Integration of PWFA into the UK XFEL

Plasma wakefield acceleration opens a pathway to produce ultrabright electron beams via the plasma photocathode mechanism. Ultrabright electron beams, in turn are highly desirable for the UK XFEL. The studentship shall investigate the potential of using the UK X-FEL electron beam to alternatively/subsequently drive a PWFA-FEL add-on/afterburner.

This could be either in a dedicated research line and station, or after the conventional technology-based X-FEL generation process is concluded: The electron beams which drive today's X-FELs retain much of their energy/power after an undulator pass. They can therefore be used also to drive a second undulator, as is done at the Hamburg X-FEL, and/or are then dumped. Alternativey, instead of dumping the beams, they could also be used to drive a PWFA-FEL stage.

Another task is related to this: can you drive an FEL with electron beams from hybrid laser-plasma-accelerators?

The studentship aims at comprehensive investigation of these phenomena, including simulations of the plasma wakefield stage, the beam transport stage, and the FEL stage, and is linked to the STFC PWFA-FEL project.