Engineering topics
Litos, M D
Publications and source records attributed to Litos, M D.
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.
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.
FACET: SLAC___s New User Facility
FACET (Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests) is a new User Facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The first User Run started in spring 2012 with 20 GeV, 3 nC electron beams. The facility is designed to provide short (20 {micro}m) bunches and small (20 {micro}m wide) spot sizes, producing uniquely high power beams. FACET supports studies from many fields but in particular those of Plasma Wakefield Acceleration and Dielectric Wakefield Acceleration. The creation of drive and witness bunches and shaped bunch profiles is possible with 'Notch' Collimation. FACET is also a source of THz radiation for material studies. Positrons will be available at FACET in future user runs. We present the User Facility and the available tools and opportunities for future experiments.
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.
Evaluation of Temporal Diagnostic Techniques for Two-Bunch Facet Beam
Three temporal diagnostic techniques are considered for use in the FACET facility at SLAC, which will incorporate a unique two-bunch beam for plasma wakefield acceleration experiments. The results of these experiments will depend strongly on the the inter-bunch spacing as well as the longitudinal profiles of the two bunches. A reliable, singleshot, high resolution measurement of the beam's temporal profile is necessary to fully quantify the physical mechanisms underlying the beam driven plasma wakefield acceleration. In this study we show that a transverse deflecting cavity is the diagnostic which best meets our criteria. Based on our laboratory testing, numerical calculations, and simulations of the three single-shot temporal diagnostic devices, the X-band TCAV system is the best candidate for resolving FACET's two-bunch beam, with an estimated resolution of 7 {micro}m. Both the S-band TCAV system and the EO system could resolve the peak-to-peak separation of the two bunches in the FACET beam with estimated resolutions of 25 {micro}m and 30 {micro}m, respectively, but would be unable to resolve the temporal profiles of the individual bunches themselves. Because the TCAV signal is more easily interpreted and because the reliability of the EO system is less well known, however, the S-band TCAV system would be the next preferred option after the X-band TCAV system. The Fesca-200 streak camera, though simple, compact, and reliable, is unable to achieve a resolution that would be of use to FACET.
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.