All-optical Compton gamma-ray source
By K. T. Phuoc, S. Corde, C. Thaury, Victor Malka, A. Tafzi, J. Goddet, Rajiv C. Shah, S. Sebban, A. Rousse. Nature Photonics, 2012
472 citations recorded by the source corpus.
One of the major goals of research for laser-plasma accelerators1 is the realization of compact sources of femtosecond X-rays2,3,4. In particular, using the modest electron energies obtained with existing laser systems, Compton scattering a photon beam off a relativistic electron bunch has been proposed as a source of high-energy and high-brightness photons. However, laser-plasma based approaches to Compton scattering have not, to date, produced X-rays above 1 keV. Here, we present a simple and compact scheme for a Compton source based on the combination of a laser-plasma accelerator and a plasma mirror. This approach is used to produce a broadband spectrum of X-rays extending up to hundreds of keV and with a 10,000-fold increase in brightness over Compton X-ray sources based on conventional accelerators5,6. We anticipate that this technique will lead to compact, high-repetition-rate sources of ultrafast (femtosecond), tunable (X- through gamma-ray) and low-divergence (∼1°) photons from source sizes on the order of a micrometre. Scientists demonstrate a Compton-based electromagnetic source based on a laser-plasma accelerator and a plasma mirror. The source generates a broadband spectrum of X-rays and is 10,000 times brighter than Compton X-ray sources based on conventional accelerators.
Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Geophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/cf7177461e0c0fff7342d2a54fad57dd24c4e48d
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Citations in the corpus
- Applications of laser wakefield accelerator-based light sources (2016, methodology): “The experiments of Ta Phuoc [111] and Tsai [122] were performed using a foil acting as a plasma mirror to reflect the laser pulse onto the accelerated electrons.”
- Relativistic electron beams driven by kHz single-cycle light pulses (2016, background): “The accelerated electron bunches have femtosecond duration [3, 4], making them particularly relevant for applications such as ultrafast imaging [5] or femtosecond X-ray generation [6, 7].”
- Experimental Evidence of Radiation Reaction in the Collision of a High-Intensity Laser Pulse with a Laser-Wakefield Accelerated Electron Beam (2017, unknown): “All-optical experimental configurations involving the collision of wakefield accelerated electron beams with laser pulses in this regime have produced scattered x rays with energies in the range of hundreds of keV [22,26,27].”
- Femtosecond x rays from laser-plasma accelerators (2013, unknown): “Recently, a much more simple and efficient method, based on the use of one laser pulse only, has been demonstrated (Ta Phuoc et al. , 2012).”