Title :
Emerging terawatt picosecond CO2 laser technology and possible applications in accelerator physics
Author :
Pogorelsky, I.V. ; Ben-Zvi, I.
Author_Institution :
NSLS, BNL, Upton, NY, USA
Abstract :
The first terawatt picosecond (TWps) CO2 laser is under construction at the BNL Accelerator Test Facility (ATF). TWps-CO2 lasers, having the order of magnitude longer wavelength than the well-known table-top terawatt solid state lasers, offer new opportunities for the strong-field physics research. For processes based on electron quiver motion, such as laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), the advantage of the new class of lasers is due to a gain of two orders of magnitude in the ponderomotive potential for the same peak power. The large average power capability of CO2 lasers is important for the generation of hard radiation through Compton back-scattering of the laser off energetic electron beams, as well as for other applications. Among them are: LWFA modules of a tentative electron-positron collider, γ-γ (or γ-lepton) collider, a possible “table-top” source of high-intensity X-rays and gamma rays and the generation of polarized positron beams
Keywords :
electron accelerators; gas lasers; linear colliders; wakefield accelerators; γ-γ collider; γ-lepton collider; 1 TW; 1 ps; ATF; Accelerator Test Facility; CO2; CO2 laser; Compton back-scattering; X-ray source; electron quiver motion; electron-positron collider; gamma ray source; high-intensity X-rays; high-intensity gamma rays; laser wakefield acceleration; picosecond; polarized positron beams; ponderomotive potential; terawatt; Electrons; Laser theory; Life estimation; Physics; Plasma accelerators; Power generation; Power lasers; Solid lasers; Test facilities; X-ray lasers;
Conference_Titel :
Particle Accelerator Conference, 1997. Proceedings of the 1997
Conference_Location :
Vancouver, BC
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4376-X
DOI :
10.1109/PAC.1997.749791
