FLASHForward - A Future-Oriented Plasma Wakefield Accelerator Research and Development Facility at FLASH

Due to high accelerating electric fields in the range of several GV/m, beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerators (PWFAs) have outstanding potential to transform technologies, such as the design of future electron-positron colliders and free-electron lasers. At DESY in Hamburg, the FLASHForward project has recently started operation and will develop further important capabilities in future. The plasma is generated in a capillary gas cell either by gas discharge or by using a femtosecond pulse from the 25 TW Ti:Sa laser system to ionize the gas. The laser provides an ionizing main laser arm and a transverse probe laser arm. The electron bunch from the FLASH linear acclerator has energy up to 1.25 GeV and delivers up to a few kA peak current. The facility has exceptional capabilities to longitudinally shape the electron bunch, allowing plasma waves to be excited in the nonlinear blowout regime for a variety of experiments. These include the generation of high-quality electron bunches (internal injection) and post-acceleration of electron bunches form FLASH (external injection). The first interaction of the electron beam with a plasma wake has been demonstrated in June 2018, beginning the exploitation of the great potential of the FLASHForward Plasma Wakefield accelerator.