Two-Pulse Direct Laser Acceleration in a Laser-Driven Plasma Accelerator

TL;DR

This paper explores a novel two-pulse laser acceleration technique in plasma accelerators, demonstrating energy enhancement through precise control of pulse timing, with preliminary observations indicating potential improvements over traditional methods.

Contribution

It introduces a femtosecond-scale control method for two-pulse acceleration and shows energy gains when pulses are optimally separated, advancing plasma acceleration technology.

Findings

Energy enhancement observed with optimal pulse separation.

Method for femtosecond control of pulse timing.

Preliminary evidence of increased electron energy.

Abstract

We present methods and preliminary observations of two pulse Direct Laser Acceleration in a Laser-Driven Plasma Accelerator. This acceleration mechanism uses a second co-propagating laser pulse to overlap and further accelerate electrons in a wakefield bubble, increasing energy at the cost of emittance when compared to traditional laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). To this end, we introduce a method of femtosecond scale control of time delay between two co-propagating pulses. We show energy enhancement when the separation between the two pulses approaches the bubble radius.