Meter-Scale Plasma-Wakefield Accelerator Driven by a Matched Electron Beam

Abstract

A high-gradient, meter-scale plasma-wakefield accelerator module operating in the electron blowout regime is demonstrated experimentally. The beam and plasma parameters are chosen such that the matched beam channels through the plasma over more than 12 beam beta functions without spreading or oscillating over a range of densities optimum for observing both deceleration and acceleration. The wakefield decelerates the bulk of the initially 28.5 GeV beam by up to 155 MeV; however, particles in the back of the same beam are accelerated by up to 280 MeV at a density of $1.9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{14}\text{ }{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ as the wakefield changes sign.