Simulation Study of an LWFA-based Electron Injector for AWAKE Run 2

Abstract

The AWAKE experiment aims to demonstrate preservation of injected electron beam quality during acceleration in proton-driven plasma waves. The short bunch duration required to correctly load the wakefield is challenging to meet with the current electron injector system, given the space available to the beamline. An LWFA readily provides short-duration electron beams with sufficient charge from a compact design, and provides a scalable option for future electron acceleration experiments at AWAKE. Simulations of a shock-front injected LWFA demonstrate a 43 TW laser system would be sufficient to produce the required charge over a range of energies beyond 100 MeV. LWFA beams typically have high peak current and large divergence on exiting their native plasmas, and optimisation of bunch parameters before injection into the proton-driven wakefields is required. Compact beam transport solutions are discussed.

arXiv commentPaper submitted to NIMA proceedings for the 3rd European Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop. 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table Changes after revision: Figure 2: figures 2 and 3 of the previous version collated with plots of longitudinal electric field Line 45: E_0 = 96 GV/m Lines 147- 159: evaluation of beam loading made more accurate Lines 107 - 124: discussion of simulation geometry moved

References in corpus (4)

• Self-modulation instability of a long proton bunch in plasmas
• Quantitative X-Ray Phase-Contrast Microtomography from a Compact Laser Driven Betatron Source
• AWAKE, The Advanced Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment at CERN
• Emittance preservation of an electron beam in a loaded quasi-linear plasma wakefield

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Bubble regime of plasma wakefield in 2D and 3D geometries