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High average power ultrafast laser technologies for driving future advanced accelerators

Journal of Instrumentation, vol. 18, pp. T08006

Abstract

Abstract Large scale laser facilities are needed to advance the energy frontier in high energy physics and accelerator physics. Laser plasma accelerators are core to advanced accelerator concepts aimed at reaching TeV electron electron colliders. In these facilities, intense laser pulses drive plasmas and are used to accelerate electrons to high energies in remarkably short distances. A laser plasma accelerator could in principle reach high energies with an accelerating length that is 1000 times shorter than in conventional RF based accelerators. Notionally, laser driven particle beam energies could scale beyond state of the art conventional accelerators. LPAs have produced multi GeV electron beams in about 20 cm with relative energy spread of about 2 percent, supported by highly developed laser technology. This validates key elements of the US DOE strategy for such accelerators to enable future colliders but extending best results to date to a TeV collider will require lasers with higher average power. While the per pulse energies envisioned for laser driven colliders are achievable with current lasers, low laser repetition rates limit potential collider luminosity. Applications will require rates of kHz to tens of kHz at Joules of energy and high efficiency, and a collider would require about 100 such stages, a leap from current Hz class LPAs. This represents a challenging 1000 fold increase in laser repetition rates beyond current state of the art. This whitepaper describes current research and outlook for candidate laser systems as well as the accompanying broadband and high damage threshold optics needed for driving future advanced accelerators.

Authors 36

  1. Leily Kiani corresponding

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, U.S.A

  2. Tong Zhou corresponding

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A

  3. Laboratory for Laser Energetics · University of Rochester

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, NY, U.S.A

  4. Laboratory for Laser Energetics · University of Rochester

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, NY, U.S.A

  5. University of Central Florida

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, U.S.A

  6. Laboratory for Laser Energetics · University of Rochester

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, NY, U.S.A

  7. University of Central Florida

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, U.S.A

  8. The Ohio State University

    Affiliation as printed

    Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, U.S.A

  9. The University of Texas at Austin

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX, U.S.A

  10. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A

  11. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A

  12. University of Michigan

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A

  13. Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Germany

  14. Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Germany

  15. University of California, Los Angeles

    Affiliation as printed

    University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A

  16. nLIGHT (United States)

    Affiliation as printed

    nLight Inc., Vancouver, WA, U.S.A

  17. Raytum Photonics (United States)

    Affiliation as printed

    Raytum Photonics LLC, Sterling, VA, U.S.A

  18. Colorado State University

    Affiliation as printed

    Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, U.S.A

  19. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, U.S.A

  20. University of Alabama at Birmingham

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, U.S.A

  21. Brookhaven National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, U.S.A

  22. Brookhaven National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, U.S.A

  23. Brookhaven National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, U.S.A

  24. Laboratory for Laser Energetics · University of Rochester

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, NY, U.S.A

  25. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, U.S.A

  26. Colorado State University

    Affiliation as printed

    Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, U.S.A

  27. Northrop Grumman (United States)

    Affiliation as printed

    Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, CA, U.S.A

  28. Affiliation as printed

    Few Cycle, Inc., Varennes, QC, Canada

  29. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, U.S.A

  30. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, U.S.A

  31. University of California, Los Angeles

    Affiliation as printed

    University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A

  32. Stony Brook University

    Affiliation as printed

    Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, U.S.A

  33. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A

  34. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A

  35. Laboratory for Laser Energetics · University of Rochester

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, NY, U.S.A

  36. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A

Cited by 29 stored of 29

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References 118