Experimental Demonstration of Dephasing Reduction in an Optically Guided Laser-Plasma Accelerator

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lahaye, Ronan, Andriyash, Igor A., Gautier, Julien, Kononenko, Olena, Leblanc, Adrien, Goddet, Jean-Philippe, Tafzi, Amar, Thaury, Cedric
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909715510853632
author Lahaye, Ronan
Andriyash, Igor A.
Gautier, Julien
Kononenko, Olena
Leblanc, Adrien
Goddet, Jean-Philippe
Tafzi, Amar
Thaury, Cedric
author_facet Lahaye, Ronan
Andriyash, Igor A.
Gautier, Julien
Kononenko, Olena
Leblanc, Adrien
Goddet, Jean-Philippe
Tafzi, Amar
Thaury, Cedric
contents Laser-plasma accelerators offer a compact means of producing high-energy electron beams, but their performance is fundamentally limited by dephasing between the accelerated electrons and the plasma wave. To overcome this limitation, we investigate the combination of plasma density tapering and optical guiding to extend the effective acceleration length. Using a Joule-class femtosecond laser coupled into an optical-field-ionized plasma waveguide with a controlled density gradient, we experimentally achieve electron beam energies exceeding 1.6 GeV, a 40% increase compared to the constant-density case. Particle-in-cell simulations reproduce the main experimental features and reveal the central roles of delayed injection, nonlinear laser evolution, and self-focusing in enhancing energy gain.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_00145
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Experimental Demonstration of Dephasing Reduction in an Optically Guided Laser-Plasma Accelerator
Lahaye, Ronan
Andriyash, Igor A.
Gautier, Julien
Kononenko, Olena
Leblanc, Adrien
Goddet, Jean-Philippe
Tafzi, Amar
Thaury, Cedric
Plasma Physics
Laser-plasma accelerators offer a compact means of producing high-energy electron beams, but their performance is fundamentally limited by dephasing between the accelerated electrons and the plasma wave. To overcome this limitation, we investigate the combination of plasma density tapering and optical guiding to extend the effective acceleration length. Using a Joule-class femtosecond laser coupled into an optical-field-ionized plasma waveguide with a controlled density gradient, we experimentally achieve electron beam energies exceeding 1.6 GeV, a 40% increase compared to the constant-density case. Particle-in-cell simulations reproduce the main experimental features and reveal the central roles of delayed injection, nonlinear laser evolution, and self-focusing in enhancing energy gain.
title Experimental Demonstration of Dephasing Reduction in an Optically Guided Laser-Plasma Accelerator
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00145