Abstract
We present a new method to determine the electron density of a plasma by measuring the periodicity of modulations introduced to the longitudinal phase space of a relativistic particle bunch by the interaction with the plasma via the self-modulation instability. As the modulation is solely depending on the plasma density and the beam parameters, this method allows to determine the time-resolved density of a plasma at the position of beam passage, which is confirmed in particle-in-cell simulations. Densities in the range of 3.6 × 1012 cm−3 – 7.2 × 1015 cm−3 have been measured and the measurement accuracy is confirmed by comparison to spectroscopic plasma density measurements.
Highlights
The electron density of a plasma is one of the key figures of merit for application of laboratory plasmas
We present a new method to determine the electron density of a plasma by measuring the periodicity of modulations introduced to the longitudinal phase space of a relativistic particle bunch by the interaction with the plasma via the self-modulation instability
A new method to measure the plasma electron density based on the self-modulation of a relativistic electron bunch is presented
Summary
The electron density of a plasma is one of the key figures of merit for application of laboratory plasmas. Parameters like plasma frequency, collision rates and Debye length, which describe the physical behavior of the plasma, can be derived from it. In recent years particle acceleration in plasma wakefields has become one of the major areas of application for laboratory plasma sources. In such schemes either a high power laser (laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA)) [1] or a relativistic, high brightness particle bunch
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