Efficient plasma electron accelerator driven by linearly chirped multi-10-TW laser pulses.

Area of Science:

• Plasma Physics
• Laser-Plasma Interactions
• Particle Acceleration

Background:

• Ultrafast laser pulse chirp influences laser-matter and laser-plasma interactions.
• Chirp plays a key role in wakefield and plasma bubble dynamics, affecting electron injection and acceleration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate control over relativistic electron beam generation efficiency by varying laser pulse chirp.
• To investigate the impact of different chirp values on electron beam properties like maximum energy and current.

Main Methods:

• Experimentally varying the chirp of multi-10-TW laser pulses.
• Measuring the generated relativistic electron beam properties (energy, current).
• Performing Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations to support experimental findings.

Main Results:

• Positively chirped laser pulses significantly enhance electron acceleration efficiency (up to 100 MeV) compared to unchirped or negatively chirped pulses.
• PIC simulations show smoother plasma bubble distributions and improved electron injection with positive chirp.
• Demonstrated control over electron beam generation efficiency through precise chirp control.

Conclusions:

• Positive laser pulse chirp is crucial for efficient electron acceleration in plasma-based accelerators.
• Results provide a foundation for understanding and optimizing chirped laser-driven plasma electron accelerators.
• Findings extend previous studies on chirp effects to the multi-10-TW laser regime.