Speaker
Description
Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) laser drivers provide access to unique regimes of laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). In particular, the scaling of ponderomotive force and matched spot size with wavelength makes LWIR sources naturally suited for operation at low plasma density, where large accelerating structures and improved beam quality become accessible. We present a comparative analysis of LWFA driven by LWIR and 1 µm petawatt lasers, demonstrating that LWIR pulses can generate macroscopic blowout cavities at substantially lower peak power. The upgraded chirped-pulse amplified (CPA) LWIR system considered here is based on the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is expected to deliver 15 TW in a 500 fs pulse, which is sufficient to drive ion cavities with radii exceeding ∼100 µm in the low-density regime. Achieving comparable bubble dimensions with conventional 30–100 fs, 1 µm drivers would require peak powers approaching the ∼10 PW level. These results highlight the unique capability of LWIR technology to access plasma structures with dramatically reduced laser power.
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