Speaker
Description
Control of the longitudinal plasma density profile is critical for optimizing laser–plasma accelerator performance, especially for injection in confined plasma channels. To address this, we propose a segmented capillary discharge plasma source and its underlying flow-control framework for generating controlled plasma density down-ramps, and demonstrate its validation theoretically and experimentally. The orifice generates localized pressure discontinuities via the Venturi effect, producing longitudinal density transitions inside the channel. CFD simulations and analytical modeling were performed to investigate pressure-gradient formation and flow choking. The resulting density down-ramps were experimentally verified using optical emission spectroscopy under discharge conditions. This approach provides a flexible platform for engineering plasma density profiles for advanced laser–wakefield acceleration experiments.
We further tested the proposed source in LWFA experiments at GIST/IBS, where density-tailored injection produced reduced low-energy tails and concentrated high-energy peaks, demonstrating its applicability to beam-quality optimization in plasma accelerators.
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