Kilohertz-rate plasma photocathode wakefield acceleration

等离子体尾波场加速器(PWFA)在米级距离内将电子弹射到数十千兆电子伏的能量--否则这将需要数十公里级的传统加速器。此外，为了利用等离子体中巨大的电场，还发明了等离子体光电阴极，以产生比最先进水平高100,000倍的电子束。这些都可以在直线加速器供电的等离子体尾迹加速器上实现，也可以在激光-等离子体-混合加速器上实现。等离子体光电阴极和预电离级可以由具有千赫兹重复频率的最先进的脉冲激光系统开发和操作，因为它们不需要只有在低于10赫兹的重复频率下操作的大、最高功率激光系统才能产生的功率水平。这些研发努力的一个合并的长期目标--每个都具有变革性--是生产基于等离子体的电子束，这些电子束的亮度是最高水平的100,000倍，重复频率是最高水平的100倍时，强度是1000倍。该专业将探索以千赫兹重复频率运行等离子体加速器和等离子体光电阴极的基本激光-等离子体物理。等离子体光阴极余辉信号将被用来探索复合和扩展动力学，并将被用于相互作用过程的测量。SCAPA的内部能力将被用来解决这些问题，并在上述由直线加速器供电的设施以及欧洲领先的激光等离子体加速器实验室进行实验。千赫系统在功率阈值下操作等离子体加速器的挑战和特点，例如用于自聚焦和自压缩，如高密度等离子体源、强光谱展宽和重复激光脉冲崩溃，将是学生们关注的焦点。上述效应有望通过千赫级激光脉冲与等离子体的相互作用产生能量高达几兆电子伏的相对论宽带电子束。这种电子束输出通量非常适合用于空间辐射复制和确保电子元件的辐射硬度，例如卫星电子产品，或皮肤癌治疗。这两个应用程序都是与业界合作推动的。我们将在Scapa展示这些技术和应用，旨在向广泛的工业和医疗用户提供这些技术和应用。该奖学金将由德国朱利奇研究中心共同资助。在Julich，一种独特的高功率、千赫兹激光系统可用于激光尾迹加速和应用。该系统与Strathclyde的千赫激光脉冲能力相结合，为学生提供了尖端的研发环境。

Plasma wakefield accelerators (PWFA) catapult electrons to tens of Giga-electron-volt energies on metre-scale distance - which would otherwise require multi-km-scale conventional accelerators. In addition, plasma photocathodes have been invented in order to exploit the enormous electric fields in plasmas also to produce electron beams which are 100,000x brighter that state-of-the-art. These can be realized at linac-powered plasma wakefield accelerators as well as at hybrid laser-plasma-accelerators. Plasma photocathodes and preionization stages can be developed and operated by state-of-the-art pulsed laser systems with kilohertz repetition rates, as they do not require the power levels that can be produced only by large, highest power laser systems which operate at sub-10 Hz repetition rates. A combined longer-term goal of these R&D thrusts - each transformative in its own right - is the production of plasma-based electron beams which are 100,000x brighter, 1000x stronger at repetition rates 100x higher than state-of-the-art. The studentship will explore fundamental laser-plasma-physics underlying the operation of plasma accelerators and plasma photocathodes at kilohertz repetition rates. The plasma photocathode afterglow signature will be investigated to explore the recombination and expansion dynamics, and will be exploited for metrology of the interaction process. SCAPA's in-house capabilities will be exploited to address these questions, complemented by experiments at above mentioned linac-powered facilities as well as at leading laser-plasma accelerator laboratories in Europe. Challenges and features of operating plasma accelerators by kilohertz systems at the power threshold e.g. for self-focusing and self-compression, such as high density plasma sources and strong spectral broadening and repeated laser pulse collapse, will be in the focus of the studentship. The above mentioned effects are expected to allow production of relativistic, broadband electron beams with energies up to a few MeV from the interaction of kilohertz-scale laser pulses with plasmas. Such an electron beam output flux is ideally suited for applications such as for space radiation reproduction and radiation hardness assurance of electronic components, e.g. satellite electronics, or for skin cancer treatment. Both applications are driven forward in collaboration with industry. We will demonstrate these technologies and applications at SCAPA, aiming to offer them to a wide range of industrial and medical users. The studentship will be co-funded by Research Center Julich in Germany. In Julich, a unique high-power, kilohertz laser system is available for laser wakefield acceleration and applications. This system, jointly with Strathclyde's kilohertz-laser pulse capabilities, provides a cutting-edge R&D environment for the studentship.