On the stability of laser wakefield electron accelerators in the monoenergetic regimea

The effects of plasma density and laser energy on the stability of laser produced monoenergetic electron beams are investigated. Fluctuations in the principal beam parameters, namely, electron energy, energy-spread, charge, and pointing, are demonstrated to be minimized at low densities. This improv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of plasmas 2007-05, Vol.14 (5)
Main Authors: Mangles, S. P. D., Thomas, A. G. R., Lundh, O., Lindau, F., Kaluza, M. C., Persson, A., Wahlström, C.-G., Krushelnick, K., Najmudin, Z.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The effects of plasma density and laser energy on the stability of laser produced monoenergetic electron beams are investigated. Fluctuations in the principal beam parameters, namely, electron energy, energy-spread, charge, and pointing, are demonstrated to be minimized at low densities. This improvement in stability is attributed to the reduced time for pulse evolution required before self-injection occurs; i.e., that the pulse is closest to the matched conditions for these densities. It is also observed that electrons are only consistently produced above a density-dependent energy threshold. These observations are consistent with there being a threshold intensity ( a 0 ≳ 3 ) required for the occurrence of self-injection after accounting for pulse compression.
ISSN:1070-664X
1089-7674
DOI:10.1063/1.2436481