Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
AKBP: Arbeitskreis Beschleunigerphysik
AKBP 4: Beam Dynamics
AKBP 4.5: Talk
Monday, March 9, 2026, 17:45–18:00, SCH/A117
Towards plasma-wakefield photon acceleration and its potential applications — •Michael Quin1, Tom Blackburn1, and Mattias Marklund2,1 — 1Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden — 2Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
A laser pulse copropagating with a relativistic plasma wave (wakefield) can experience a continuous upshift in frequency known as “photon acceleration”. Recent particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have demonstrated how an optical laser pulse can be accelerated to extreme ultraviolet (XUV) frequencies in an electron-beam-driven plasma-wakefield using a tailored plasma density profile. Intense (I0>1017 W/cm2) XUV laser light is highly sought after for collision experiments with multi-GeV electrons; the high photon and electron energy indicates the onset of effects in strong-field quantum electrodynamics, such as non-linear Compton scattering and Breit-Wheeler pair production. By combining PIC simulations of photon acceleration with Monte-Carlo simulations of the electron-photon collision, we show how the brilliance, yield, and polarization of the emitted γ-rays can be optimized for applications in nuclear and particle physics.
Keywords: photon acceleration; plasma-wakefield; beam-driven; strong-field quantum electrodynamics; gamma-ray light source