A team at the University of Maryland (UMD) headed by Professor of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering Howard Milchberg, in collaboration with the team of Jorge J. Rocca at Colorado State University (CSU), achieved this feat using two laser pulses sent through a jet of hydrogen gas. The first pulse tore apart the hydrogen, punching a hole through it and creating a channel of plasma. That channel guided a second, higher power pulse that scooped up electrons out of the plasma and dragged them along in its wake, accelerating them to nearly the speed of light in the process.
A multi-GeV electron bunch refers to a group of electrons that have been accelerated to energies in the range of billions of electron volts (GeV) using an all-optical laser wakefield accelerator. This is a highly efficient and compact method of accelerating electrons compared to traditional methods like radiofrequency accelerators.
An all-optical laser wakefield accelerator uses a laser beam to create a plasma wave in a gas, which then accelerates electrons to high energies. This is different from traditional accelerators that use radiofrequency waves to accelerate particles. All-optical accelerators are much smaller and can achieve higher energies in a shorter distance.
Multi-GeV electron bunches have a wide range of potential applications in various fields such as particle physics, medical imaging, and material science. They can be used to study the structure of matter at the atomic level, create intense X-ray and gamma-ray sources for medical imaging, and probe the behavior of materials under extreme conditions.
In an all-optical laser wakefield accelerator, a high-intensity laser beam is focused into a gas target, creating a plasma. This plasma then forms a wave that can trap and accelerate electrons to high energies. The electrons are then compressed into a tight bunch by the plasma wave and can reach energies in the multi-GeV range.
Compared to traditional accelerators, all-optical laser wakefield accelerators have several advantages. They are much smaller and more compact, making them easier to transport and set up. They also have the potential to achieve higher energies in a shorter distance and at a lower cost. Additionally, they can produce ultra-short electron bunches, which can be used to study ultrafast processes in various fields of science.