Tunable All-Optical Quasimonochromatic Thomson X-Ray Source in the Nonlinear Regime

Abstract

We present an all-laser-driven, energy-tunable, and quasimonochromatic x-ray source based on Thomson scattering from laser-wakefield-accelerated electrons. One part of the laser beam was used to drive a few-fs bunch of quasimonoenergetic electrons, while the remainder was backscattered off the bunch at weakly relativistic intensity. When the electron energy was tuned from 17-50 MeV, narrow x-ray spectra peaking at 5-42 keV were recorded with high resolution, revealing nonlinear features. We present a large set of measurements showing the stability and practicality of our source.

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

“…The development of compact laser-driven wakefield accelerators (LWFA) [18] provides a well-suited alternative, since it allows GeV electron beams to be generated directly at high power laser laboratories capable of achieving field strengths of a 0 ≫ 1 [19][20][21]. The plausibility of such an experimental approach is evidenced by the observation of nonlinearities in Compton scattering in previous experimental campaigns [22][23][24], motivating the study reported here.…”

Excitation and Control of Plasma Wakefields by Multiple Laser Pulses

“…Laser-driven plasma accelerators have made impressive progress [7] in recent years. They can now generate electron beams with energies comparable to those used in synchrotrons and FELs (a few GeV), but in accelerator stages only a few centimetres long [8][9][10], with bunch durations in the femtosecond range [11][12][13], and with properties ideal for generating femtosecond duration visible to X-ray pulses [14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

A high-energy, high-flux source of gamma-rays from all-optical non-linear Thomson scattering

“…This effect was seen, in the perturbative regime, in Ref [30]. Typical results obtained in that experimental campaign are shown in figure 10.…”

“…As all-optical Thomson source continues to be refined, the intensity becomes sufficient for exploration of the onset of the non-linear regime [30]. This effect was seen, in the perturbative regime, in Ref [30].…”