Two-Pulse Direct Laser Acceleration in a Laser-Driven Plasma Accelerator

Abstract

We present methods and preliminary observations of two pulse Direct Laser Acceleration in a Laser-Driven Plasma Accelerator. This acceleration mechanism uses a second co-propagating laser pulse to overlap and further accelerate electrons in a wakefield bubble, increasing energy at the cost of emittance when compared to traditional laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). To this end, we introduce a method of femtosecond scale control of time delay between two co-propagating pulses. We show energy enhancement when the separation between the two pulses approaches the bubble radius.