Longitudinal Electron Probing of Plasma Wakefield

Laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) consist of plasma structures that are able to generate high-gradient electromagnetic fields that can accelerate and focus electrons in a much shorter distance than standard accelerators with potential applications in high energy physics and in various industrial and medical applications like radiology. For LWFAs to be viable, we need to better understand the fields created by the wakefield; this poster focuses on exploring longitudinal electron probing of the wakefield. In this method, a relativistic electron beam is propagated at a grazing incidence angle to the wakefield such that the longitudinal velocity of the probe matches that of the wakefield. This work presents the first investigation of such a probe through simulation and theory. The equations of single particle motion are solved in co-moving coordinates to predict the behavior of the electrons. These results are then corroborated through simulated LWFA fields using the OSIRIS Particle in Cell code in conjunction with an in-house single-particle propagation code. Developing a theoretical and computational framework for the electrons' path in the wakefield allows for realizing observables for the electron beam's motion, which can be observed in experiments to be conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Accelerator Test Facility.