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T Katsouleas

Publications and source records attributed to T Katsouleas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Experimental observation of radiation from cherenkov wakes in a magnetized plasma.

A proof-of-principle experiment demonstrates the generation of radiation from the Cherenkov wake excited by an ultrashort- and ultrahigh-power pulse laser in a perpendicularly magnetized plasma. The frequency of the radiation is in the millimeter range (up to 200 GHz). The intensity of the radiation is proportional to the magnetic field intensity as expected by theory. Polarization of the emitted radiation is also detected. The difference in the frequency of the emitted radiation between these experiments and previous theory can be explained by the electrons' oscillation in the electric field of a narrow column of ions in the focal region.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Transverse envelope dynamics of a 28.5-GeV electron beam in a long plasma.

The transverse dynamics of a 28.5-GeV electron beam propagating in a 1.4 m long, (0-2)x10(14) cm(-3) plasma are studied experimentally in the underdense or blowout regime. The transverse component of the wake field excited by the short electron bunch focuses the bunch, which experiences multiple betatron oscillations as the plasma density is increased. The spot-size variations are observed using optical transition radiation and Cherenkov radiation. In this regime, the behavior of the spot size as a function of the plasma density is well described by a simple beam-envelope model. Dynamic changes of the beam envelope are observed by time resolving the Cherenkov light.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

X-ray emission from betatron motion in a plasma wiggler.

The successful utilization of an ion channel in a plasma to wiggle a 28.5-GeV electron beam to obtain broadband x-ray radiation is reported. The ion channel is induced by the electron bunch as it propagates through an underdense 1.4-meter-long lithium plasma. The quadratic density dependence of the spontaneously emitted betatron x-ray radiation and the divergence angle of approximately (1-3)x10(-4) radian of the forward-emitted x-rays as a consequence of betatron motion in the ion channel are in good agreement with theory. The absolute photon yield and the peak spectral brightness at 14.2-keV photon energy are estimated.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Hosing and sloshing of short-pulse GeV-class wakefield drivers.

This Letter examines the electron-hosing instability in relation to the drivers of current and future plasma-wakefield experiments using fully three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation models. The simulation results are compared to numerical solutions and to asymptotic solutions of the idealized analytic equations. The measured growth rates do not agree with the existing theory and the behavior is shown to depend sensitively on beam length, shape, and charge. We find that even when severe hosing occurs the wake can remain relatively stable.

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PubMed2001

Generation of ultra-intense single-cycle laser pulses by using photon deceleration.

A scheme to generate single-cycle laser pulses is presented based on photon deceleration in underdense plasmas. This robust and tunable process is ideally suited for lasers above critical power because it takes advantage of the relativistic self-focusing of these lasers and the nonlinear features of the plasma wake. The mechanism is demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations in three and 2(1/2) dimensions, resulting in pulse shortening up to a factor of 4, thus making it feasible to generate few-femtosecond single-cycle pulses in the optical to IR domain with intensities I > 10(20) W/cm(2) by using present-day laser technology.

Lasers↗
PubMed2001

Plasma-wakefield acceleration of a positron beam.

Plasma-wakefield excitation by positron beams is examined in a regime for which the plasma dynamics are highly nonlinear. Three dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and physical models are presented. In the nonlinear wake regime known as the blowout regime for electrons, positron wakes exhibit an analogous "suck-in" behavior. Although analogous, the two wakefield cases are quite different in terms of their amplitudes, wavelengths, waveforms, transverse profiles, and plasma density dependence. In a homogenous plasma, nonlinear positron wakes are smaller than those of the corresponding electron case. However, hollow channels are shown to enhance the amplitude of the positron wakes.

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PubMed2001

Measurements of radiation near an atomic spectral line from the interaction of a 30 GeV electron beam and a long plasma.

Emissions produced or initiated by a 30-GeV electron beam propagating through a approximately 1-m long heat pipe oven containing neutral and partially ionized vapor have been measured near atomic spectral lines in a beam-plasma wakefield experiment. The Cerenkov spatial profile has been studied as a function of oven temperature and pressure, observation wavelength, and ionizing laser intensity and delay. The Cerenkov peak angle is affected by the creation of plasma, and estimates of neutral and plasma density have been extracted. Increases in visible background radiation, consistent with increased plasma recombination emissions due to dissipation of wakefields, were simultaneously measured.

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PubMed2001

Compressing and focusing a short laser pulse by a thin plasma lens.

We consider the possibility of using a thin plasma slab as an optical element to both focus and compress an intense laser pulse. By thin we mean that the focal length is larger than the lens thickness. We derive analytic formulas for the spot size and pulse length evolution of a short laser pulse propagating through a thin uniform plasma lens. The formulas are compared to simulation results from two types of particle-in-cell code. The simulations give a greater final spot size and a shorter focal length than the analytic formulas. The difference arises from spherical aberrations in the lens which lead to the generation of higher-order vacuum Gaussian modes. The simulations also show that Raman side scattering can develop. A thin lens experiment could provide unequivocal evidence of relativistic self-focusing.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Simulations of a meter-long plasma wakefield accelerator.

Full-scale particle-in-cell simulations of a meter-long plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) are presented in two dimensions. The results support the design of a current PWFA experiment in the nonlinear blowout regime where analytic solutions are intractable. A relativistic electron bunch excites a plasma wake that accelerates trailing particles at rates of several hundred MeV/m. A comparison is made of various simulation codes, and a parallel object-oriented code OSIRIS is used to model a full meter of acceleration. Excellent agreement is obtained between the simulations and analytic expressions for the transverse betatron oscillations of the beam. The simulations are used to develop scaling laws for designing future multi-GeV accelerator experiments.

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