Quasi-monoenergetic multi-GeV electron acceleration in a plasma waveguide

Abstract

Laser-plasma accelerators present a promising alternative to conventional accelerators. To fully exploit the extreme amplitudes of the plasma fields and produce high-quality beams, precise control over electron injection into the accelerating structure is required, along with effective laser pulse guiding to extend the acceleration length. Recent studies have demonstrated efficient guiding and acceleration using hydrodynamic optically field-ionized (OFI) plasma channels. This guiding technique has also been combined with controlled electron injection to produce high-quality electron beams at the GeV level using a 50 TW laser. The present work extends these results to higher laser energies, demonstrating the generation of quasi-monoenergetic electron beams with peak energies exceeding 2 GeV, for a PW-class laser.