Self-amplified spontaneous emission in a free-electron laser has been proposed for the generation of very high brightness coherent x-rays. This process involves passing a high-energy, high-charge, short-pulse, low-energy-spread, and low-emittance electron beam through the periodic magnetic field of a long series of high-quality undulator magnets. The radiation produced grows exponentially in intensity until it reaches a saturation point. We report on the demonstration of self-amplified spontaneous emission gain, exponential growth, and saturation at visible (530 nanometers) and ultraviolet (385 nanometers) wavelengths. Good agreement between theory and simulation indicates that scaling to much shorter wavelengths may be possible. These results confirm the physics behind the self-amplified spontaneous emission process and forward the development of an operational x-ray free-electron laser.

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We present a proposal for a cold copper distributed coupling accelerator that can provide a rapid route to precision Higgs physics with a compact 8 km footprint. This proposal is based on recent advances that increase the efficiency and operating gradient of a normal conducting accelerator. This technology also provides an e + e − collider path to physics at multi-TeV energies. In this article, we describe our vision for this technology and the near-term R&D program needed to pursue it.

A generic 3D laser-pulse-shaping scheme is proposed towards the generation of a uniform ellipsoidal particle distribution, an ideal distribution due to the linear dependence of the space-charge force on the particle position. The shaping is accomplished via spatiotemporal coupling of the laser dynamics via chromatic aberration in an optical lens. Particle tracking simulations show that the electron beam initiated by such a laser pulse in a high-gradient radio-frequency photoinjector delivers very low emittance, ideal for beam-based light sources such as the x-ray free-electron laser.

We present a novel method of combining the most desirable characteristics of thermionic-cathode and photocathode rf guns, using a field-emission cathode and multiple rf frequencies. Simulations indicate that extremely low-emittance beams (on the order of 2 nm normalized emittance) at moderate beam currents (1 mA) and beam energies of 2 MeV can be obtained using this technique. The resulting gun design promises to be useful as a driver source for a number of applications, including high-voltage electron microscopy, precision electron-beam welding, and long-wavelength (THz) radiation generation; we include performance calculations for the electron microscopy and precision welding applications.