Radiation reaction studies in an all-optical set-up: experimental limitations

Samarin, G. M.; Zepf, M.; Sarri, Gianluca

doi:10.1080/09500340.2017.1353655

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Even though this gives, in principle, only the divergence along one of the transverse dimensions of the beam, the regime of laser wakefield we are operating in generates accelerating fields with a radially symmetric distribution [18]. This in turn results in cylindrically symmetric electron beams, as confirmed by our analysis [30]. The detailed energy-dependent divergence measured in the experiment was used as an input for the numerical simulations discussed later in the article.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The detailed energy-dependent divergence measured in the experiment was used as an input for the numerical simulations discussed later in the article. Measurements of the pointing fluctuation of the laser-driven electron beam indicate, as an average over 100 consecutive shots, an approximately Gaussian distribution (confidence of 95% from the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) centered on the laser propagation axis with a standard deviation of ð3.2 AE 0.8Þ mrad [30]. The use of a gas-cell target, instead of a gas jet reported elsewhere [28] for similar experimental conditions, results in better shot-to-shot stability in the electron spectrum [31,32], with the maximum energy of the electrons closely related to the energy of the drive laser, as discussed in the next section.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The intrinsic shot-to-shot pointing fluctuations of LWFA beams [30] result in a statistical fluctuation of the spatial overlap of the laser spot with the electron beam. To discern between shots of poor and good overlap, we use the energy contained in the Compton γ-ray beam generated during the interaction, an established method for this class of experiments (see, for instance, Ref.…”

Section: Electron-laser Overlap and Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Experimental Signatures of the Quantum Nature of Radiation Reaction in the Field of an Ultraintense Laser

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The description of the dynamics of an electron in an external electromagnetic field of arbitrary intensity is one of the most fundamental outstanding problems in electrodynamics. Remarkably, to date, there is no unanimously accepted theoretical solution for ultrahigh intensities and little or no experimental data. The basic challenge is the inclusion of the self-interaction of the electron with the field emitted by the electron itself-the so-called radiation reaction force. We report here on the experimental evidence of strong radiation reaction, in an all-optical experiment, during the propagation of highly relativistic electrons (maximum energy exceeding 2 GeV) through the field of an ultraintense laser (peak intensity of 4 × 10 20 W=cm 2 ). In their own rest frame, the highest-energy electrons experience an electric field as high as one quarter of the critical field of quantum electrodynamics and are seen to lose up to 30% of their kinetic energy during the propagation through the laser field. The experimental data show signatures of quantum effects in the electron dynamics in the external laser field, potentially showing departures from the constant cross field approximation.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Electron-laser Overlap and Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Experimental Signatures of the Quantum Nature of Radiation Reaction in the Field of an Ultraintense Laser

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, such broadening can occur classically in the interaction of an electron beam with a focussed laser pulse, because components of the beam can encounter different intensities and therefore lose different amounts of energy [156]. Thus a crucial role is played by the initial energy spread and size of the incident electron beam [3].…”

Section: B 'All-optical' Colliding Beamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Equivalently, how do we determine the trajectory when one electromagnetic force acting on the particle is imposed externally and the other arises from the particle itself? That this remains an active and interesting area of research is a testament not only to the challenges in measuring radiation reaction effects experimentally [3], but also to the difficulties of the theory itself [4,5]. The 'correct' formulation of radiation reaction within classical electrodynamics has not yet been established, nor has the complete corresponding theory in quantum electrodynamics.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation reaction in electron–beam interactions with high-intensity lasers

Blackburn

2020

Rev. Mod. Plasma Phys.

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Charged particles accelerated by electromagnetic fields emit radiation, which must, by the conservation of momentum, exert a recoil on the emitting particle. The force of this recoil, known as radiation reaction, strongly affects the dynamics of ultrarelativistic electrons in intense electromagnetic fields. Such environments are found astrophysically, e.g. in neutron star magnetospheres, and will be created in laser-matter experiments in the next generation of high-intensity laser facilities. In many of these scenarios, the energy of an individual photon of the radiation can be comparable to the energy of the emitting particle, which necessitates modelling not only of radiation reaction, but quantum radiation reaction. The worldwide development of multi-petawatt laser systems in large-scale facilities, and the expectation that they will create focussed electromagnetic fields with unprecedented intensities > 10 23 Wcm −2 , has motivated renewed interest in these effects. In this paper I review theoretical and experimental progress towards understanding radiation reaction, and quantum effects on the same, in high-intensity laser fields that are probed with ultrarelativistic electron beams. In particular, we will discuss how analytical and numerical methods give insight into new kinds of radiation-reaction-induced dynamics, as well as how the same physics can be explored in experiments at currently existing laser facilities.

show abstract

Laser Wakefield Accelerator modelling with Variational Neural Networks

Streeter

Colgan²,

Cobo³

et al. 2023

High Pow Laser Sci Eng

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A machine learning model was created to predict the electron spectrum generated by a GeVclass laser wakefield accelerator. The model was constructed from variational convolutional neural networks which mapped the results of secondary laser and plasma diagnostics to the generated electron spectrum. An ensemble of trained networks was used to predict the electron spectrum and to provide an estimation of the uncertainty on that prediction. It is anticipated that this approach will be useful for inferring the electron spectrum prior undergoing any process which can alter or destroy the beam. In addition, the model provides insight into the scaling of electron beam properties due to stochastic fluctuations in the laser energy and plasma electron density.

show abstract

Radiation reaction studies in an all-optical set-up: experimental limitations

Cited by 13 publications

References 43 publications

Experimental Signatures of the Quantum Nature of Radiation Reaction in the Field of an Ultraintense Laser

Experimental Signatures of the Quantum Nature of Radiation Reaction in the Field of an Ultraintense Laser

Radiation reaction in electron–beam interactions with high-intensity lasers

Laser Wakefield Accelerator modelling with Variational Neural Networks

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About