Table-top synchrotron

Abstract

Using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations we show that a strongly nonlinear plasma wave excited by an ultrahigh intensity laser pulse works as a compact high-brightness source of X-ray radiation. It has been recently suggested by A. Pukhov and J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, Appl. Phys. B \textbf{74}, 355 (2002), that in a strongly nonlinear regime the plasma wave transforms to a ``bubble'', which is almost free from background electrons. Inside the bubble, a dense bunch of relativistic electrons is produced. These accelerated electrons make betatron oscillations in the transverse fields of the bubble and emit a bright broadband X-ray radiation with a maximum about 50 keV. The emission is confined to a small angle of about 0.1 rad. In addition, we make simulations of X-ray generation by an external 28.5-GeV electron bunch injected into the bubble. $\gamma$-quanta with up to GeV energies are observed in the simulation in a good agreement with analytical results. The energy conversion is efficient, leading to a significant stopping of the electron bunch over 5 mm interaction distance.