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

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 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 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.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

iMPACT, undulator-based multi-bunch plasma accelerator

The accelerating gradient measured in laser or electron driven wakefield accelerators can be in the range of 10-100GV/m, which is 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than can be achieved by conventional RF-based particle accelerators. However, the beam quality preservation is still an important problem to be tackled to ensure the practicality of this technology. In this global picture, the main goals of this study are planning and coordinating a physics program, the so-called iMPACT, that addresses issues such as emittance growth mechanisms in the transverse and longitudinal planes through scattering from the plasma particles, minimisation of the energy spread and maximising the energy gain while benchmarking the milestones. In this paper, a summary and planning of the project is introduced and initial multi-bunch simulations were presented

Simulation study of a passive plasma beam dump using varying plasma density

A plasma beam dump uses the collective oscillations of plasma electrons to absorb the kinetic energy of a particle beam. In this paper, a modified passive plasma beam dump scheme is proposed using either a gradient or stepped plasma profile to maintain a higher decelerating gradient compared with a uniform plasma. The improvement is a result of the plasma wavelength change preventing the re-acceleration of low energy particles. Particle-in-cell simulation results show that both stepped and gradient plasma profiles can achieve improved energy loss compared with a uniform plasma for an electron bunch of parameters routinely achieved in laser wakefield acceleration

Numerical study of a multi-stage dielectric laser driven accelerator

AbstractIn order to overcome the limits of commonly used radiofrequency accelerators, it is highly desirable to reduce the unit cost and increase the maximum achievable accelerating gradient. Dielectric laser-driven accelerators (DLAs) based on grating structures have received considerable attention due to maximum acceleration gradients of several GV/m and mature lithographic techniques for structure fabrication. This paper explores different spatial harmonics excited by an incident laser pulse and their interaction with the electron beam from the non-relativistic (25 keV) to the highly relativistic regime in double-grating silica structures. The achievable acceleration gradient for different spatial harmonics and the optimal compromise between maximum acceleration gradient and simplicity of structure fabrication are discussed. Finally, the suitability of a multi-stage DLA which would enable the acceleration of electrons from 25 keV to relativistic energies is discussed