Benchmarking of hydrodynamic plasma waveguides for multi-GeV laser-driven electron acceleration*

Hydrodynamic plasma waveguides initiated by optical field ionization (OFI) have recently become a key component of multi-GeV laser wakefield accelerators  [1–4], We present comprehensive experimental and simulation-based characterization, applicable both to current multi-GeV experiments and future 100 GeV-scale laser plasma accelerators. Crucial to the simulations is the correct modeling of intense Bessel beam interaction with meter-scale gas targets [4], the results of which are used as initial conditions for hydrodynamic simulations [5,6]. The simulations are in good agreement with our experiments measuring plasma and neutral hydrogen density profiles using two-color short pulse interferometry, enabling realistic determination of the guided mode structure for application to laser-driven plasma accelerator design [7].