[en] The generation of ultra-short x-rays by Thomson scattering intense laser pulses from electron beams is discussed, including recent experimental results and methods for enhancing the x-ray flux. A high flux of x-rays in a femtosecond pulse requires the generation of femtosecond electron bunches and a head-on Thomson scattering geometry. The generation of ultrashort electron bunches in a plasma-based accelerator with an injection technique that uses two colliding laser pulses is discussed. Simulations indicate the bunches as short as a few fs can be produced. Conversion of the fs electron pulse to a fs x-ray pulse can be accomplished by Bremsstrahlung or Thomson scattering

[en] A summary of the talks, papers and discussion sessions presented in the Working Group on Plasma Based Acceleration Concepts is given within the context of the progress towards a 1 GeV laser driven accelerator module. The topics covered within the Working Group were self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration, standard laser wakefield acceleration, plasma beat wave acceleration, laser guiding and wake excitation in plasma channels, plasma wakefield acceleration, plasma lenses and optical injection techniques for laser wakefield accelerators. An overview will be given of the present status of experimental and theoretical progress as well as an outlook towards the future physics and technological challenges for the development of an optimized accelerator module

[en] The possibility of producing femtosecond x-rays through Thomson scattering high power laser beams off laser wakefield generated relativistic electron beams is discussed. The electron beams are produced with either a self-modulated laser wakefield accelerator (SM-LWFA) or through a standard laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) with optical injection. For a SM-LWFA (LWFA) produced electron beam, a broad (narrow) energy distribution is assumed, resulting in X-ray spectra that are broadband (monochromatic). Designs are presented for 3-100 fs x-ray pulses and the expected flux and brightness of these sources are compared

[en] The basic principles and design of radiation sources (transition radiation, Cerenkov radiation, radiation from periodic structures, etc.) and radiation-based diagnostics will be discussed, with emphasis on radiation from ultra-short electron bunches. Ultra-short electron bunches have the potential to produce high peak flux radiation sources that cover wavelength regimes where sources are currently not widely available (coherent THz/IR) as well as ultrashort X-ray pulses (3-100 fs). While radiation from the electron bunch contains the full signature of the electron beam and/or medium it has travelled through, the deconvolution of a single property of interest can be difficult due to a large number of contributing properties. The experimental implementation of novel solutions to this problem will be described for beams from 30 MeV to 30 GeV, including fluctuational interferometry, source imaging, phase matched cone angles and laser-based techniques, which utilize optical transition radiation, wiggler and Cerenkov radiation, and Thomson scattering. These novel diagnostic methods have the potential to resolve fs bunch durations, slice emittance on fs scales, etc. The advantages and novel features of these techniques will be discussed

[en] A warm, relativistic fluid theory of a nonequilibrium, collisionless plasma is developed to analyze nonlinear plasma waves excited by intense drive beams. The maximum amplitude and wavelength are calculated for nonrelativistic plasma temperatures and arbitrary plasma wave phase velocities. The maximum amplitude is shown to increase in the presence of a laser field. These results set a limit to the achievable gradient in plasma-based accelerators

[en] A method is proposed for conditioning electron beams via Thomson scattering. The conditioning provides a quadratic correlation between the electron energy deviation and the betatron amplitude of the electrons, which results in enhanced gain in free-electron lasers. Quantum effects imply conditioning must occur at high laser fluence and moderate electron energy. Conditioning of x-ray free-electron lasers should be achievable with present laser technology, leading to significant size and cost reductions of these large-scale facilities

[en] We propose a diagnostic technique for wakefield measurement in plasma channels. A new technique for plasma channel creation, the Ignitor Heater scheme was proposed and experimentally tested in hydrogen and nitrogen previously. It makes use of two laser pulses. The Ignitor, an ultrashort (sub 100 fs) laser pulse, is brought to a line focus using a cylindrical lens to ionize the gas. The Heater pulse (160 ps long) is used to heat the existing spark via in-verse Bremsstrahlung. The hydrodynamic shock expansion creates a partially evacuated plasma channel with a density minimum on axis. Such a channel has properties of an optical waveguide. This technique allows creation of plasma channels in low atomic number gases, such as hydrogen, which is of importance for guiding of highly intense laser pulses. Laser pulses injected into such plasma channels produce a plasma wake that has a phase velocity close to the speed of light. A discussion of plasma wake measurements, using a Longitudinal Interferometry Wakefield Diagnostic Based on Time Domain Rayleigh Refractometry with Holographic Inversion, will be presented

[en] Spontaneous radiation emitted from an electron undergoing betatron motion is a plasma focusing channel is analyzed and applications to plasma wakefield accelerator experiments and to the ion channel laser (ICL) are discussed. Important similarities and differences between a free electron laser (FEL) and in an ICL are delineated. It is shown that the frequency of spontaneous radiation is a strong function of the betatron strength parameter a_β, which plays a similar role to that of the wiggler strength parameter in a conventional FEL. For a_β ∼> 1, radiation is emitted in numerous harmonics. Furthermore, a_β is proportional to the amplitude of the betatron orbit, which varies for every electron in the beam. This places serious limits on the possibility of realizing an ICL

[en] The invention provides a method and apparatus for generating large amplitude nonlinear plasma waves, driven by an optimized train of independently adjustable, intense laser pulses. In the method, optimal pulse widths, interpulse spacing, and intensity profiles of each pulse are determined for each pulse in a series of pulses. A resonant region of the plasma wave phase space is found where the plasma wave is driven most efficiently by the laser pulses. The accelerator system of the invention comprises several parts: the laser system, with its pulse-shaping subsystem; the electron gun system, also called beam source, which preferably comprises photo cathode electron source and RF-LINAC accelerator; electron photo-cathode triggering system; the electron diagnostics; and the feedback system between the electron diagnostics and the laser system. The system also includes plasma source including vacuum chamber, magnetic lens, and magnetic field means. The laser system produces a train of pulses that has been optimized to maximize the axial electric field amplitude of the plasma wave, and thus the electron acceleration, using the method of the invention. 21 figs

[en] Enhanced electron trapping using plasma density down ramps as a method for improving the performance of laser injection schemes is proposed and analyzed. A decrease in density implies an increase in plasma wavelength, which can shift a relativistic electron from the defocusing to the focusing region of the accelerating wakefield, and a decrease in wake phase velocity, which lowers the trapping threshold. The specific method of two-pulse colliding pulse injector was examined using a three-dimensional test particle tracking code. A density down-ramp with a change of density on the order of tens of percent over distances greater than the plasma wavelength led to an enhancement of charge by two orders in magnitude or more, up to the limits imposed by beam loading. The accelerated bunches are ultrashort (fraction of the plasma wavelength, e.g., ∼5 fs), high charge (>20 pC at modest injection laser intensity 10¹⁷ W/cm²), with a relative energy spread of a few percent at a mean energy of ∼25 MeV, and a normalized root-mean square emittance on the order 0.5 mm mrad