Overview of plasma-based accelerator concepts

Author

Esarey, Eric ; Sprangle, Phillip ; Krall, Jonathan ; Ting, Antonio

Author_Institution

Div. of Plasma Phys., Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC, USA

Volume

24

Issue

2

fYear

1996

fDate

4/1/1996 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

252

Lastpage

288

Abstract

An overview is given of the physics issues relevant to the plasma wakefield accelerator, the plasma beat-wave accelerator, the laser wakefield accelerator, including the self-modulated regime, and wakefield accelerators driven by multiple electron or laser pulses. Basic properties of linear and nonlinear plasma waves are discussed, as well as the trapping and acceleration of electrons in the plasma wave. Formulas are presented for the accelerating field and the energy gain in the various accelerator configurations. The propagation of the drive electron or laser beams is discussed, including limitations imposed by key instabilities and methods for optically guiding laser pulses. Recent experimental results are summarized

Keywords

collective accelerators; plasma devices; plasma nonlinear waves; reviews; wakefield accelerators; electron acceleration; electron trapping; energy gain; laser wakefield accelerator; linear plasma waves; multiple electron pulses; multiple laser pulses; nonlinear plasma waves; optically guiding laser pulses; overview; plasma beat-wave accelerator; plasma wakefield accelerator; plasma-based accelerator concepts; self-modulated regime; Acceleration; Electron accelerators; Electron beams; Electron traps; Laser theory; Optical pulses; Physics; Plasma accelerators; Plasma properties; Plasma waves;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.509991

Filename

509991