Beam slicing with lasers and plasmas for high-transformer-ratio plasma wakefield acceleration

A novel method of “slicing” electron: beams-laser-plasma scissors (LPS) is suggested. Generation of the sharp-edged beams for high-transformer-ratio plasma wakefield acceleration (PWA) is considered numerically and analytically. Slicing, high-transformer-ratio acceleration, and beam loading are studied numerically, using a one-dimensional code which treats plasma as a linear medium and electron beams as a collection of macroparticles. A tentative design of a multi-stage PWA with laser slicing is presented. Other applications of LPS include generation of ultra-short bunches for synchrotron radiation