USTRAT/SUPA, Glasgow
Cockcroft Institute, Warrington, Cheshire
Pulsar Physics, Eindhoven
Funding: The U.K. EPSRC and the European Community - New and Emerging Science and Technology Activity under the FP6 “Structuring the European Research Area” programme (project EuroLEAP, contract number 028514)
The Advanced Laser-Plasma High-Energy Accelerators towards X-rays (ALPHA-X) programme* is developing laser-plasma accelerators for the production of ultra-short electron bunches as drivers of incoherent and coherent radiation sources from plasma and magnetic undulators. Focusing of ultra-short electron bunches from a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator into an undulator requires that particular attention be paid to the electron beam quality. We will discuss the design and implementation of an upgraded focusing system for the ALPHA-X beam line, which currently consists of a triplet of electromagnet quadrupoles. The upgrade will comprise the installation of additional compact permanent quadrupoles** very close to the accelerator exit. This will improve the matching of the beam into the undulator. The design has been carried out using the General Particle Tracer (GPT) code*** and TRANSPORT code, which consider space charge effects and allow a realistic estimate of electron beam properties inside the undulator to be obtained. We will present a study of the influence of beam transport on free-electron laser action in the undulator, paying particular attention to bunch dispersion.
* D. Jaroszynski et al., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 364, 689-710 (2006)
** T. Eichner et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 10, 082401 (2007)
*** S.B. Geer, M.J. Loos, Ph.D. thesis, TU/e, Eindhoven (2001)
USTRAT/SUPA, Glasgow
University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee, Scotland
UAD, Dundee
Funding: The U.K. EPSRC and the European Community - New and Emerging Science and Technology Activity under the FP6 “Structuring the European Research Area” programme (project EuroLEAP, contract number 028514)
The Advanced Laser-Plasma High-Energy Accelerators towards X-rays (ALPHA-X) programme* is developing laser-plasma accelerators for the production of ultra-short electron beams as drivers of incoherent and coherent radiation sources from plasma and magnetic undulators**. Initial quantitative measurements of the electron beam properties have been made. A high power (20 TW) femtosecond laser pulse is focused into a gas jet (length 2 mm) and electrons from the laser-induced plasma are self-injected into the accelerating potential of the plasma density wake behind the laser pulse. The electron beam pointing as it exits the gas jet is as large as 10 mrad. Understanding the pointing stability is an essential step for reproducible beam transport and we present a theoretical model to account for this behaviour. The beam divergence is as low as 2 mrad, which is consistent with a normalised emittance of the order of 1 pi mm mrad. The maximum central energy of the beam is ~90 MeV with r.m.s. relative energy spread as low as 0.8%. An analysis of this unexpectedly high beam quality is presented and its impact on the viability of a free-electron laser*** driven by such a beam is examined.
* D. A. Jaroszynski et al., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 364, 689 (2006).
** H.-P. Schlenvoigt et al., Nature Phys. 4, 130 (2008).
*** B. Shepherd and J. Clarke, Proc. EPAC 2006, 3580 (2006).
USTRAT/SUPA, Glasgow
Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon
University of Oxford, Oxford
STFC/RAL, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon
University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford
University of Glasgow, Glasgow
Funding: EPSRC and EU Euroleap
Advances in laser-plasma wake field accelerators (LWFA) have now reached the point where they can be considered as drivers of compact radiation sources covering an large spectral range. We present recent results from the Advanced Laser Plasma High-energy Accelerators towards X-rays (ALPHA-X) project. These include the first ultra-compact gamma ray source producing brilliant 10fs pulses of x-ray photons > 150keV. We present new opportunities for harnessing laser-driven plasma waves to accelerate electrons to high energies and use these as a basis for ultra-compact radiation sources with unprecedented peak brilliance and pulse duration. We have demonstrated a brilliant tabletop gamma ray source based on enhanced betatron emission in a plasma channel which produces > 109 photons per pulse in a bandwidth of 10-20%. We present results of a compact synchrotron source based on a LWFA and undulator and discuss the potential of developing an FEL based this technology. Finally we discuss the plans for the Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma-based Accelerator (SCAPA), which is being set up to develop and apply compact radiation sources, laser-driven ion sources and LWFAs.