Scaling laws of design parameters for plasma wakefield accelerators

Abstract

Simple scaling laws for the design parameters of plasma wakefield accelerators were obtained using a theoretical model, which were confirmed via particle simulation studies. It was found that the acceleration length was given by Delta x = 0.804 lambda(p)/(1 - beta(g)), where lambda(p) is the plasma wavelength and beta(g)c the propagation velocity of the ion cavity. The acceleration energy can also be given by Delta E = (gamma(n) - 1)mc(2) = 2.645mc(2)/(1 - beta(g)), where m is the electron rest mass. As expected, the acceleration length and energy increase drastically as beta(g) approached unity. These simple scaling laws can be very instrumental in the design of better-performing plasma wakefield accelerators. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.