Plasma density profile reconstruction of a gas cell for Ionization Induced Laser Wakefield Acceleration

Laser-driven plasma wakefields can provide hundreds of MeV electron beam in mm-range distances potentially shrinking the dimension of the actual particle accelerators. The plasma density plays a fundamental role in the control and stability of the acceleration process, which is a key development for the future electron injector proposed by EuPRAXIA. A gas cell was designed by LPGP and LIDYL teams, with variable length and backing pressure, to confine the gas and tailor the gas density profile before the arrival of the laser. This cell was used during an experimental campaign with the multi TW-class laser at the Lund Laser Centre. Ionization assisted injection in a tailored density profile is used to tune the electron beam properties. During the experiment, we filled the gas cell with hydrogen mixed with different concentration of nitrogen. We also varied the backing pressure of the gas and the geometrical length of the gas cell. We used a transverse probe to acquire shadowgraphic images of the plasma and to measure the plasma electron density. Methods and results of the analysis with comparisons between shadowgraphic and interferometric images will be discussed

Experimental characterisation of a single-shot spectrometer for high-flux, GeV-scale gamma-ray beams

International audienceWe report on the first experimental characterisation of a gamma-ray spectrometer designed to spectrally resolve high-flux photon beams with energies in the GeV range. The spectrometer has been experimentally characterised using a bremsstrahlung source obtained at the Apollon laser facility during the interaction of laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams (maximum energy of 1.7 GeV and overall charge of 207$\pm$62 pC) with a 1 mm thick tantalum target. Experimental data confirms the possibility of performing single-shot measurements, without the need for accumulation, with a high signal to noise ratio. Scaling the results to photons in the multi-GeV range suggests the possibility of achieving percent-level energy resolution, as required, for instance, by the next generation of experiments in strong-field quantum electrodynamics

Experimental characterisation of a single-shot spectrometer for high-flux, GeV-scale gamma-ray beams

International audienceWe report on the first experimental characterisation of a gamma-ray spectrometer designed to spectrally resolve high-flux photon beams with energies in the GeV range. The spectrometer has been experimentally characterised using a bremsstrahlung source obtained at the Apollon laser facility during the interaction of laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams (maximum energy of 1.7 GeV and overall charge of 207$\pm$62 pC) with a 1 mm thick tantalum target. Experimental data confirms the possibility of performing single-shot measurements, without the need for accumulation, with a high signal to noise ratio. Scaling the results to photons in the multi-GeV range suggests the possibility of achieving percent-level energy resolution, as required, for instance, by the next generation of experiments in strong-field quantum electrodynamics

Experimental characterisation of a single-shot spectrometer for high-flux, GeV-scale gamma-ray beams

International audienceWe report on the first experimental characterisation of a gamma-ray spectrometer designed to spectrally resolve high-flux photon beams with energies in the GeV range. The spectrometer has been experimentally characterised using a bremsstrahlung source obtained at the Apollon laser facility during the interaction of laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams (maximum energy of 1.7 GeV and overall charge of 207$\pm$62 pC) with a 1 mm thick tantalum target. Experimental data confirms the possibility of performing single-shot measurements, without the need for accumulation, with a high signal to noise ratio. Scaling the results to photons in the multi-GeV range suggests the possibility of achieving percent-level energy resolution, as required, for instance, by the next generation of experiments in strong-field quantum electrodynamics

EARLI: design of a laser wakefield accelerator for AWAKE

International audienceFollowing the successful Run 1 experiment, the Advanced Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment (AWAKE) Run2 experiment requires the design and implementation of a compact electron source. The “high-quality Electron Accelerator driven by a Reliable Laser wakefield for Industrial uses” (EARLI) project aims to design a stand-alone high-quality electron injector based on a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) as an alternative proposal to AWAKE’s baseline design of an X-band electron gun. This project is currently in the design phase, including simulations and experimental tests. Exhaustive beam physics studies for conventional accelerators are applied to LWFA physics