FLASHForward: plasma wakefield accelerator science for high-average-power applications

Abstract

The FLASHForward experimental facility is a high-performance test-bed for precision plasma wakefield research, aiming to accelerate high-quality electron beams to GeV-levels in a few centimetres of ionized gas. The plasma is created by ionizing gas in a gas cell either by a high-voltage discharge or a high-intensity laser pulse. The electrons to be accelerated will either be injected internally from the plasma background or externally from the FLASH superconducting RF front end. In both cases, the wakefield will be driven by electron beams provided by the FLASH gun and linac modules operating with a 10 Hz macro-pulse structure, generating 1.25 GeV, 1 nC electron bunches at up to 3 MHz micro-pulse repetition rates. At full capacity, this FLASH bunch-train structure corresponds to 30 kW of average power, orders of magnitude higher than drivers available to other state-of-the-art LWFA and PWFA experiments. This high-power functionality means FLASHForward is the only plasma wakefield facility in the world with the immediate capability to develop, explore and benchmark high-average-power plasma wakefield research essential for next-generation facilities. The operational parameters and technical highlights of the experiment are discussed, as well as the scientific goals and high-average-power outlook. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Directions in particle beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration’.

High-resolution sampling of beam-driven plasma wakefields

“…Experimental setup. This wakefield sampling measurement technique was implemented and experimentally demonstrated at the FLASHForward plasma accelerator facility 25 at DESY. Highquality electron bunches were generated with a photocathode at a repetition rate of 10 Hz and accelerated to 1.1 GeV using superconducting RF cavities in the FLASH linac 26 .…”

Experimental demonstration of novel beam characterization using a polarizable X-band transverse deflection structure

“…FLASHForward beamline. The FLASHForward experimental facility 35 is a test bed for PWFA research 36 .…”

Free electron lasers driven by plasma accelerators: status and near-term prospects

“…The FLASHForward experimental facility [ 52 ] is a high-performance test-bed for precision plasma-wakefield research housed at the FLASH FEL complex [ 53 ] , aiming to accelerate high-quality electron beams to gigaelectronvolts-levels in a few centimeters of ionized gas. The electrons to be accelerated will either be injected internally from the plasma background via density-downramp injection or externally from the FLASH superconducting RF front end.…”