Abstract
We demonstrate experimentally that hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized (HOFI) plasma channels can be generated at kHz-scale pulse repetition rates, in a static gas cell and for an extended period. Using a pump-probe arrangement, we show via transverse interferometry that the properties of two HOFI channels generated \SI{1}{ms} apart are essentially the same. We demonstrate that HOFI channels can be generated at a mean repetition rate of \SI{0.4}{kHz} for a period of 6.5 hours without degradation of the channel properties, and we determine the fluctuations in the key optical parameters of the channels in this period. Our results suggest that HOFI and conditioned HOFI channels are well suited for future high-repetition rate, multi-GeV plasma accelerator stages.
Highlights
Laser wakefield electron acceleration has attracted significant attention over the last decades, due to its ability to generate acceleration gradients three orders of magnitude greater than those achieved in conventional accelerators [1,2,3]
Our results suggest that hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized (HOFI) and conditioned HOFI channels are well suited for future high-repetition rate, multi-GeV plasma accelerator stages
We have investigated a variant of the HOFI scheme, conditioned HOFI (CHOFI) channels [37], in which the transverse wings of an intense laser pulse guided by the HOFI channel ionizes the collar of neutral gas surrounding the shock front, to form a deep, low-loss plasma channel
Summary
Laser wakefield electron acceleration has attracted significant attention over the last decades, due to its ability to generate acceleration gradients three orders of magnitude greater than those achieved in conventional accelerators [1,2,3]. Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFA) can routinely generate stable electron bunches with ultrashort duration and GeV-scale energies [4,5,6,7], from acceleration stages a few centimetres long. The energy gain of a laser-plasma accelerator, and the required length to achieve this, scale approximately as ΔW ∝ 1=ne and Lacc ∝ 1=n3e=2, respectively [2]. These scalings require multi-GeV plasma accelerators to operate
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