# The effect of laser pulse evolution on down-ramp injection in laser wakefield accelerators

## TL;DR

This paper studies how laser pulse changes affect electron injection in accelerators to improve beam quality for various applications.

## Contribution

A comprehensive simulation study on optimizing laser wakefield accelerators through laser pulse evolution and density perturbations.

## Key findings

- Laser pulse evolution significantly impacts injection in laser wakefield accelerators.
- Density perturbations can optimize LWFA for short, low-emittance, and high-charge electron bunches.
- Controlled injection improves beam parameters for practical applications.

## Abstract

Electron self-injection in laser wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) is an important determinator of electron beam parameters. Controllable and adjustable LWFA beams are essential for applications. Controlled injection by capturing sheath electrons can be achieved using plasma density down-ramps or bumps, which perturb the LWFA bubble phase velocity by varying the plasma frequency and by affecting relativistic self-focussing of the laser. We report on a comprehensive study, using particle-in-cell simulations, of the effect of laser pulse evolution on injection on density perturbations. We show how the LWFA can be optimised to make it suitable for use in a wide range of applications, in particular those requiring short duration, low slice-emittance and low energy spread, and high-charge electron bunches.