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arXiv · 2507.07054

Self-Adaptive Stabilization and Quality Boost for Electron Beams from All-Optical Plasma Wakefield Accelerators

D. Campbell·T. Heinemann·A. Dickson·T. Wilson·L. Berman·M. Cerchez·S. Corde·A. Döpp·A. F. Habib·A. Irman·S. Karsch·A. Martinez de la Ossa·A. Pukhov·L. Reichwein·U. Schramm·A. Sutherland·B. Hidding
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Abstract

Shot-to-shot fluctuations in electron beams from laser wakefield accelerators present a significant challenge for applications. Here, we show that instead of using such fluctuating beams directly, employing them to drive a plasma photocathode-based wakefield refinement stage can produce secondary electron beams with greater stability, higher quality, and improved reliability. Our simulation-based analysis reveals that drive beam jitters are compensated by both the insensitivity of beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration, and the decoupled physics of plasma photocathode injection. While beam-driven, dephasing-free plasma wakefield acceleration mitigates energy and energy spread fluctuations, intrinsically synchronized plasma photocathode injection compensates charge and current jitters of incoming electron beams, and provides a simultaneous quality boost. Our findings suggest plasma photocathodes are ideal injectors for hybrid laser-plasma wakefield accelerators, and nurture prospects for demanding applications such as free-electron lasers.

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D. Campbell, T. Heinemann, A. Dickson, T. Wilson, L. Berman, M. Cerchez, S. Corde, A. Döpp, A. F. Habib, A. Irman, S. Karsch, A. Martinez de la Ossa, A. Pukhov, L. Reichwein, U. Schramm, A. Sutherland, B. Hidding. 2025-07-09. Self-Adaptive Stabilization and Quality Boost for Electron Beams from All-Optical Plasma Wakefield Accelerators. https://doi.org/10.1103/p6ss-vgq5

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