Direct laser acceleration in the bubble regime of laser wakefield acceleration

Abstract

We study Direct Laser Acceleration (DLA) in the bubble regime of Laser Wake-Field Acceleration (LWFA) by using a simplified single-particle model and fully self-consistent 2D PIC simulations. Two important effects occur under the combined action of the laser and wake fields. First, the dephasing length between the accelerated ultra-relativistic and the wake is significantly increased by the DLA. Secondly, a significant correlation develops between the beam’s transverse emittance and its total energy. The resulting conditioned electron beams could be potentially exploited in free-electron lasers.