High-quality GeV-scale electron bunches with the Resonant Multi-Pulse Ionization Injection

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel laser wakefield acceleration scheme using resonant multi-pulse ionization to produce high-quality GeV electron bunches with low emittance and energy spread, supported by numerical simulations and analytical FEL analysis.

Contribution

It introduces the ReMPI scheme for efficient electron injection in laser wakefield acceleration using a resonant pulse train and ionization, achieving high-quality GeV electron bunches.

Findings

Generation of GeV electron bunches with low emittance and energy spread

Numerical simulation results supporting the scheme's effectiveness

Analytical FEL performance analysis for 1.3 GeV bunches

Abstract

Recently a new injection scheme for Laser Wake Field Acceleration, employing a single 100-TW-class laser system, has been proposed. In the Resonant Multi-Pulse Ionization injection (ReMPI) a resonant train of pulses drives a large amplitude plasma wave that traps electrons extracted from the plasma by further ionization of a high-Z dopant (Argon in the present paper). While the pulses of the driver train have intensity below the threshold for the dopant's ionization, the properly delayed and frequency doubled (or more) ionization pulse possesses an electric field large enough to extract electrons, though its normalized amplitude is well below unity. In this paper we will report on numerical simulations results aimed at the generation of GeV-scale bunches with normalized emittance and {\it rms} energy below $80\, nm \times rad $ and $0.5\, \%$, respectively. Analytical consideration of the FEL performance for a $1.3\, GeV$ bunch will be also reported.