Plasma density transition trapping as a possible high-brightness electron beam source

Plasma density transition trapping is a recently proposed self-injection scheme for plasma wakefield accelerators. This technique uses a sharp downward plasma density transition to trap and accelerate background plasma electrons in a plasma wakefield. This paper examines the quality of electron beams captured using this scheme in terms of emittance, energy spread, and brightness. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that these parameters can be optimized by manipulating the plasma density profile. We also develop, and support with simulations, a set of scaling laws that predicts how the brightness of transition trapping beams scales with the plasma density of the system. These scaling laws indicate that transition trapping can produce beams with brightness ≥5×10¹⁴   A/(mrad)². A proof-of-principle transition trapping experiment is planned for the near future. The proposed experiment is described in detail.