Chirp Mitigation of Plasma-Accelerated Beams by a Modulated Plasma Density

Area of Science:

• Plasma physics
• Particle accelerators
• Accelerator physics

Background:

• Plasma-based accelerators promise compact light sources and advanced high-energy physics applications.
• Maintaining high beam quality, particularly a low energy spread, remains a significant challenge in these systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the use of periodically modulated plasma density to control longitudinal fields in linear wakefield accelerators.
• To demonstrate a method for improving electron beam quality by reducing energy spread.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing computational simulations to model particle interactions within a plasma.
• Implementing a periodically modulated plasma density profile.
• Analyzing the longitudinal electric fields acting on an electron bunch.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated an on-average flat accelerating field profile.
• Successfully maintained a small beam energy spread throughout the acceleration process.
• Showcased the effectiveness of modulated plasma density in beam conditioning.

Conclusions:

• Periodically modulated plasma density is a viable technique for enhancing electron beam quality in plasma accelerators.
• This approach offers a pathway to achieving the necessary beam properties for future compact light sources and high-energy physics.
• The findings pave the way for more controlled and efficient plasma-based acceleration schemes.