Self-guided wakefield experiments driven by petawatt class ultra-short laser pulses

TL;DR

This paper explores how next-generation petawatt ultra-short laser systems can be used to achieve high-energy electron beams (>1 GeV) through self-guided laser wakefield acceleration, optimizing parameters without external guides.

Contribution

It identifies optimal laser and target parameters for extending self-injecting wakefield experiments to higher energies using upcoming laser technology.

Findings

Electron beam energy can exceed 1 GeV.

Optimal focusing geometry and plasma density are determined.

External guiding structures are not necessary for high-energy acceleration.

Abstract

We investigate the extension of self-injecting laser wakefield experiments to the regime that will be accessible with the next generation of petawatt class ultra-short pulse laser systems. Using linear scalings, current experimental trends and numerical simulations we determine the optimal laser and target parameters, i.e. focusing geometry, plasma density and target length, that are required to increase the electron beam energy (to > 1 GeV) without the use of external guiding structures.