ABSTRACT
Laser-driven plasma accelerators provide tabletop sources of relativistic electron bunches and femtosecond x-ray pulses, but usually require petawatt-class solid-state-laser pulses of wavelength λL ~ 1 µm. Longer-λL lasers can potentially accelerate higher-quality bunches, since they require less power to drive larger wakes in less dense plasma. Here, we report on a self-injecting plasma accelerator driven by a long-wave-infrared laser: a chirped-pulse-amplified CO2 laser (λL ≈ 10 µm). Through optical scattering experiments, we observed wakes that 4-ps CO2 pulses with < 1/2 terawatt (TW) peak power drove in hydrogen plasma of electron density down to 4 × 1017 cm-3 (1/100 atmospheric density) via a self-modulation (SM) instability. Shorter, more powerful CO2 pulses drove wakes in plasma down to 3 × 1016 cm-3 that captured and accelerated plasma electrons to relativistic energy. Collimated quasi-monoenergetic features in the electron output marked the onset of a transition from SM to bubble-regime acceleration, portending future higher-quality accelerators driven by yet shorter, more powerful pulses.
ABSTRACT
High brightness, high charge electron beams are critical for a number of advanced accelerator applications. The initial emittance of the electron beam, which is determined by the mean transverse energy (MTE) and laser spot size, is one of the most important parameters determining the beam quality. The bialkali photocathodes illuminated by a visible laser have the advantages of high quantum efficiency (QE) and low MTE. Furthermore, Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) guns can operate in the continuous wave (CW) mode at high accelerating gradients, e.g. with significant reduction of the laser spot size at the photocathode. Combining the bialkali photocathode with the SRF gun enables generation of high charge, high brightness, and possibly high average current electron beams. However, integrating the high QE semiconductor photocathode into the SRF guns has been challenging. In this article, we report on the development of bialkali photocathodes for successful operation in the SRF gun with months-long lifetime while delivering CW beams with nano-coulomb charge per bunch. This achievement opens a new era for high charge, high brightness CW electron beams.
ABSTRACT
Continuous-wave photoinjectors operating at high accelerating gradients promise to revolutionize many areas of science and applications. They can establish the basis for a new generation of monochromatic x-ray free electron lasers, high-brightness hadron beams, or a new generation of microchip production. In this Letter we report on the record-performing superconducting rf electron gun with CsK_{2}Sb photocathode. The gun is generating high charge electron bunches (up to 10 nC/bunch) and low transverse emittances, while operating for months with a single photocathode. This achievement opens a new era in generating high-power beams with a very high average brightness.
ABSTRACT
Coherent radiation from a relativistic electron beam is a valuable way to overcome the present limitations of conventional lasers and synchrotron radiation light sources. The typical scheme has electrons, directly from a linac, in a single-pass interaction with a laser pulse in the presence of a static undulator magnetic field. We demonstrate that a storage-ring free-electron laser can also achieve harmonic generation (down to 36.5 nm), presenting both experimental and theoretical results, and offer a reliable interpretation of the peculiar underlying physical processes involved.
ABSTRACT
High-energy electron cooling, presently considered as an essential tool for several applications in high-energy and nuclear physics, requires an accurate description of the friction force which ions experience by passing through an electron beam. Present low-energy electron coolers can be used for a detailed study of the friction force. In addition, parameters of a low-energy cooler can be chosen in a manner to reproduce regimes expected in future high-energy operation. Here, we report a set of dedicated experiments in CELSIUS aimed at a detailed study of the magnetized friction force. Some results of the accurate comparison of experimental data with the friction force formulas are presented.
ABSTRACT
The quality and intensity of gamma rays at the High Intensity gamma-ray Source are shown to make nuclear resonance fluorescence studies possible at a new level of precision and efficiency. First experiments have been carried out using an intense (10(7) gamma/s) beam of 100% linearly polarized, nearly monoenergetic, gamma rays on the semimagic nucleus (138)Ba. Negative parity quantum numbers have been assigned to 18 dipole excitations of (138)Ba between 5.5 MeV and 6.5 MeV from azimuthal gamma-intensity asymmetries.
ABSTRACT
Radiotherapy utilizes photons for treating cancer. Historically these photons have been produced by the bremsstrahlung process. In this paper we introduce Compton backscattering as an alternate method of photon production for cancer treatment. Compton backscattering is a well-established method to produce high-energy photons (gamma rays) for nuclear physics experiments. Compton backscattering involves the collision of a low-energy (eV) photon with a high-energy (hundreds of MeV) electron. It is shown that the photons scattered in the direction opposite to the direction of the initial photon (backscattered) will have the energy desired for photon beam therapy. The output of Compton backscattering is a high-energy photon beam (gamma-ray beam), which is well collimated and has minimal low-energy components. Such gamma beams may be used for conventional high-energy photon treatments, production of radionuclides, and generation of positrons and neutrons. The theoretical basis for this process is reviewed and Monte Carlo calculations of dose profiles for peak energies of 7, 15, and 30 MeV are presented. The potential advantages of the Compton process and its future role in radiotherapy will be discussed.
