Title: Meter-scale, multi-GeV electron acceleration with ultra-high-power lasers and plasma waveguides
Speaker name: Jaron E. Shrock with E. Rockafellow, A. Sloss, S. W. Hancock, and H. M. Milchberg
Abstract: Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) utilizes the strong electrostatic fields in laser-driven plasma waves to rapidly accelerate electrons. Since plasmas are already in a sense ‘destroyed’, these fields can be over 1000x stronger than in conventional RF accelerators, offering a possible path towards the development of compact high-energy accelerators that can fit in university laboratories, hospital basements, or fabrication facilities. Over the last few years, the introduction of new techniques for generating meter-scale plasma waveguides has enabled a new generation of multi-GeV accelerators suitable for a range of applications in several areas.
In this talk, we will first review fundamental principles in LWFA and plasma waveguides and how they come together to form a compact electron accelerator. Then will discuss recent work by UMD developing application-targeted accelerators, with a particular focus on recent experiments using laser-driven electron beams for muon and neutron generation. Finally, we will close with an overview of our new 100 TW laser system, which we anticipate will be producing >Â 1 GeV electron beams by the end of the year.