Open AccessUltra-brilliant GeV betatronlike radiation from energetic electrons oscillating in frequency-downshifted laser pulses
Author(s) -
YingHsin Lu,
Guo-Bo Zhang,
Jie Zhao,
Yanting Hu,
Zuoqiang Hao,
Dongao Li,
Qianni Li,
Yue Cao,
Yanbo Wu,
Y. Yin,
F. Q. Shao,
Tong-Pu Yu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.419761
Subject(s) - betatron , physics , electron , optics , photon , laser , radiation , synchrotron radiation , collimated light , acceleration , transition radiation , atomic physics , nuclear physics , classical mechanics
Electrons can be accelerated to GeV energies with high collimation via laser wakefield acceleration in the bubble regime and emit bright betatron radiation in a table-top size. However, the radiation brightness is usually limited to the third-generation synchrotron radiation facilities operating at similar photon energies. Using a two-stage plasma configuration, we propose a novel scheme for generating betatronlike radiation with an extremely high brilliance. In this scheme, the relativistic electrons inside the bubble injected from the first stage can catch up with the frequency-downshifted laser pulse formed in the second stage. The laser red shift originates from the phase modulation, together with the group velocity dispersion, which enables more energy to be transfered from the laser pulse to γ-photons, giving rise to ultra-brilliant betatronlike radiation. Multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations indicate that the radiated γ-photons have the cut-off energy of GeV and a peak brilliance of 10 26 photons s -1 mm -2 mrad -2 per 0.1%BW at 1 MeV, which may have diverse applications in various fields.