Published in
IOP Publishing, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 5(54), p. 055010
DOI: 10.1088/0741-3335/54/5/055010
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Influence of realistic parameters on state-of-the-art laser wakefield accelerator experiments
,
S. F. Martins,
F. Fiúza ,
C. K. Huang,
W. B. Mori,
S. P. D. Mangles ,
S. Kneip,
S. Nagel,
Z. Najmudin ,
L. O. Silva
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Abstract
We examine the influence of non-ideal plasma-density and non-Gaussian transverse laser-intensity profiles in the laser wakefield accelerator analytically and numerically. We find that the characteristic amplitude and scale length of longitudinal density fluctuations impact on the final energies achieved by electron bunches. Conditions that minimize the role of the longitudinal plasma-density fluctuations are found. The influence of higher order Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulses is also investigated. We find that higher order laser modes typically lead to lower energy gains. Certain combinations of higher order modes may, however, lead to higher electron energy gains.