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Frederico, J

Publications and source records attributed to Frederico, J.

7 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Transverse effects in plasma wakefield acceleration at FACET - Simulation studies

We investigate transverse effects in the plasma-wakefield acceleration experiments planned and ongoing at FACET. We use PIC simulation tools, mainly QuickPIC, to simulate the interaction of the drive electron beam and the plasma. In FACET a number of beam dynamics knobs, including dispersion and bunch length knobs, can be used to vary the beam transverse characteristics in the plasma. We present simulation results and the status of the FACET experimental searches.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2012

High transformer ratio drive beams for wakefield accelerator studies

For wakefield based acceleration schemes, use of an asymmetric (or linearly ramped) drive bunch current profile has been predicted to enhance the transformer ratio and generate large accelerating wakes. We discuss plans and initial results for producing such bunches using the 20 to 23 GeV electron beam at the FACET facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and sending them through plasmas and dielectric tubes to generate transformer ratios greater than 2 (the limit for symmetric bunches). The scheme proposed utilizes the final FACET chicane compressor and transverse collimation to shape the longitudinal phase space of the beam.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Head erosion with emittance growth in PWFA

Head erosion is one of the limiting factors in plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA). We present a study of head erosion with emittance growth in field-ionized plasma from the PWFA experiments performed at the FACET user facility at SLAC. At FACET, a 20.3 GeV bunch with 1.8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} electrons is optimized in beam transverse size and combined with a high density lithium plasma for beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration experiments. A target foil is inserted upstream of the plasma source to increase the bunch emittance through multiple scattering. Its effect on beamplasma interaction is observed with an energy spectrometer after a vertical bend magnet. Results from the first experiments show that increasing the emittance has suppressed vapor field-ionization and plasma wakefields excitation. Plans for the future are presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Results from Plasma Wakefield Experiments at FACET

We report initial results of the Plasma Wakefield Acceleration (PWFA) Experiments performed at FACET - Facility for Advanced aCcelertor Experimental Tests at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. At FACET a 23 GeV electron beam with 1.8 x 10{sup 10} electrons is compressed to 20 {mu}m longitudinally and focused down to 10 {mu}m x 10 {mu}m transverse spot size for user driven experiments. Construction of the FACET facility completed in May 2011 with a first run of user assisted commissioning throughout the summer. The first PWFA experiments will use single electron bunches combined with a high density lithium plasma to produce accelerating gradients > 10 GeV/m benchmarking the FACET beam and the newly installed experimental hardware. Future plans for further study of plasma wakefield acceleration will be reviewed. The experimental hardware and operation of the plasma heat-pipe oven have been successfully commissioned. Plasma wakefield acceleration was not observed because the electron bunch density was insufficient to ionize the lithium vapor. The remaining commissioning time in summer 2011 will be dedicated to delivering the FACET design parameters for the experimental programs which will begin in early 2012. PWFA experiments require the shorter bunches and smaller transverse sizes to create the plasma and drive large amplitude wakefields. Low emittance and high energy will minimize head erosion which was found to be a limiting factor in acceleration distance and energy gain. We will run the PWFA experiments with the design single bunch conditions in early 2012. Future PWFA experiments at FACET are discussed in [5][6] and include drive and witness bunch production for high energy beam manipulation, ramped bunch to optimize tranformer ratio, field-ionized cesium plasma, preionized plasmas, positron acceleration, etc.. We will install a notch collimator for two-bunch operation as well as new beam diagnostics such as the X-band TCAV [7] to resolve the two bunches. With these new instruments and desired beam parameters in place next year, we will be able to complete the studies of plasma wakefield acceleration in the next few years.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Plasma Wakefield Experiments at FACET

FACET, the Facility for Advanced Accelerator and Experimental Tests, is a new facility being constructed in sector 20 of the SLAC linac primarily to study beam driven plasma wakefield acceleration beginning in summer 2011. The nominal FACET parameters are 23GeV, 3nC electron bunches compressed to {approx}20{micro}m long and focused to {approx}10{micro}m wide. The intense fields of the FACET bunches will be used to field ionize neutral lithium or cesium vapor produced in a heat pipe oven. Previous experiments at the SLAC FFTB facility demonstrated 50GeV/m gradients in an 85cm field ionized lithium plasma where the interaction distance was limited by head erosion. Simulations indicate the lower ionization potential of cesium will decrease the rate of head erosion and increase single stage performance. The initial experimental program will compare the performance of lithium and cesium plasma sources with single and double bunches. Later experiments will investigate improved performance with a pre-ionized cesium plasma. The status of the experiments and expected performance are reviewed. The FACET Facility is being constructed in sector 20 of the SLAC linac primarily to study beam driven plasma wakefield acceleration. The facility will begin commissioning in summer 2011 and conduct an experimental program over the coming five years to study electron and positron beam driven plasma acceleration with strong wake loading in the non-linear regime. The FACET experiments aim to demonstrate high-gradient acceleration of electron and positron beams with high efficiency and negligible emittance growth.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

FACET Emittance Growth

FACET, the Facility for Advanced Accelerator and Experimental Tests, is a new facility being constructed in sector 20 of the SLAC linac primarily to study beam driven plasma wakefield acceleration. The FACET beamline consists of a chicane and final focus system to compress the 23 GeV, 3.2 nC electron bunches to {approx}20 {micro}m long and {approx}10 {micro}m wide. Simulations of the FACET beamline indicate the short-duration and large, 1.5% rms energy spread beams may suffer a factor of four emittance growth from a combination of chromaticity, incoherent synchrotron radiation (ISR), and coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR). Emittance growth is directly correlated to head erosion in plasma wakefield acceleration and is a limiting factor in single stage performance. Studies of the geometric, CSR, and ISR components are presented. Numerical calculation of the rms emittance can be overwhelmed by long tails in the simulated phase space distributions; more useful definitions of emittance are given. A complete simulation of the beamline is presented as well, which agrees with design specifications.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗