A Laser-Based 100 GeV Electron Plasma Accelerator to Enable Compact Muon Sources*

We present the first explicit PIC simulations of a self-consistent, all optical LWFA that achieves 100 GeV energies in about 6 meters with a single 312 J drive laser pulse. Inspired by the recent LWFA experiments by the University of Maryland¹ at the Colorado State University ALEPH laser facility that achieved 5 GeV in 20 cm with a 15 J laser, our result is made possible by using ionization injection, ramping the plasma density to beat the dephasing limit, and a unique plasma channel employing a channel-forming Bessel beam². We find that maximum electron energy, length of plasma, and beam charge all scale with laser energy in a similar fashion to the Lu scaling.³ Energetic muons enable radiography of massive structures that cannot be probed by other forms of radiation, due to their ability to penetrate deeply into matter. While these particles occur naturally at a relatively low flux in cosmic rays, they can be artificially generated via radiative processes by pointing an electron beam at a high-Z target. Laser Wakefield Accelerators (LWFA) can generate such electron beams over relatively small distances, because they achieve acceleration gradients of two-to-three orders of magnitude greater than conventional accelerators. Using simulated beam characteristics, we estimate muon production in a high-Z target material. We discuss implications of combining this accelerator with a high average power laser driver⁴ on the possibility of a compact high-flux muon source.

 

¹ B. Miao, et al, PHYSICAL REVIEW X 12, 031038 (2022)

² C. G. Durfee and H. M. Milchberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 2409 (1993)

³ W. Lu, et al, Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 10, 061301 (2007)

⁴ I. Tamer, et al, Opt. Lett. 46(20), 5096–5099 (2021).