Phase velocity and particle injection in a self-modulated proton-driven plasma wakefield accelerator

It is demonstrated that the performance of the self-modulated proton driver plasma wakefield accelerator is strongly affected by the reduced phase velocity of the plasma wave. Using analytical theory and particle-in-cell simulations, we show that the reduction is largest during the linear stage of s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2011-09, Vol.107 (14), p.145003-145003, Article 145003
Main Authors: Pukhov, A, Kumar, N, Tückmantel, T, Upadhyay, A, Lotov, K, Muggli, P, Khudik, V, Siemon, C, Shvets, G
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:It is demonstrated that the performance of the self-modulated proton driver plasma wakefield accelerator is strongly affected by the reduced phase velocity of the plasma wave. Using analytical theory and particle-in-cell simulations, we show that the reduction is largest during the linear stage of self-modulation. As the instability nonlinearly saturates, the phase velocity approaches that of the driver. The deleterious effects of the wake's dynamics on the maximum energy gain of accelerated electrons can be avoided using side-injections of electrons, or by controlling the wake's phase velocity by smooth plasma density gradients.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.145003