Linear collider based on laser-plasma accelerators

Abstract

Laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) are capable of sustaining accelerating fields of 1-100 GeV/m, 10-1000 times that of conventional RF technology, and the highest fields produced by any of the widely researched advanced accelerator concepts. Furthermore, LPAs intrinsically produce short particle bunches, 100-1000 times shorter than that of conventional RF technology, which leads to reductions in beamstrahlung and savings in overall power consumption. Furthermore, they enable novel energy recovering methods that can reduce power consumption and improve the luminosity per unit energy consumption for linear colliders. These properties make LPAs a promising candidate as drivers for a more compact, less expensive high-energy collider by providing multi-TeV polarized leptons in a relatively short distance ∼1 km. Collider concepts are discussed up to the 15 TeV range. A future RF-based linear collider facility could be re-purposed to delivery higher energies with LPA technology thereby extending physics reach while saving on construction costs.Previous reports have made strong recommendations for a vigorous program on LPA R&D and applications, including the previous P5 and subcommittee reports, the European Strategy and Laboratory Directors Group reports, and several others. Numerous significant results have been obtained since the last P5 report, including the production of high quality electron bunches at 8 GeV from a single stage, the staging of two LPA modules, novel injection techniques for ultra-high beam brightness, investigation of processes that stabilize beam break up, new concepts for positron acceleration, and new technologies for high-average-power, high-efficiency lasers. In addition to the long term goal of a high energy collider, LPAs can provide compact sources of particles and photons for a wide variety of near-term applications in science, medicine, and industry.Research on LPAs has exploded in recent years, driven in part by the extremely rapid advances made in high-power lasers based on the 2018 Nobel Prize winning technique of chirped-pulse amplification. Numerous high-power laser facilities have sprung up worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia. Consequently, about 800-1000 research papers are published annually on LPAs. Since much of this research is overseas, it is critical that the U.S. make strong investments in LPAs to ensure global leadership.The LPA community proposes the following recommendations to the Snowmass conveners:1. Vigorous research on LPAs, including experimental, theoretical, and computational components, continue as part of the General Accelerator R&D program to make rapid progress along the LPA R&D roadmap towards an eventual high energy collider, develop intermediate applications, and ensure international competitiveness.2. Enhance R&D on laser drivers to develop the efficient, high repetition rate, high average power laser technology that will power LPA colliders.3. Near-term LPA capability extensions should be carried out, such as enhancing existing facilities in laser pe...

Alysis of Laser-Plasma Based Electron-Positron Collider

“…The accelerator model works with the density 𝑛 = 10 17 𝑐𝑚 −3 and with the plasma channel which has radius of 22𝜇𝑚. The laser of the accelerator is a 6.5J, 130fs FWHM laser, and it could excite the plasma with the peak accelerating field of 6 GV/m [9]. An proper particle beams of 0.19nC (3kA beams peak current) can be obtained energy above 5 GeV with the efficiency of 20% [9].…”

“…The laser of the accelerator is a 6.5J, 130fs FWHM laser, and it could excite the plasma with the peak accelerating field of 6 GV/m [9]. An proper particle beams of 0.19nC (3kA beams peak current) can be obtained energy above 5 GeV with the efficiency of 20% [9]. Energy recovery operations could be performs for the energy remain in the laser as well as the plasma.…”

Design study for a compact, two-stage, laser-plasma-based source of positron beams

“…In conventional accelerators positrons are usually produced via collisions of high energy electrons or photons with solid density high-Z foils (see, e.g., proposed [13][14][15] and operational [11] designs), accumulated in a damping ring, and then transported into the accelerator. Compact, plasma-based accelerators, however, present a set of unique requirements for accelerating positron beams efficiently [16]. The most challenging ones are achieving a low energy spread and divergence, as well as the short duration of the beam so the positrons can be efficiently captured in the plasma wakefield.…”