Electromagnetic cascade in high energy electron, positron, and photon interactions with intense laser pulses

The interaction of high energy electrons, positrons, and photons with intense laser pulses is studied in head-on collision geometry. It is shown that electrons and/or positrons undergo a cascade-type process involving multiple emissions of photons. These photons can consequently convert into electron-positron pairs. As a result charged particles quickly lose their energy developing an exponentially decaying energy distribution, which suppresses the emission of high energy photons, thus reducing the number of electron-positron pairs being generated. Therefore, this type of interaction suppresses the development of the electromagnetic avalanche-type discharge, i.e., the exponential growth of the number of electrons, positrons, and photons does not occur in the course of interaction. The suppression will occur when 3D effects can be neglected in the transverse particle orbits, i.e., for sufficiently broad laser pulses with intensities that are not too extreme. The final distributions of electrons, positrons, and photons are calculated for the case of a high energy e-beam interacting with a counter-streaming, short intense laser pulse. The energy loss of the e-beam, which requires a self-consistent quantum description, plays an important role in this process, as well as provides a clear experimental observable for the transition from the classical to quantum regime of interaction.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

On Retardation Effects in Space Charge Calculations Of High Current Electron Beams

Laser-plasma accelerators are expected to deliver electron bunches with high space charge fields. Several recent publications have addressed the impact of space charge effects on such bunches after the extraction into vacuum. Artifacts due to the approximation of retardation effects are addressed, which are typically either neglected or approximated. We discuss a much more appropriate calculation for the case of laser wakefield acceleration with negligible retardation artifacts due to the calculation performed in the mean rest frame. This presented calculation approach also aims at a validation of other simulation approaches

Optimized laser pulse profile for efficient radiation pressure acceleration of ions

The radiation pressure acceleration regime of laser ion acceleration requires high intensity laser pulses to function efficiently. Moreover the foil should be opaque for incident radiation during the interaction to ensure maximum momentum transfer from the pulse to the foil, which requires proper matching of the target to the laser pulse. However, in the ultrarelativistic regime, this leads to large acceleration distances, over which the high laser intensity for a Gaussian laser pulse must be maintained. It is shown that proper tailoring of the laser pulse profile can significantly reduce the acceleration distance, leading to a compact laser ion accelerator, requiring less energy to operate.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Dimuon production by laser-wakefield accelerated electrons

We analyze $\mu^+\mu^-$ pair production generated by high-energy electrons emerging from a laser-wakefield accelerator. The $\mu^+\mu^-$ pairs are created in a solid thick high-$Z$ target, following the electron accelerating plasma region. Numerical estimates are presented for electron beams obtained presently in the LBL TW laser experiment \cite{C2} and possible future developments. Reactions induced by the secondary bremsstrahlung photons dominate the dimuon production. According to our estimates, a 20 pC electron bunch with energy of 1 (10) GeV may create about 200 (6000) muon pairs. The produced $\mu^\pm$ can be used in studying various aspects of muon-related physics in table top installations. This may be considered as an important step towards the investigation of more complicated elementary processes induced by laser driven electrons.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Experimental studies of laser guiding in plasma channels

The authors present results of experimental investigations of laser guiding in plasma channels. A new technique for plasma channel creation, the Ignitor-Heater scheme is proposed and experimentally tested in hydrogen and nitrogen. It makes use of two laser pulses. The Ignitor, an ultrashort ( 5 {times} 10{sup 17} W/cm{sup 2}, 75 fs laser pulse

Relativistic spherical plasma waves

Tightly focused laser pulses as they diverge or converge in underdense plasma can generate wake waves, having local structures that are spherical waves. Here we report on theoretical study of relativistic spherical wake waves and their properties, including wave breaking. These waves may be suitable as particle injectors or as flying mirrors that both reflect and focus radiation, enabling unique X-ray sources and nonlinear QED phenomena.Comment: 6 pages; 4 figure

Quasi-monoenergetic femtosecond photon sources from Thomson Scattering using laser plasma accelerators and plasma channels

Narrow bandwidth, high energy photon sources can be generated by Thomson scattering of laser light from energetic electrons, and detailed control of the interaction is needed to produce high quality sources. We present analytic calculations of the energy-angular spectra and photon yield that parametrize the influences of the electron and laser beam parameters to allow source design. These calculations, combined with numerical simulations, are applied to evaluate sources using conventional scattering in vacuum and methods for improving the source via laser waveguides or plasma channels. We show that the photon flux can be greatly increased by using a plasma channel to guide the laser during the interaction. Conversely, we show that to produce a given number of photons, the required laser energy can be reduced by an order of magnitude through the use of a plasma channel. In addition, we show that a plasma can be used as a compact beam dump, in which the electron beam is decelerated in a short distance, thereby greatly reducing radiation shielding. Realistic experimental errors such as transverse jitter are quantitatively shown to be tolerable. Examples of designs for sources capable of performing nuclear resonance fluorescence and photofission are provided

Laser-heater assisted plasma channel formation in capillary discharge waveguides

A method of creating plasma channels with controllable depth and transverse profile for the guiding of short, high power laser pulses for efficient electron acceleration is proposed. The plasma channel produced by the hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide is modified by a ns-scale laser pulse, which heats the electrons near the capillary axis. This interaction creates a deeper plasma channel within the capillary discharge that evolves on a ns-time scale, allowing laser beams with smaller spot sizes than would otherwise be possible in the unmodified capillary discharge.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure