Victor Malka's Lab

Enhancement of betatron X-ray radiation produced in laserplasma accelerators has previously been achieved by increasing the transverse oscillation amplitude of accelerated electrons in a tilted-shock traversal. This article reports on a simultaneous analysis of the properties of the betatron radiation and the trajectories of the relativistic electrons. The correlations of their parameters indicate new opportunities for improving betatron sources.

Intermittent magnetic turbulence, namely the presence of non-ordered and clusterized fields, is a ubiquitous phenomenon in space and astrophysical plasmas. It is currently understood that it plays a crucial role in the dynamics of astrophysical systems at all scales, from influencing the evolution of the cosmos as a whole to governing local particle acceleration. While there is direct evidence of turbulence in the solar wind, and despite progress obtained through multi-wavelength observations, most of our knowledge of it outside the solar system derives from indirect evidence, through modeling. Here we show that magnetic turbulence, that quantitatively matches that measured in space, can be reproduced in the laboratory. Starting from a homogeneous magnetized plasma, we randomly perturb it using a speckled laser beam. Using proton radiography, we can follow the development and quantitatively characterize the produced intermittent turbulence from its inception.

Laser plasma accelerators can deliver high-energy, quasi-monoenergetic electron beams over centimeter-scale distances. In this work, we report on the generation of narrow, quasi-monoenergetic electron bunch trains with periodic energy spacing issued from downramp injection in a laser driven wakefield accelerator. The periodicity in energy is shaped via relativistic lengthening of the wakefield during the acceleration phase, while the spatial periodicity is obtained via injection into multiple plasma periods. At the end of the accelerator, a rotation in phase-space is performed to compress each bunch in energy, producing narrow periodic spikes in the spectrum. The experimental observations are supported by particle-in-cell simulations, which reproduce the formation and evolution of the periodic bunch trains, providing an insight into the underlying plasma dynamics.