Structures and Plasma

Beam-based wakefield acceleration involves the creation of Cherenkov-style excitation of on-axis wakefields by a decelerating driving bunch which is then used to accelerate a trailing bunch. This normally occurs inside a metallic, dielectric or plasma medium which couples with the resulting radiation. Depending on the coupling medium, accelerating gradients can be sustained that are orders of magnitude higher than those reached by conventional accelerating cavities.

X-Ray and FEL 

AWA engages in collaboration with a number of different partners (U. Chicago, IIT, UCLA) on experiments exploring the physics involved with these schemes. Previous experiments include wakefield measurements from dielectric lined tubes and variable gap slab dielectric structures. Studies focused on using the AWA emittance exchange beamline’s unique ability to create ramped beams to investigate enhanced transformer ratios in these structures. Future experiments continue to explore higher order transverse wakes inside of dielectric structures while also expanding the scope of transformer ratio studies to include blowout-régime plasma wakefields. These studies directly contribute to the development of next generation linear colliders or X-ray free electron lasers.