurement of laser-induced fluorescence within the plasma discharge. From these measurements, it is possible to measure velocity as krypton ions are accelerated from near rest to approximately 21 km/s (190 eV). Ion temperature and the ion velocity distributions may also be extracted from the fluorescence data since available hyperfine splitting data allow for the Kr II 5d(4)D(7/2)-5p(4)P(5/2)(∘) transition lineshape to be modeled. From the analysis, the fluorescence lineshape appears to be a reasonable estimate for the relatively broad ion velocity distributions. However, due to an apparent overlap of the ion creation and acceleration regions within the discharge, the distributed velocity distributions increase ion temperature determination uncertainty significantly. Using the most probable ion velocity as a representative, or characteristic, measure of the ion acceleration, overall propellant energy deposition, and effective electric fields may be calculated. With this diagnostic technique, it is possible to nonintrusively characterize the ion acceleration both within the discharge and in the plume.

Temporal profile measurements of relativistic electron bunch based on wakefield generation

DOE PAGES

Bettoni, S.; Craievich, P.; Lutman, A. A.; ...

2016-02-25

A complete characterization of the time-resolved longitudinal beam phase space is important to optimize the final performances of an accelerator, and in particular this is crucial for Free Electron Laser (FEL) facilities. In this study we propose a novel method to characterize the profile of a relativistic electron bunch by passively streaking the beam using its self-interaction with the transverse wakefield excited by the bunch itself passing off-axis through a dielectric-lined or a corrugated waveguide. Results of a proof-of-principle experiment at the SwissFEL Injector Test Facility are discussed.

Experimental characterization of a coaxial plasma accelerator for a colliding plasma experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiechula, J.; Hock, C.; Iberler, M.; Manegold, T.; Schönlein, A.; Jacoby, J.

2015-04-01

We report experimental results of a single coaxial plasma accelerator in preparation for a colliding plasma experiment. The utilized device consisted of a coaxial pair of electrodes, accelerating the plasma due to J ×B forces. A pulse forming network, composed of three capacitors connected in parallel, with a total capacitance of 27 μF was set up. A thyratron allowed to switch the maximum applied voltage of 9 kV. Under these conditions, the pulsed currents reached peak values of about 103 kA. The measurements were performed in a small vacuum chamber with a neutral-gas prefill at gas pressures between 10 Pa and 14 000 Pa. A gas mixture of ArH2 with 2.8% H2 served as the discharge medium. H2 was chosen in order to observe the broadening of the Hβ emission line and thus estimate the electron density. The electron density for a single plasma accelerator reached peak values on the order of 1016 cm-3 . Electrical parameters, inter alia inductance and resistance, were determined for the LCR circuit during the plasma acceleration as well as in a short circuit case. Depending on the applied voltage, the inductance and resistance reached values ranging from 194 nH to 216 nH and 13 mΩ to 23 mΩ, respectively. Furthermore, the plasma velocity was measured using a fast CCD camera. Plasma velocities of 2 km/s up to 17 km/s were observed, the magnitude being highly correlated with gas pressure and applied voltage.

Astrophysical ZeV acceleration in the relativistic jet from an accreting supermassive blackhole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu; Tajima, Toshiki

2014-04-01

An accreting supermassive blackhole, the central engine of active galactic nucleus (AGN), is capable of exciting extreme amplitude Alfven waves whose wavelength (wave packet) size is characterized by its clumpiness. The pondermotive force and wakefield are driven by these Alfven waves propagating in the AGN (blazar) jet, and accelerate protons/nuclei to extreme energies beyond Zetta-electron volt (ZeV=1021 eV). Such acceleration is prompt, localized, and does not suffer from the multiple scattering/bending enveloped in the Fermi acceleration that causes excessive synchrotron radiation loss beyond 1019 eV. The production rate of ZeV cosmic rays is found to be consistent with the observed gamma-ray luminosity function of blazars and their time variabilities.

Chronic Sequelae of E. coli O157: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Proportion of E. coli O157 Cases That Develop Chronic Sequelae

PubMed Central

Sargeant, Jan; Thomas, M. Kate; Fazil, Aamir

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the proportion of Escherichia coli O157 cases that develop chronic sequelae. Data Sources: We conducted a systematic review of articles published prior to July 2011 in Pubmed, Agricola, CabDirect, or Food Safety and Technology Abstracts. Study Selection: Studies were selected that reported the number of E. coli O157 cases that developed reactive arthritis (ReA), hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, or Guillain Barré syndrome. Methods: Three levels of screening and data extraction of articles were conducted using predefined data fields. Meta-analysis was performed on unique outcome measures using a random-effects model, and heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 value. Meta-regression was used to explore the influence of nine study-level variables on heterogeneity. Results: A total of 82 studies were identified reporting 141 different outcome measures; 81 reported on HUS and one reported on ReA. Depending on the number of cases of E. coli O157, the estimate for the proportion of E. coli O157 cases that develop HUS ranged from 17.2% in extra-small studies (<50 cases) to 4.2% in extra-large studies (>1000 cases). Heterogeneity was significantly associated with group size (p<0.0001); however, the majority of the heterogeneity was unexplained. Conclusions: High unexplained heterogeneity indicated that the study-level factors examined had a minimal influence on the variation of estimates reported. PMID:24404780

Cold plasma inactivates Salmonella Stanley and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated on golden delicious apples.

PubMed

Niemira, Brendan A; Sites, Joseph

2008-07-01

Cold plasma generated in a gliding arc was applied to outbreak strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Stanley on agar plates and inoculated onto the surfaces of Golden Delicious apples. This novel sanitizing technology inactivated both pathogens on agar plates, with higher flow rate (40 liters/min) observed to be more efficacious than were lower flow rates (20 liters/min), irrespective of treatment time (1 or 2 min). Golden Delicious apples were treated with various flow rates (10, 20, 30, or 40 liters/min) of cold plasma for various times (1, 2, or 3 min), applied to dried spot inoculations. All treatments resulted in significant (P < 0.05) reductions from the untreated control, with 40 liters/min more effective than were lower flow rates. Inactivation of Salmonella Stanley followed a time-dependent reduction for all flow rates. Reductions after 3 min ranged from 2.9 to 3.7 log CFU/ml, close to the limit of detection. For E. coli O157:H7, 40 liters/min gave similar reductions for all treatment times, 3.4 to 3.6 log CFU/ml. At lower flow rates, inactivation was related to exposure time, with 3 min resulting in reductions of 2.6 to 3 log CFU/ml. Temperature increase of the treated apples was related to exposure time for all flow rates. The maximum temperature of any plasma-treated apple was 50.8 degrees C (28 degrees C above ambient), after 20 liters/min for 3 min, indicating that antimicrobial effects were not the result of heat. These results indicate that cold plasma is a nonthermal process that can effectively reduce human pathogens inoculated onto fresh produce.

Studying astrophysical particle acceleration with laser-driven plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiuza, Frederico

2016-10-01

The acceleration of non-thermal particles in plasmas is critical for our understanding of explosive astrophysical phenomena, from solar flares to gamma ray bursts. Particle acceleration is thought to be mediated by collisionless shocks and magnetic reconnection. The microphysics underlying these processes and their ability to efficiently convert flow and magnetic energy into non-thermal particles, however, is not yet fully understood. By performing for the first time ab initio 3D particle-in-cell simulations of the interaction of both magnetized and unmagnetized laser-driven plasmas, it is now possible to identify the optimal parameters for the study of particle acceleration in the laboratory relevant to astrophysical scenarios. It is predicted for the Omega and NIF laser conditions that significant non-thermal acceleration can occur during magnetic reconnection of laser-driven magnetized plasmas. Electrons are accelerated by the electric field near the X-points and trapped in contracting magnetic islands. This leads to a power-law tail extending to nearly a hundred times the thermal energy of the plasma and that contains a large fraction of the magnetic energy. The study of unmagnetized interpenetrating plasmas also reveals the possibility of forming collisionless shocks mediated by the Weibel instability on NIF. Under such conditions, both electrons and ions can be energized by scattering out of the Weibel-mediated turbulence. This also leads to power-law spectra that can be detected experimentally. The resulting experimental requirements to probe the microphysics of plasma particle acceleration will be discussed, paving the way for the first experiments of these important processes in the laboratory. As a result of these simulations and theoretical analysis, there are new experiments being planned on the Omega, NIF, and LCLS laser facilities to test these theoretical predictions. This work was supported by the SLAC LDRD program and DOE Office of Science, Fusion

Multiplex real-time PCR assay for detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and screening for non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

PubMed

Li, Baoguang; Liu, Huanli; Wang, Weimin

2017-11-09

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), including E. coli O157:H7, are responsible for numerous foodborne outbreaks annually worldwide. E. coli O157:H7, as well as pathogenic non-O157:H7 STECs, can cause life-threating complications, such as bloody diarrhea (hemolytic colitis) and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). Previously, we developed a real-time PCR assay to detect E. coli O157:H7 in foods by targeting a unique putative fimbriae protein Z3276. To extend the detection spectrum of the assay, we report a multiplex real-time PCR assay to specifically detect E. coli O157:H7 and screen for non-O157 STEC by targeting Z3276 and Shiga toxin genes (stx1 and stx2). Also, an internal amplification control (IAC) was incorporated into the assay to monitor the amplification efficiency. The multiplex real-time PCR assay was developed using the Life Technology ABI 7500 System platform and the standard chemistry. The optimal amplification mixture of the assay contains 12.5 μl of 2 × Universal Master Mix (Life Technology), 200 nM forward and reverse primers, appropriate concentrations of four probes [(Z3276 (80 nM), stx1 (80 nM), stx2 (20 nM), and IAC (40 nM)], 2 μl of template DNA, and water (to make up to 25 μl in total volume). The amplification conditions of the assay were set as follows: activation of TaqMan at 95 °C for 10 min, then 40 cycles of denaturation at 95 °C for 10 s and annealing/extension at 60 °C for 60 s. The multiplex assay was optimized for amplification conditions. The limit of detection (LOD) for the multiplex assay was determined to be 200 fg of bacterial DNA, which is equivalent to 40 CFU per reaction which is similar to the LOD generated in single targeted PCRs. Inclusivity and exclusivity determinants were performed with 196 bacterial strains. All E. coli O157:H7 (n = 135) were detected as positive and all STEC strains (n = 33) were positive for stx1, or stx2, or stx1 and stx2 (Table 1). No cross reactivity was detected with Salmonella

Modeling Two-Stage Bunch Compression With Wakefields: Macroscopic Properties And Microbunching Instability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bosch, R.A.; Kleman, K.J.; /Wisconsin U., SRC

2011-09-08

In a two-stage compression and acceleration system, where each stage compresses a chirped bunch in a magnetic chicane, wakefields affect high-current bunches. The longitudinal wakes affect the macroscopic energy and current profiles of the compressed bunch and cause microbunching at short wavelengths. For macroscopic wavelengths, impedance formulas and tracking simulations show that the wakefields can be dominated by the resistive impedance of coherent edge radiation. For this case, we calculate the minimum initial bunch length that can be compressed without producing an upright tail in phase space and associated current spike. Formulas are also obtained for the jitter in themore » bunch arrival time downstream of the compressors that results from the bunch-to-bunch variation of current, energy, and chirp. Microbunching may occur at short wavelengths where the longitudinal space-charge wakes dominate or at longer wavelengths dominated by edge radiation. We model this range of wavelengths with frequency-dependent impedance before and after each stage of compression. The growth of current and energy modulations is described by analytic gain formulas that agree with simulations.« less

Long-range attraction of an ultrarelativistic electron beam by a column of neutral plasma

DOE PAGES

Adli, Erik; Lindstrom, C. A.; Allen, J.; ...

2016-10-12

Here, we report on the experimental observation of the attraction of a beam of ultrarelativistic electrons towards a column of neutral plasma. In experiments performed at the FACET test facility at SLAC we observe that an electron beam moving parallel to a neutral plasma column, at an initial distance of many plasma column radii, is attracted into the column. Once the beam enters the plasma it drives a plasma wake similar to that of an electron beam entering the plasma column head-on. A simple analytical model is developed in order to capture the essential physics of the attractive force. Themore » attraction is further studied by 3D particle-in-cell numerical simulations. The results are an important step towards better understanding of particle beam–plasma interactions in general and plasma wakefield accelerator technology in particular.« less

Long-range attraction of an ultrarelativistic electron beam by a column of neutral plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adli, Erik; Lindstrom, C. A.; Allen, J.

Here, we report on the experimental observation of the attraction of a beam of ultrarelativistic electrons towards a column of neutral plasma. In experiments performed at the FACET test facility at SLAC we observe that an electron beam moving parallel to a neutral plasma column, at an initial distance of many plasma column radii, is attracted into the column. Once the beam enters the plasma it drives a plasma wake similar to that of an electron beam entering the plasma column head-on. A simple analytical model is developed in order to capture the essential physics of the attractive force. Themore » attraction is further studied by 3D particle-in-cell numerical simulations. The results are an important step towards better understanding of particle beam–plasma interactions in general and plasma wakefield accelerator technology in particular.« less

High-field plasma acceleration in a high-ionization-potential gas

DOE PAGES

Corde, S.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.; ...

2016-06-17

Plasma accelerators driven by particle beams are a very promising future accelerator technology as they can sustain high accelerating fields over long distances with high energy efficiency. They rely on the excitation of a plasma wave in the wake of a drive beam. To generate the plasma, a neutral gas can be field-ionized by the head of the drive beam, in which case the distance of acceleration and energy gain can be strongly limited by head erosion. In our research, we overcome this limit and demonstrate that electrons in the tail of a drive beam can be accelerated by upmore » to 27 GeV in a high-ionization-potential gas (argon), boosting their initial 20.35 GeV energy by 130%. Particle-in-cell simulations show that the argon plasma is sustaining very high electric fields, of ~150 GV m -1, over ~20 cm. Lastly, the results open new possibilities for the design of particle beam drivers and plasma sources.« less

Proton acceleration: new developments for focusing and energy selection, and applications in plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Audebert, P.

2007-11-01

In the last few years, intense research has been conducted on laser-accelerated ion sources and their applications. These sources have exceptional properties, i.e. high brightness and high spectral cut-off, high directionality and laminarity, short burst duration. We have shown that for proton energies >10 MeV, the transverse and longitudinal emittance are respectively <0.004 mm-mrad and <10-4 eV-s, i.e. at least 100-fold and may be as much as 10^4-fold better than conventional accelerators beams. Thanks to these properties, these sources allow for example point-projection radiography with unprecedented resolution. We will show example of such time and space-resolved radiography of fast evolving fields, either of associated with the expansion of a plasma in vacuum [*] or with the propagation of a ICF-relevant laser beam in an underdense plasma. These proton sources also open new opportunities for ion beam generation and control, and could stimulate development of compact ion accelerators for many applications.

Plasma Accelerator Development for Dynamic Formation of Plasma Liners: A Status Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Eskridge, Richard; Martin, Adam; Smith, James; Lee, Michael; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

An experimental plasma accelerator for magnetic target fusion (MTF) applications under development at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is described. The accelerator is a pulsed plasma thruster and has been tested experimentally and plasma jet velocities of approximately 50 km/sec have been obtained. The plasma jet structure has been photographed with 10 ns exposure times to reveal a stable and repeatable plasma structure. Data for velocity profile information has been obtained using light pipes embedded in the gun walls to record the plasma transit at various barrel locations. Preliminary spatially resolved spectral data and magnetic field probe data are also presented. A high speed triggering system has been developed and tested as a means of reducing the gun "jitter". This jitter is being characterized and future work for second generation "ultra-low jitter" gun development is being identified.

Experiment to Detect Accelerating Modes in a Photonic Bandgap Fiber

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

England, R.J.; /SLAC; Colby, E.R.

An experimental effort is currently underway at the E-163 test beamline at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center to use a hollow-core photonic bandgap (PBG) fiber as a high-gradient laser-based accelerating structure for electron bunches. For the initial stage of this experiment, a 50pC, 60 MeV electron beam will be coupled into the fiber core and the excited modes will be detected using a spectrograph to resolve their frequency signatures in the wakefield radiation generated by the beam. They will describe the experimental plan and recent simulation studies of candidate fibers.

Comparison of two methods for detection of E. coli O157H7 in unpasteurized milk

PubMed Central

Farahmandfar, Maryam; Moori-Bakhtiari, Naghmeh; Gooraninezhad, Saad; Zarei, Mehdi

2016-01-01

Background and Objectives: The most common serotype of enterohaemorrhagic Esherichia coli group or Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli is O157:H7. Domestic and wild ruminants are regarded as the main natural reservoirs. O157:H7 serotype is the major cause of gastrointestinal infections in developed countries. In this study was conducted to survey on the toxigenic E. coli O157: H7 strains in milk of industrial dairy farms. Materials and Methods: A total number of 150 milk samples were collected from dairy industry in Khuzestan, over a period of 6 months and were evaluated by cultivation in selective media (CT-SMAC) and multiplex PCR. Results: Two isolates were identified as E. coli using biochemical tests, none of them were toxigenic E. coli O157:H7 as determined by multiplex PCR. Using direct PCR on milk samples, 45 samples contained at least one gene of the studied genes in this investigation (rfb, flic, stx1, stx2). With direct PCR, 2 milk samples were positive for toxigenic O157:H7. Conclusion: E. coli O157:H7 is present in this region and so the necessity for strict compliance of health standards is recommended. This is the first study on O157: H7 E. coli milk contamination in Khuzestan province. Based on these results, direct PCR is more accurate than indirect PCR. PMID:28149486

Comparison of two methods for detection of E. coli O157H7 in unpasteurized milk.

PubMed

Farahmandfar, Maryam; Moori-Bakhtiari, Naghmeh; Gooraninezhad, Saad; Zarei, Mehdi

2016-10-01

The most common serotype of enterohaemorrhagic Esherichia coli group or Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli is O157:H7. Domestic and wild ruminants are regarded as the main natural reservoirs. O157:H7 serotype is the major cause of gastrointestinal infections in developed countries. In this study was conducted to survey on the toxigenic E. coli O157: H7 strains in milk of industrial dairy farms. A total number of 150 milk samples were collected from dairy industry in Khuzestan, over a period of 6 months and were evaluated by cultivation in selective media (CT-SMAC) and multiplex PCR. Two isolates were identified as E. coli using biochemical tests, none of them were toxigenic E. coli O157:H7 as determined by multiplex PCR. Using direct PCR on milk samples, 45 samples contained at least one gene of the studied genes in this investigation ( rfb, flic, stx1 , stx2 ). With direct PCR, 2 milk samples were positive for toxigenic O157:H7. E. coli O157:H7 is present in this region and so the necessity for strict compliance of health standards is recommended. This is the first study on O157: H7 E. coli milk contamination in Khuzestan province. Based on these results, direct PCR is more accurate than indirect PCR.

PW-class laser-driven super acceleration systems in underdense plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yano, Masahiro; Zhidkov, Alexei; Kodama, Ryosuke

2017-10-01

Probing laser driven super-acceleration systems can be important tool to understand physics related to vacuum, space time, and particle acceleration. We show two proposals to probe the systems through Hawking-like effect using PW class lasers and x-ray free electron lasers. For that we study the interaction of ultrahigh intense laser pulses with intensity 1022 -1024 W/cm2 and underdense plasmas including ion motion and plasma radiation for the first time. While the acceleration w a0ωp /ωL in a wake is not maximal, the pulse propagation is much stable. The effect is that a constantly accelerated detector with acceleration w sees a boson's thermal bath at temperature ℏw / 2 πkB c . We present two designs for x-ray scattering from highly accelerated electrons produced in the plasma irradiated by intense laser pulses for such detection. Properly chosen observation angles enable us to distinguish spectral broadening from Doppler shift with a reasonable photon number. Also, ion motion and radiation damping on the interaction are investigated via fully relativistic 3D particle-in-cell simulation. We observe high quality electron bunches under super-acceleration when transverse plasma waves are excited by ponderomotive force producing plasma channel.

Resonantly Enhanced Betatron Hard X-rays from Ionization Injected Electrons in a Laser Plasma Accelerator

PubMed Central

Huang, K.; Li, Y. F.; Li, D. Z.; Chen, L. M.; Tao, M. Z.; Ma, Y.; Zhao, J. R.; Li, M. H.; Chen, M.; Mirzaie, M.; Hafz, N.; Sokollik, T.; Sheng, Z. M.; Zhang, J.

2016-01-01

Ultrafast betatron x-ray emission from electron oscillations in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) has been widely investigated as a promising source. Betatron x-rays are usually produced via self-injected electron beams, which are not controllable and are not optimized for x-ray yields. Here, we present a new method for bright hard x-ray emission via ionization injection from the K-shell electrons of nitrogen into the accelerating bucket. A total photon yield of 8 × 108/shot and 108 photons with energy greater than 110 keV is obtained. The yield is 10 times higher than that achieved with self-injection mode in helium under similar laser parameters. The simulation suggests that ionization-injected electrons are quickly accelerated to the driving laser region and are subsequently driven into betatron resonance. The present scheme enables the single-stage betatron radiation from LWFA to be extended to bright γ-ray radiation, which is beyond the capability of 3rd generation synchrotrons. PMID:27273170

Tunable polarization plasma channel undulator for narrow bandwidth photon emission

DOE PAGES

Rykovanov, S. G.; Wang, J. W.; Kharin, V. Yu.; ...

2016-09-09

The theory of a plasma undulator excited by a short intense laser pulse in a parabolic plasma channel is presented. The undulator fields are generated either by the laser pulse incident off-axis and/or under the angle with respect to the channel axis. Linear plasma theory is used to derive the wakefield structure. It is shown that the electrons injected into the plasma wakefields experience betatron motion and undulator oscillations. Optimal electron beam injection conditions are derived for minimizing the amplitude of the betatron motion, producing narrow-bandwidth undulator radiation. Polarization control is readily achieved by varying the laser pulse injection conditions.

Design of a Microwave Assisted Discharge Inductive Plasma Accelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hallock, Ashley K.; Polzin, Kurt A.

2010-01-01

A new plasma accelerator concept that employs electrodeless plasma preionization and pulsed inductive acceleration is presented. Preionization is achieved through an electron cyclotron resonance discharge that produces a weakly-ionized plasma at the face of a conical theta pinch-shaped inductive coil. The presence of the preionized plasma allows for current sheet formation at lower discharge voltages than those found in other pulsed inductive accelerators. The location of an electron cyclotron resonance discharge can be controlled through the design of the applied magnetic field in the thruster. A finite-element model of the magnetic field was used as a design tool, allowing for the implementation of an arrangement of permanent magnets that yields a small volume of preionized propellant at the coil face. This allows for current sheet formation at the face of the inductive coil, minimizing the initial inductance of the pulse circuit and maximizing the potential efficiency of the new accelerator.

Method of accelerating photons by a relativistic plasma wave

DOEpatents

Dawson, John M.; Wilks, Scott C.

1990-01-01

Photons of a laser pulse have their group velocity accelerated in a plasma as they are placed on a downward density gradient of a plasma wave of which the phase velocity nearly matches the group velocity of the photons. This acceleration results in a frequency upshift. If the unperturbed plasma has a slight density gradient in the direction of propagation, the photon frequencies can be continuously upshifted to significantly greater values.

Interaction of Intense Lasers with Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shvets, Gennady

1995-01-01

This thesis addresses two important topics in nonlinear laser plasma physics: the interaction of intense lasers with a non thermal homogeneous plasma, the excitation of laser wakefields in hollow plasma channels, and the stability of channel guided propagation of laser pulses. In the first half of this thesis a new theoretical approach to the nonlinear interaction of intense laser pulses with underdense plasmas is developed. Unlike previous treatments, this theory is three-dimensional, relativistically covariant, and does not assume that a<<1, where a=eA/mc^2 is a dimensionless vector potential. This formalism borrows the diagrammatic techniques from quantum field theory, yet remains classical. This classical field theory, which treats cold plasma as a relativistic field interacting with the electromagnetic fields, introduces an artificial length scale which is smaller than any physically relevant spatial scale. By adopting a special (Arnowitt -Fickler) gauge, electromagnetic waves in a cold relativistic plasma are separated into "photons" and "plasmons" which are the relativistic extensions of electrostatic and electromagnetic waves in a cold stationary plasma. The field-theoretical formalism is applied to a variety of nonlinear problems including harmonic generation, parametric instabilities, and nonlinear corrections to the index of refraction. For the first time the rate of the second harmonic emission from a homogeneous plasma is calculated and its dependence on the polarization of the incident radiation is studied. An experimental check of this calculation is suggested, based on the predicted non-linear polarization rotation (the second harmonic is emitted polarized perpendicularly to polarization of the incident signal). The concept of renormalization is applied to the plasma and electromagnetic radiation (photons and plasmons). To the lowest order, this corresponds to relativistically correcting the electron mass for its oscillation in an intense EM field

Acceleration and focusing of plasma flows

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Griswold, Martin Elias

The acceleration of flowing plasmas is a fundamental problem that is useful in a wide variety of technological applications. We consider the problem from the perspective of plasma propulsion. Gridded ion thrusters and Hall thrusters are the most commonly used devices to create flowing plasma for space propulsion, but both suffer from fundamental limitations. Gridded ion sources create good quality beams in terms of energy spread and spatial divergence, but the Child-Langmuir law in the non-neutral acceleration region limits the maximum achievable current density. Hall thrusters avoid this limitation by accelerating ions in quasi-neutral plasma but, as a result, producemore » plumes with high spatial divergence and large energy spread. In addition the more complicated magnetized plasma in the Hall Thruster produces oscillations that can reduce the efficiency of the thruster by increasing electron transport to the anode. We present investigations of three techniques to address the fundamental limitations on the performance of each thruster. First, we propose a method to increase the time-averaged current density (and thus thrust density) produced by a gridded ion source above the Child-Langmuir limit by introducing time-varying boundary conditions. Next, we use an electrostatic plasma lens to focus the Hall thruster plume, and finally we develop a technique to suppress a prominent oscillation that degrades the performance of Hall thrusters. The technique to loosen the constraints on current density from gridded ion thrusters actually applies much more broadly to any space charge limited flow. We investigate the technique with a numerical simulation and by proving a theoretical upper bound. While we ultimately conclude that the approach is not suitable for space propulsion, our results proved useful in another area, providing a benchmark for research into the spontaneously time-dependent current that arises in microdiodes. Next, we experimentally demonstrate a novel

A self-consistent view on plasma-neutral interaction near a wall: plasma acceleration by momentum removal and heating by cold walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Rooij, Gerard; den Harder, Niek; Minea, Teofil; Shumack, Amy; de Blank, H.; Plasma Physics Team

2014-10-01

In plasma physics, material walls are generally regarded as perfect sinks for charged particles and their energy. A special case arises when the wall efficiently reflects the neutralized plasma particles (with a significant portion of their kinetic energy) and at the same time the upstream plasma is of sufficiently high density to yield strong neutral-ion coupling (i.e. reflected energy and momentum will not escape from the plasma). Under these conditions, plasma-surface interaction will feedback to the upstream plasma and a self-consistent view on the coupling between plasma and neutrals is required for correct prediction of plasma conditions and plasma-surface interaction. Here, an analytical and numerical study of the fluid equations is combined with experiments (in hydrogen and argon) to construct such a self-consistent view. It shows how plasma momentum removal builds up upstream pressure and causes plasma acceleration towards the wall. It also shows how energy reflection causes plasma heating, which recycles part of the reflected power to the wall and induces additional flow acceleration due to local sound speed increase. The findings are relevant as generic textbook example and are at play in the boundary plasma of fusion devices.

Excitation of Accelerating Plasma Waves by Counter-Propagating Laser Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shvets, Gennady

2001-10-01

The conventional approach to exciting high phase velocity waves in plasmas is to employ a laser pulse moving in the direction of the desired particle acceleration. Photon downshifting then causes the momentum transfer to the plasma and wave excitiation. We describe a novel approach to plasma wake excitation, colliding-beam accelerator (CBA), which involves the photon exchange between the long and short counter-propagating laser beams. Depending on frequency detuning Δ ω between beams and duration τL of the short pulse, there are two approaches to CBA. First approach assumes (τL ≈ 2/ω_p). Photons exchanged between the beams deposit their recoil momentum in the plasma driving the plasma wake. Frequency detuning between the beams determines the direction of the photon exchange, thereby controlling the phase of the plasma wake. This phase control can be used for reversing the slippage of the accelerated particles with respect to the wake ^1. It can also be used for developing an injector/pulse compressor for the particles of either sign (electrons or positrons)^2. In the second approach, one utilizes a longer pulse with τL >> ω_p-1, which is detuned by Δ ω ~ 2 ωp from the counter-propagating beam. While the parametric excitation of plasma waves by the electromagnetic beatwave at 2 ωp of two co-propagating lasers was first predicted by Rosenbluth and Liu in 1972, we realized, for the first time, that the two excitation beams can be counter-propagating^4. The advantages of using this geometry (lower threshold laser intensity, insensitivity to plasma inhomogeneity) will be explained, and the results of the numerical simulations presented. footnotetext[1]G. Shvets, N. J. Fisch, A. Pukhov, and J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, Phys. Rev. E 60, 2218 (1999). footnotetext[2]G. Shvets, N. J. Fisch, and A. Pukhov, 28, 1194 (2000). footnotetext[5]G. Shvets and N. J. Fisch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3328 (2001).

Undulator radiation from laser-plasma-accelerated electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, B.; van Tilborg, J.; Gonsalves, A.; Nakamura, K.; Sokollik, T.; Shiraishi, S.; Mittal, R.; Esarey, E.; Schroeder, C.; Toth, C.; Leemans, W. P.

2012-12-01

Recent experiments coupled electron beams from the LOASIS TREX laser plasma accelerator (LPA) [1, 2, 3] to the Tapered Hybrid Undulator (THUNDER). Using the 1.5m, 66 period undulator, followed by an XUV spectrometer, spontaneous radiation was observed at photon energies extending to 100 eV. Previous experiments have reported visible [4] and soft-x-ray [5] radiation. The purpose of our experiments is to do highly precise, single shot diagnostics of the energy spread and emittance for each electron beam. We present recent results including measurements of electron beam transport through the undulator with and without the use of permanent magnetic quadrapoles, and measurements of XUV spectra up to 100 eV from LPA produced e-beams.

Gyrokinetic theory of turbulent acceleration and momentum conservation in tokamak plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, WANG; Shuitao, PENG; P, H. DIAMOND

2018-07-01

Understanding the generation of intrinsic rotation in tokamak plasmas is crucial for future fusion reactors such as ITER. We proposed a new mechanism named turbulent acceleration for the origin of the intrinsic parallel rotation based on gyrokinetic theory. The turbulent acceleration acts as a local source or sink of parallel rotation, i.e., volume force, which is different from the divergence of residual stress, i.e., surface force. However, the order of magnitude of turbulent acceleration can be comparable to that of the divergence of residual stress for electrostatic ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence. A possible theoretical explanation for the experimental observation of electron cyclotron heating induced decrease of co-current rotation was also proposed via comparison between the turbulent acceleration driven by ITG turbulence and that driven by collisionless trapped electron mode turbulence. We also extended this theory to electromagnetic ITG turbulence and investigated the electromagnetic effects on intrinsic parallel rotation drive. Finally, we demonstrated that the presence of turbulent acceleration does not conflict with momentum conservation.

Spatial measurement in rotating magnetic field plasma acceleration method by using two-dimensional scanning instrument and thrust stand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furukawa, T.; Takizawa, K.; Yano, K.; Kuwahara, D.; Shinohara, S.

2018-04-01

A two-dimensional scanning probe instrument has been developed to survey spatial plasma characteristics in our electrodeless plasma acceleration schemes. In particular, diagnostics of plasma parameters, e.g., plasma density, temperature, velocity, and excited magnetic field, are essential for elucidating physical phenomena since we have been concentrating on next generation plasma propulsion methods, e.g., Rotating Magnetic Field plasma acceleration method, by characterizing the plasma performance. Moreover, in order to estimate the thrust performance in our experimental scheme, we have also mounted a thrust stand, which has a target type, on this movable instrument, and scanned the axial profile of the thrust performance in the presence of the external magnetic field generated by using permanent magnets, so as to investigate the plasma captured in a stand area, considering the divergent field lines in the downstream region of a generation antenna. In this paper, we will introduce the novel measurement instrument and describe how to measure these parameters.

Improving particle beam acceleration in plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

C. de Sousa, M.; L. Caldas, I.

2018-04-01

The dynamics of wave-particle interactions in magnetized plasmas restricts the wave amplitude to moderate values for particle beam acceleration from rest energy. We analyze how a perturbing invariant robust barrier modifies the phase space of the system and enlarges the wave amplitude interval for particle acceleration. For low values of the wave amplitude, the acceleration becomes effective for particles with initial energy close to the rest energy. For higher values of the wave amplitude, the robust barrier controls chaos in the system and restores the acceleration process. We also determine the best position for the perturbing barrier in phase space in order to increase the final energy of the particles.

Pulsed Inductive Plasma Acceleration: Performance Optimization Criteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polzin, Kurt A.

2014-01-01

Optimization criteria for pulsed inductive plasma acceleration are developed using an acceleration model consisting of a set of coupled circuit equations describing the time-varying current in the thruster and a one-dimensional momentum equation. The model is nondimensionalized, resulting in the identification of several scaling parameters that are varied to optimize the performance of the thruster. The analysis reveals the benefits of underdamped current waveforms and leads to a performance optimization criterion that requires the matching of the natural period of the discharge and the acceleration timescale imposed by the inertia of the working gas. In addition, the performance increases when a greater fraction of the propellant is initially located nearer to the inductive acceleration coil. While the dimensionless model uses a constant temperature formulation in calculating performance, the scaling parameters that yield the optimum performance are shown to be relatively invariant if a self-consistent description of energy in the plasma is instead used.

Wakefield Computations for the CLIC PETS using the Parallel Finite Element Time-Domain Code T3P

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Candel, A; Kabel, A.; Lee, L.

In recent years, SLAC's Advanced Computations Department (ACD) has developed the high-performance parallel 3D electromagnetic time-domain code, T3P, for simulations of wakefields and transients in complex accelerator structures. T3P is based on advanced higher-order Finite Element methods on unstructured grids with quadratic surface approximation. Optimized for large-scale parallel processing on leadership supercomputing facilities, T3P allows simulations of realistic 3D structures with unprecedented accuracy, aiding the design of the next generation of accelerator facilities. Applications to the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) Power Extraction and Transfer Structure (PETS) are presented.

Astrophysical particle acceleration mechanisms in colliding magnetized laser-produced plasmas

DOE PAGES

Fox, W.; Park, J.; Deng, W.; ...

2017-08-11

Significant particle energization is observed to occur in numerous astrophysical environments, and in the standard models, this acceleration occurs alongside energy conversion processes including collisionless shocks or magnetic reconnection. Recent platforms for laboratory experiments using magnetized laser-produced plasmas have opened opportunities to study these particle acceleration processes in the laboratory. Through fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate acceleration mechanisms in experiments with colliding magnetized laser-produced plasmas, with geometry and parameters matched to recent high-Mach number reconnection experiments with externally controlled magnetic fields. 2-D simulations demonstrate significant particle acceleration with three phases of energization: first, a “direct” Fermi acceleration driven bymore » approaching magnetized plumes; second, x-line acceleration during magnetic reconnection of anti-parallel fields; and finally, an additional Fermi energization of particles trapped in contracting and relaxing magnetic islands produced by reconnection. Furthermore, the relative effectiveness of these mechanisms depends on plasma and magnetic field parameters of the experiments.« less

Efficient acceleration of neutral atoms in laser produced plasma

DOE PAGES

Dalui, M.; Trivikram, T. M.; Colgan, James Patrick; ...

2017-06-20

Recent advances in high-intensity laser-produced plasmas have demonstrated their potential as compact charge particle accelerators. Unlike conventional accelerators, transient quasi-static charge separation acceleration fields in laser produced plasmas are highly localized and orders of magnitude larger. Manipulating these ion accelerators, to convert the fast ions to neutral atoms with little change in momentum, transform these to a bright source of MeV atoms. The emittance of the neutral atom beam would be similar to that expected for an ion beam. Since intense laser-produced plasmas have been demonstrated to produce high-brightness-low-emittance beams, it is possible to envisage generation of high-flux, low-emittance, highmore » energy neutral atom beams in length scales of less than a millimeter. Here, we show a scheme where more than 80% of the fast ions are reduced to energetic neutral atoms and demonstrate the feasibility of a high energy neutral atom accelerator that could significantly impact applications in neutral atom lithography and diagnostics.« less

Development of 873 nm Raman Seed Pulse for Raman-seeded Laser Wakefield Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigsby, F.; Peng, D.; Downer, M. C.

2004-12-01

By using a Raman-shifted seed pulse coincident with a main driving pulse, laser wakefields can be generated with sub-relativistic intensity, coherent control and high repetition rate in the self-modulated regime. Experimentally, the generation of a chirped Stokes laser pulse by inserting a solid state Raman shifter, Ba(NO3)2, into a CPA system before the compressor (to suppress self-phase modulation) will be described. We will also report on design, modeling and experimental demonstration of a novel compressor for the Stokes pulse that uses a mismatched grating pair to achieve a near transform-limited seed pulse. Finally, we will describe the design, simulation and current status of Raman-seeded LWFA experiments that use this novel source.

Ion acceleration in a plasma focus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gary, S. P.

1974-01-01

The electric and magnetic fields associated with anomalous diffusion to the axis of a linear plasma discharge are used to compute representative ion trajectories. Substantial axial acceleration of the ions is demonstrated.

PREFACE: Acceleration and radiation generation in space and laboratory plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bingham, R.; Katsouleas, T.; Dawson, J. M.; Stenflo, L.

1994-01-01

and radiation generation in plasmas. The next section includes state-of-the-art papers on laboratory accelerators driven by lasers (Nakajima et al., Shukla, Johnson et al.), microwaves (Nishida et al., Bogomolov et al.) and by particle beams (Ogata et al.). Also in this section are theoretical papers presenting new work on synchrotron like oscillations in plasma waves (Fedele) and two types of laboratory radiation sources, FEL's (Marshall et al.) and ionization fronts (Lai et al.), and Frantzeskakis et al. described the Hamiltonian analysis of a slow-wave autonomous cyclotron buncher. Section 3 contains papers on astrophysical plasmas, with the general presentations of Colgate and Krishnan. Kazanas and Krishnan address active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Thielheim discusses general acceleration mech anisms in rotating magnetized systems. Asseo discussed Langmuir solitons in pulsars and Blackman et al. treat magnetic reconnection relativistically. Su et al. analyze the possibility of plasma wave excitation and particle acceleration by neu trinos from supernovae. Dogiel et al. on cosmic ray scattering by MHD fluctuations. The papers in Section 4 treat fusion plasmas (Dendy et al. and Lashmore-Davies et al.). Section 5, space plasmas, includes papers on acceleration processes in the magnetosphere (Anagnostopoulos and Marshall et al.) and the sun (Barletta et al.). It is evident from the Workshop and the papers collected here that this is indeed a rich field of investigations and that both the natural and laboratory plasma communities can benefit from the cross-fertilization of ideas between them. We wish to thank the authors and attendees for their contributions to the success of this workshop, Dr Philip Debenham and Dr David Sutter of the U.S. D.o.E. and Dr Charles Roberson of the U.S. O.N.R. for their financial support (Grants DE-FGO3-93ER40776 and N00014-93-1-0814), and the ECC Twinning Grant SC1*-CT92-0773. We appreciate the considerable local support from Mr Glegles and

Motion of the plasma critical layer during relativistic-electron laser interaction with immobile and comoving ion plasma for ion acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sahai, Aakash A., E-mail: aakash.sahai@gmail.com

2014-05-15

We analyze the motion of the plasma critical layer by two different processes in the relativistic-electron laser-plasma interaction regime (a{sub 0}>1). The differences are highlighted when the critical layer ions are stationary in contrast to when they move with it. Controlling the speed of the plasma critical layer in this regime is essential for creating low-β traveling acceleration structures of sufficient laser-excited potential for laser ion accelerators. In Relativistically Induced Transparency Acceleration (RITA) scheme, the heavy plasma-ions are fixed and only trace-density light-ions are accelerated. The relativistic critical layer and the acceleration structure move longitudinally forward by laser inducing transparencymore » through apparent relativistic increase in electron mass. In the Radiation Pressure Acceleration (RPA) scheme, the whole plasma is longitudinally pushed forward under the action of the laser radiation pressure, possible only when plasma ions co-propagate with the laser front. In RPA, the acceleration structure velocity critically depends upon plasma-ion mass in addition to the laser intensity and plasma density. In RITA, mass of the heavy immobile plasma-ions does not affect the speed of the critical layer. Inertia of the bared immobile ions in RITA excites the charge separation potential, whereas RPA is not possible when ions are stationary.« less

Method for generating a plasma wave to accelerate electrons

DOEpatents

Umstadter, D.; Esarey, E.; Kim, J.K.

1997-06-10

The invention provides a method and apparatus for generating large amplitude nonlinear plasma waves, driven by an optimized train of independently adjustable, intense laser pulses. In the method, optimal pulse widths, interpulse spacing, and intensity profiles of each pulse are determined for each pulse in a series of pulses. A resonant region of the plasma wave phase space is found where the plasma wave is driven most efficiently by the laser pulses. The accelerator system of the invention comprises several parts: the laser system, with its pulse-shaping subsystem; the electron gun system, also called beam source, which preferably comprises photo cathode electron source and RF-LINAC accelerator; electron photo-cathode triggering system; the electron diagnostics; and the feedback system between the electron diagnostics and the laser system. The system also includes plasma source including vacuum chamber, magnetic lens, and magnetic field means. The laser system produces a train of pulses that has been optimized to maximize the axial electric field amplitude of the plasma wave, and thus the electron acceleration, using the method of the invention. 21 figs.

Method for generating a plasma wave to accelerate electrons

DOEpatents

Umstadter, Donald; Esarey, Eric; Kim, Joon K.

1997-01-01

The invention provides a method and apparatus for generating large amplitude nonlinear plasma waves, driven by an optimized train of independently adjustable, intense laser pulses. In the method, optimal pulse widths, interpulse spacing, and intensity profiles of each pulse are determined for each pulse in a series of pulses. A resonant region of the plasma wave phase space is found where the plasma wave is driven most efficiently by the laser pulses. The accelerator system of the invention comprises several parts: the laser system, with its pulse-shaping subsystem; the electron gun system, also called beam source, which preferably comprises photo cathode electron source and RF-LINAC accelerator; electron photo-cathode triggering system; the electron diagnostics; and the feedback system between the electron diagnostics and the laser system. The system also includes plasma source including vacuum chamber, magnetic lens, and magnetic field means. The laser system produces a train of pulses that has been optimized to maximize the axial electric field amplitude of the plasma wave, and thus the electron acceleration, using the method of the invention.

Optimization of the LCLS X-Ray FEL Output Performance in the Presence of Strong Undulator Wakefields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reiche, S.; /UCLA; Bane, K.L.F.

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) Free-Electron Laser will operate in the wavelength range of 1.5 to 15 Angstroms. Energy loss due to wakefields within the long undulator can degrade the FEL process by detuning the resonant FEL frequency. The wakefields arise from the vacuum chamber wall resistivity, its surface roughness, and abrupt changes in its aperture. For LCLS parameters, the resistive component is the most critical and depends upon the chamber material (e.g. Cu) and its radius. To study the expected performance in the presence of these wakefields, we make a series of start-to-end simulations with tracking codes PARMELAmore » and ELEGANT and time-dependent FEL simulation codes Genesis 1.3 and Ginger. We discuss the impact of the wakefield on output energy, spectral bandwidth, and temporal envelope of the output FEL pulse, as well as the benefits of a partial compensation obtained with a slight z dependent taper in the undulator field. We compare these results to those obtained by decreasing the bunch charge or increasing the vacuum chamber radius. We also compare our results to those predicted in concurrent analytical work.« less

Laser wakefield accelerated electron beam monitoring and control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koga, J. K.; Mori, M.; Kotaki, H.

2016-03-25

We will discuss our participation in the ImPACT project, which has as one of its goals the development of an ultra-compact electron accelerator using lasers (< 1 GeV, < 10   m) and the generation of an x-ray beam from the accelerated electrons. Within this context we will discuss our investigation into electron beam monitoring and control. Since laser accelerated electrons will be used for x-ray beam generation combined with an undulator, we will present investigation into the possibilities of the improvement of electron beam emittance through cooling.

Electro-optic spatial decoding on the spherical-wavefront Coulomb fields of plasma electron sources.

PubMed

Huang, K; Esirkepov, T; Koga, J K; Kotaki, H; Mori, M; Hayashi, Y; Nakanii, N; Bulanov, S V; Kando, M

2018-02-13

Detections of the pulse durations and arrival timings of relativistic electron beams are important issues in accelerator physics. Electro-optic diagnostics on the Coulomb fields of electron beams have the advantages of single shot and non-destructive characteristics. We present a study of introducing the electro-optic spatial decoding technique to laser wakefield acceleration. By placing an electro-optic crystal very close to a gas target, we discovered that the Coulomb field of the electron beam possessed a spherical wavefront and was inconsistent with the previously widely used model. The field structure was demonstrated by experimental measurement, analytic calculations and simulations. A temporal mapping relationship with generality was derived in a geometry where the signals had spherical wavefronts. This study could be helpful for the applications of electro-optic diagnostics in laser plasma acceleration experiments.

A rapid two dot filter assay for the detection of E. coli O157 in water samples.

PubMed

Kamma, Sujatha; Tang, Lily; Leung, Kelvin; Ashton, Edie; Newman, Norman; Suresh, Mavanur R

2008-07-31

E. coli O157:H7 is an enterohemorrhagic bacteria that cause deadly water-borne infections implicated in outbreaks of a wide spectrum of human gastrointestinal diseases. It is therefore important to have a rapid convenient, simple and sensitive range of detection of E. coli O157:H7. A new E. coli O157 MAb designated P124 was developed for ultrasensitive detection of E. coli O157 in water, apple juice and beef for routine use. A prototype filter dot assay was designed with anti-E. coli O157 MAb bound to 0.2 microm nitrocellulose filter disk as the capture antibody. A 100 ml water sample spiked with 1-50 CFU of E. coli O157 either in the presence or absence of other non-specific bacteria were filtered for capture of the pathogen on the antibody coated nitrocellulose disk. The detection of the pathogen was successfully accomplished by the same antibody both as a capture and detecting antibody as a homosandwich. In a non-enriched format, detection of E. coli was possible with a sensitivity of 2500 CFU/100 ml. Ultrasensitive detection of ~1 CFU/100 ml sample could be achieved by a prior pathogen enrichment step before the addition of the labeled antibody. The design of this diagnostic test is based on the common architecture of all bacteria, viruses and spores, namely the manifestation of repeat lipopolysaccharide epitopes on the surface. We have developed an easy-to-use two dot visual filter assay for translation into current water testing in public health laboratories to detect E. coli O157:H7. In a 5 h assay approximately 1 CFU and approximately 5 CFU of E. coli O157 could be detected in 100 ml of water or juice and lake samples respectively. This simple homosandwich enrichment strategy can also be used to detect low levels of other water-borne pathogens.

Rapid and selective detection of E. coli O157:H7 combining phagomagnetic separation with enzymatic colorimetry.

PubMed

Zhang, Yun; Yan, Chenghui; Yang, Hang; Yu, Junping; Wei, Hongping

2017-11-01

Mammal IgG antibodies are normally used in conventional immunoassays for E. coli O157:H7, which could lead to false positive results from the presence of protein A producing S. aureus. In this study, a natural specific bacteriophage was isolated and then conjugated with magnetic beads as a capture element in a sandwich format for the rapid and selective detection of E. coli O157:H7. To the best of our knowledge, it was the first time to utilize a natural bacteriophage to develop a phagomagnetic separation combined with colorimetric assay for E. coli O157:H7. The method has an overall time less than 2h with a detection limit of 4.9×10 4 CFU/mL. No interference from S. aureus was observed. Furthermore, the proposed method was successfully applied to detect E. coli O157:H7 in spiked skim milk. The proposed detection system provided a potential method for E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogenic bacteria in food samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma inhibits Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Tulane virus in Romaine lettuce.

PubMed

Min, Sea C; Roh, Si Hyeon; Niemira, Brendan A; Sites, Joseph E; Boyd, Glenn; Lacombe, Alison

2016-11-21

The present study investigated the effects of dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma (DACP) treatment on the inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Tulane virus (TV) on Romaine lettuce, assessing the influences of moisture vaporization, modified atmospheric packaging (MAP), and post-treatment storage on the inactivation of these pathogens. Romaine lettuce was inoculated with E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, L. monocytogenes (~6logCFU/g lettuce), or TV (~2logPFU/g lettuce) and packaged in either a Petri dish (diameter: 150mm, height: 15mm) or a Nylon/polyethylene pouch (152×254mm) with and without moisture vaporization. Additionally, a subset of pouch-packaged leaves was flushed with O 2 at 5% or 10% (balance N 2 ). All of the packaged lettuce samples were treated with DACP at 34.8kV for 5min and then analyzed either immediately or following post-treatment storage for 24h at 4°C to assess the inhibition of microorganisms. DACP treatment inhibited E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, and TV by 1.1±0.4, 0.4±0.3, 1.0±0.5logCFU/g, and 1.3±0.1logPFU/g, respectively, without environmental modifications of moisture or gas in the packages. The inhibition of the bacteria was not significantly affected by packaging type or moisture vaporization (p>0.05) but a reduced-oxygen MAP gas composition attenuated the inhibition rates of E. coli O157:H7 and TV. L. monocytogenes continued to decline by an additional 0.6logCFU/g in post-treatment cold storage for 24h. Additionally, both rigid and flexible conventional plastic packages appear to be suitable for the in-package decontamination of lettuce with DACP. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Particle-in-cell/accelerator code for space-charge dominated beam simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2012-05-08

Warp is a multidimensional discrete-particle beam simulation program designed to be applicable where the beam space-charge is non-negligible or dominant. It is being developed in a collaboration among LLNL, LBNL and the University of Maryland. It was originally designed and optimized for heave ion fusion accelerator physics studies, but has received use in a broader range of applications, including for example laser wakefield accelerators, e-cloud studies in high enery accelerators, particle traps and other areas. At present it incorporates 3-D, axisymmetric (r,z) planar (x-z) and transverse slice (x,y) descriptions, with both electrostatic and electro-magnetic fields, and a beam envelope model.more » The code is guilt atop the Python interpreter language.« less

Particular Biochemical Profiles for Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 Isolates on the ID 32E System

PubMed Central

Leclercq, Alexandre; Lambert, Bernard; Pierard, Denis; Mahillon, Jacques

2001-01-01

The ability of the ID 32E system to identify and discriminate 74 Escherichia coli O157 isolates among 106 E. coli non-O157 isolates was evaluated. The results showed atypical biochemical reactions but accurate identification at the species level and no unique biochemical profile numbers for E. coli O157, although these numbers were distinct from those of other serotypes. PMID:11230449

Transmutation prospect of long-lived nuclear waste induced by high-charge electron beam from laser plasma accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, X. L.; Xu, Z. Y.; Luo, W.; Lu, H. Y.; Zhu, Z. C.; Yan, X. Q.

2017-09-01

Photo-transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste induced by a high-charge relativistic electron beam (e-beam) from a laser plasma accelerator is demonstrated. A collimated relativistic e-beam with a high charge of approximately 100 nC is produced from high-intensity laser interaction with near-critical-density (NCD) plasma. Such e-beam impinges on a high-Z convertor and then radiates energetic bremsstrahlung photons with flux approaching 1011 per laser shot. Taking a long-lived radionuclide 126Sn as an example, the resulting transmutation reaction yield is the order of 109 per laser shot, which is two orders of magnitude higher than obtained from previous studies. It is found that at lower densities, a tightly focused laser irradiating relatively longer NCD plasmas can effectively enhance the transmutation efficiency. Furthermore, the photo-transmutation is generalized by considering mixed-nuclide waste samples, which suggests that the laser-accelerated high-charge e-beam could be an efficient tool to transmute long-lived nuclear waste.

British Escherichia coli O157 in Cattle Study (BECS): to determine the prevalence of E. coli O157 in herds with cattle destined for the food chain.

PubMed

Henry, M K; Tongue, S C; Evans, J; Webster, C; McKENDRICK, I J; Morgan, M; Willett, A; Reeves, A; Humphry, R W; Gally, D L; Gunn, G J; Chase-Topping, M E

2017-11-01

Escherichia coli O157 are zoonotic bacteria for which cattle are an important reservoir. Prevalence estimates for E. coli O157 in British cattle for human consumption are over 10 years old. A new baseline is needed to inform current human health risk. The British E. coli O157 in Cattle Study (BECS) ran between September 2014 and November 2015 on 270 farms across Scotland and England & Wales. This is the first study to be conducted contemporaneously across Great Britain, thus enabling comparison between Scotland and England & Wales. Herd-level prevalence estimates for E. coli O157 did not differ significantly for Scotland (0·236, 95% CI 0·166-0·325) and England & Wales (0·213, 95% CI 0·156-0·283) (P = 0·65). The majority of isolates were verocytotoxin positive. A higher proportion of samples from Scotland were in the super-shedder category, though there was no difference between the surveys in the likelihood of a positive farm having at least one super-shedder sample. E. coli O157 continues to be common in British beef cattle, reaffirming public health policy that contact with cattle and their environments is a potential infection source.

Effects of the quadrupole wakefields in a passive streaker

DOE PAGES

Craievich, Paolo; Lutman, Alberto A.

2016-10-05

A novel method based on transverse wakefields has been recently proposed to characterize the temporal profile of a relativistic electron bunch. The electron bunch is streaked by the interaction with the transverse wakefield excited when the electrons travel off-axis in a device called the passive streaker. Furthermore, for the large transverse off-axis offsets required to effectively streak the electron bunch, higher order modes can be excited. The time-dependent quadrupole wakefield of the dielectric-lined structure can cause a significant enlargement of the transverse profile at the screen. Consequently, the measurement resolution is decreased also at the bunch tail. We report onmore » how the temporal profile can be effectively reconstructed also including the defocusing effect for a given transverse beam distribution at the passive streaker.« less

Inductive and electrostatic acceleration in relativistic jet-plasma interactions.

PubMed

Ng, Johnny S T; Noble, Robert J

2006-03-24

We report on the observation of rapid particle acceleration in numerical simulations of relativistic jet-plasma interactions and discuss the underlying mechanisms. The dynamics of a charge-neutral, narrow, electron-positron jet propagating through an unmagnetized electron-ion plasma was investigated using a three-dimensional, electromagnetic, particle-in-cell computer code. The interaction excited magnetic filamentation as well as electrostatic plasma instabilities. In some cases, the longitudinal electric fields generated inductively and electrostatically reached the cold plasma-wave-breaking limit, and the longitudinal momentum of about half the positrons increased by 50% with a maximum gain exceeding a factor of 2 during the simulation period. Particle acceleration via these mechanisms occurred when the criteria for Weibel instability were satisfied.

Observation of Betatron X-Ray Radiation in a Self-Modulated Laser Wakefield Accelerator Driven with Picosecond Laser Pulses

DOE PAGES

Albert, F.; Lemos, N.; Shaw, J. L.; ...

2017-03-31

We investigate a new regime for betatron x-ray emission that utilizes kilojoule-class picosecond lasers to drive wakes in plasmas. When such laser pulses with intensities of ~ 5 × 1 0 18 W / cm 2 are focused into plasmas with electron densities of ~ 1 × 1 0 19 cm - 3 , they undergo self-modulation and channeling, which accelerates electrons up to 200 MeV energies and causes those electrons to emit x rays. The measured x-ray spectra are fit with a synchrotron spectrum with a critical energy of 10–20 keV, and 2D particle-in-cell simulations were used to modelmore » the acceleration and radiation of the electrons in our experimental conditions« less

Nonthermally dominated electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a low- β plasma

DOE PAGES

Li, Xiaocan; Guo, Fan; Li, Hui; ...

2015-09-24

By means of fully kinetic simulations, we investigate electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a nonrelativistic proton–electron plasma with conditions similar to solar corona and flares. We demonstrate that reconnection leads to a nonthermally dominated electron acceleration with a power-law energy distribution in the nonrelativistic low-β regime but not in the high-β regime, where β is the ratio of the plasma thermal pressure and the magnetic pressure. The accelerated electrons contain most of the dissipated magnetic energy in the low-β regime. A guiding-center current description is used to reveal the role of electron drift motions during the bulk nonthermal energization.more » We find that the main acceleration mechanism is a Fermi-type acceleration accomplished by the particle curvature drift motion along the electric field induced by the reconnection outflows. Although the acceleration mechanism is similar for different plasma β, low-β reconnection drives fast acceleration on Alfvénic timescales and develops power laws out of thermal distribution. Thus, the nonthermally dominated acceleration resulting from magnetic reconnection in low-β plasma may have strong implications for the highly efficient electron acceleration in solar flares and other astrophysical systems.« less

Electrical DNA biosensor using aluminium interdigitated electrode for E.Coli O157:H7 detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natasha, N. Z.; Rajapaksha, R. D. A. A.; Uda, M. N. A.; Hashim, U.

2017-09-01

Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) O157:H7 is the one of the most dangerous foodborne pathogens based diseases that presence in our daily life that causes illness and death increase every year. Aluminum Interdigitated Electrode (Al IDE) biosensor was introduced to detect E.Coli O157:H7 in earlier stage. In this paper we investigated ssDNA of E.Coli O157:H7 bacteria detection through electrical behavior of Al IDE sensor. The physical properties of Al IDE biosensor has been characterized using Low Power Microscope (LPM), High Power Microscope (HPM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and 3D Nano Profiler. The bare Al IDE was electrical characterized by using I-V measurement. The surface modification was accomplished by salinization using APTES and immobilization using Carboxylic Probe E.Coli which was the first step in preparing Al IDE biosensor. Geared up prepared biosensor was hybridized with complementary, non-complementary and single based mismatch ssDNA to confirmed specificity detection of E Coli O157:H7 ssDNA target. The Current - Voltage was performed for each step such as bare Al IDE, surface modification, immobilization and hybridization. Sensitivity measurement was accomplished using different concentration of complementary ssDNA target from 1 fM - 10 µM. Selectivity measurements was achieved using same concentration which was 10 µM concentration for complement, non-complement and mismatch E.Coli O157:H7 ssDNA target. It's totally proved that the Al IDE able to detect specific and small current down to Femtomolar concentration.

Herd-level risk factors associated with the presence of Phage type 21/28 E. coli O157 on Scottish cattle farms

PubMed Central

Halliday, Jo EB; Chase-Topping, Margo E; Pearce, Michael C; McKendrick, Iain J; Allison, Lesley; Fenlon, Dave; Low, Chris; Mellor, Dominic J; Gunn, George J; Woolhouse, Mark EJ

2006-01-01

Background E. coli O157 is a bacterial pathogen that is shed by cattle and can cause severe disease in humans. Phage type (PT) 21/28 is a subtype of E. coli O157 that is found across Scotland and is associated with particularly severe human morbidity. Methods A cross-sectional survey of Scottish cattle farms was conducted in the period Feb 2002-Feb 2004 to determine the prevalence of E. coli O157 in cattle herds. Data from 88 farms on which E. coli O157 was present were analysed using generalised linear mixed models to identify risk factors for the presence of PT 21/28 specifically. Results The analysis identified private water supply, and northerly farm location as risk factors for PT 21/28 presence. There was a significant association between the presence of PT 21/28 and an increased number of E. coli O157 positive pat samples from a farm, and PT 21/28 was significantly associated with larger E. coli O157 counts than non-PT 21/28 E. coli O157. Conclusion PT 21/28 has significant risk factors that distinguish it from other phage types of E. coli O157. This finding has implications for the control of E. coli O157 as a whole and suggests that control could be tailored to target the locally dominant PT. PMID:17140453

Plasma Deflection Test Setup for E-Sail Propulsion Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andersen, Allen; Vaughn, Jason; Schneider, Todd; Wright, Ken

2016-01-01

The Electronic Sail or E-Sail is a novel propulsion concept based on momentum exchange between fast solar wind protons and the plasma sheath of long positively charged conductors comprising the E-Sail. The effective sail area increases with decreasing plasma density allowing an E-Sail craft to continue to accelerate at predicted ranges well beyond the capabilities of existing electronic or chemical propulsion spacecraft. While negatively charged conductors in plasmas have been extensively studied and flown, the interaction between plasma and a positively charged conductor is not well studied. We present a plasma deflection test method using a differential ion flux probe (DIFP). The DIFP measures the angle and energy of incident ions. The plasma sheath around a charged body can measured by comparing the angular distribution of ions with and without a positively charged test body. These test results will be used to evaluate numerical calculations of expected thrust per unit length of conductor in the solar wind plasma. This work was supported by a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship.

ADP ribosyl-cyclases (CD38/CD157), social skills and friendship.

PubMed

Chong, Anne; Malavasi, Fabio; Israel, Salomon; Khor, Chiea Chuen; Yap, Von Bing; Monakhov, Mikhail; Chew, Soo Hong; Lai, Poh San; Ebstein, Richard P

2017-04-01

Why some individuals seek social engagement while others shy away has profound implications for normal and pathological human behavior. Evidence suggests that oxytocin (OT), the paramount human social hormone, and CD38 that governs OT release, contribute to individual differences in social skills from intense social involvement to extreme avoidance that characterize autism. To explore the neurochemical underpinnings of sociality, CD38 expression of peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) was measured in Han Chinese undergraduates. First, CD38 mRNA levels were correlated with lower Autism Quotient (AQ), indicating enhanced social skills. AQ assesses the extent of autistic-like traits including the propensity and dexterity needed for successful social engagement in the general population. Second, three CD157 eQTL SNPs in the CD38/CD157 gene region were associated with CD38 expression. CD157 is a paralogue of CD38 and is contiguous with it on chromosome 4p15. Third, association was also observed between the CD157 eQTL SNPs, CD38 expression and AQ. In the full model, CD38 expression and CD157 eQTL SNPs altogether account for a substantial 14% of the variance in sociality. Fourth, functionality of CD157 eQTL SNPs was suggested by a significant association with plasma oxytocin immunoreactivity products. Fifth, the ecological validity of these findings was demonstrated with subjects with higher PBL CD38 expression having more friends, especially for males. Furthermore, CD157 sequence variation predicts scores on the Friendship questionnaire. To summarize, this study by uniquely leveraging various measures reveals salient elements contributing to nonkin sociality and friendship, revealing a likely pathway underpinning the transition from normality to psychopathology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Internalization of E. coli O157:H7 in spinach cultivated in soil and hydroponic media

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Introduction: Internalization of E. coli O157:H7 into spinach plants through root uptake is a potential route of contamination. Previous studies that have investigated uptake of E. coli O157:H7 into leafy greens have expressed green fluorescent protein (gfp) from a plasmid, possibly limiting detecti...

Antimicrobial Effects of Quillaja saponaria Extract Against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and the Emerging Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli.

PubMed

Sewlikar, Snigdha; D'Souza, Doris H

2017-05-01

Natural alternate methods to control the spread of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are important to prevent foodborne outbreaks. Quillaja saponaria aqueous bark extracts (QE), cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a natural flavorant, contain bioactive polyphenols, tannins, and tri-terpenoid saponins with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of commercial QE against E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 strains over 16 h at 37 °C and RT. Overnight cultures of 4 E. coli O157:H7 strains and 6 non-O157 STECs in Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) were washed and resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.2), and treated with QE and controls including citric acid (pH 3.75), sodium benzoate (0.1% w/w), acidified sodium benzoate (pH 3.75) or PBS for 6 h or 16 h. Recovered bacteria were enumerated after plating on Tryptic Soy Agar, from duplicate treatments, replicated thrice and the data were statistically analyzed. The 4 QE-treated E. coli O157:H7 strains from initial ∼7.5 log CFU had remaining counts between 6.79 and 3.5 log CFU after 16 h at RT. QE-treated non-O157 STECs showed lower reductions with remaining counts ranging from 6.81 to 4.55 log CFU after 16 h at RT.  Incubation at 37 °C caused reduction to nondetectable levels within 1 h, without any significant reduction in controls. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed damaged cell membranes of treated bacteria after 1 h at 37 °C. QE shows potential to control the spread of STECs, and further research in model food systems is needed. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Study on electromagnetic plasma propulsion using rotating magnetic field acceleration scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furukawa, T.; Takizawa, K.; Kuwahara, D.; Shinohara, S.

2017-04-01

As one of the electromagnetic plasma acceleration systems, we have proposed a rotating magnetic field (RMF) acceleration scheme to overcome the present problem of direct plasma-electrode interactions, leading to a short lifetime with a poor plasma performance due to contamination. In this scheme, we generate a plasma by a helicon wave excited by a radio frequency (rf) antenna which has no direct-contact with a plasma. Then, the produced plasma is accelerated by the axial Lorentz force fz = jθ × Br (jθ is an azimuthal current induced by RMF, and Br is an external radial magnetic field). Erosion of electrodes and contamination are not expected in this total system since RMF coils and an rf antenna do not have contact with the plasma directly. Here, we have measured the plasma parameters (electron density ne and axial ion velocity vi) to demonstrate this RMF acceleration scheme by the use of AC currents in two sets of opposing coils to generate a RMF. The maximum increasing rate Δvi /vi was ˜28% (maximum vi of ˜3 km/s), while the density increasing rate of Δne/ne is ˜ 70% in the case of a RMF current frequency fRMF of 3 MHz, which showed a better plasma performance than that with fRMF = 5 MHz. Moreover, thrust characteristics such as a specific impulse and a thrust efficiency were discussed, although a target plasma was not optimized.