Abstract: Invented in 1979 by Prof. Tajima and Prof. Dawson [1], laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) has gained significant attention for extremely high acceleration gradient (> 100 GeV/m) and ability to generate ultrahigh-brightness electron bunches. In recent years, LWFA research has notable progress [2] in achievable energy, beam charge, energy spread, stability, etc.
In this talk, I will present a brief overview of LWFA research in Japan. Our team consists of researchers from two institutes: the Kansai Institute for Photon Science at QST, led by Director General Masaki Kando, and the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (SANKEN) at Osaka University, led by Professor Tomonao Hosokai. We have received continuous supports from two major projects—ImPACT and MIRAI—funded by the Cabinet Office and JST of Japan. Our LWFA research is conducted using three laser facilities: the J-KAREN-P petawatt laser and the J-LITE-X terawatt laser at KPSI, and LAPLACIAN, a new platform dedicated to LWFA at SPring-8 campus. We focus on improving bunch quality [3], developing stable gas targets [4], beam-control technologies [5], and single-shot novel ultrafast beam diagnostics [6], aiming for LWFA driven XFEL. Our recent achievements include the generation of GeV electron beams, nC-level electron bunches, dark-current-free stable quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches, XUV undulator radiation with gain signatures, and the first single-shot 3D electron density profile measurements of femtosecond kilo-ampere electron bunches.
References:
[1] T. Tajima and J. M. Dawson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 267 (1979).
[2] A. Picksley, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 255001 (2024); JP Couperus et al., Nat Commun 8, 487 (2017); W. Wang et al., Nature 595, 516–520 (2021); A. Maier et al Phys. Rev. X 10, 031039 (2020).
[3] Gu, Yan-Jun et al., Scientific Reports 14, 31162 (2024).
[4] Z. Lei et al., High Power Laser Science and Engineering, 11, e91 (2023).
[5] N. Nakanii, et al., Applied Physics Express 16, 026001 (2023).
[6] K. Huang et al., Light: Science & Applications 13, 84 (2024); K. Huang et al., Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 26, 112801 (2023); K. Huang et al., Applied Physics Express 15, 036001 (2022); K. Huang et al., Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 22, 121301 (2019); K. Huang et al., Scientific Reports 8, 2938 (2018).
Kai Huang is a Principal Researcher at the Kansai Institute for Photon Science (KPSI), part of the National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) in Kyoto, Japan. He is currently a visiting research scholar in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).