Quasi-monoenergetic femtosecond photon sources from Thomson Scattering using laser plasma accelerators and plasma channels

Abstract

Narrow bandwidth, high energy photon sources can be generated by Thomson\nscattering of laser light from energetic electrons, and detailed control of the\ninteraction is needed to produce high quality sources. We present analytic\ncalculations of the energy-angular spectra and photon yield that parametrize\nthe influences of the electron and laser beam parameters to allow source\ndesign. These calculations, combined with numerical simulations, are applied to\nevaluate sources using conventional scattering in vacuum and methods for\nimproving the source via laser waveguides or plasma channels. We show that the\nphoton flux can be greatly increased by using a plasma channel to guide the\nlaser during the interaction. Conversely, we show that to produce a given\nnumber of photons, the required laser energy can be reduced by an order of\nmagnitude through the use of a plasma channel. In addition, we show that a\nplasma can be used as a compact beam dump, in which the electron beam is\ndecelerated in a short distance, thereby greatly reducing radiation shielding.\nRealistic experimental errors such as transverse jitter are quantitatively\nshown to be tolerable. Examples of designs for sources capable of performing\nnuclear resonance fluorescence and photofission are provided.\n