Ion-Focused Propagation of Relativistic Electron Beam in the Self-Generated Plasma in the Atmosphere

It is known that ion-focused regime can effectively suppress the expansion of relativistic electron beam (REB). By using particle in cell-Monte Carlo collision (PIC-MCC) method, the propagation of REBs in neutral gas is numerically investigated. The numerical results demonstrate that the beam body is charge neutralization and a stable IFR can be established. As a result, the beam transverse dimensions and longitudinal velocities keep close to the initial parameters. We also calculated the charge and current neutralization factors of REBs. Combined with envelope equations, we obtained the variations of beam envelopes, which agree well with the PIC simulations. However, both the energy loss and instabilities of REBs may lead to a low transport efficiency during long-range propagation. It has been proved that decreasing the initial pulse length of REBs can avoid the influence of electron avalanche. Using parts of REB pulses to build a long-distance IFR in advance can improve the beam quality of subsequent pulses. Further, a long-distance IFR may contribute to the implementation of long-range propagation of REBs in the space environment.

Generation of 116-mW output power at 461 nm in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide

We demonstrate a second harmonic generation (SHG) of 116 mW at 461 nm in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide when the power of the 922-nm fundamental light is coupled into the waveguide was 350 mW. The waveguide is 12.5 μm wide, 12.0 μm thick, 22 mm long, and has a 1-mm-long slab window at the output facet of the waveguide. The temperature acceptance bandwidth of the phase-matching curve of the SHG is approximately 0.5 °C. The SHG system demonstrates good beam quality and is reliable for cold atom experiments, including research on optical lattice clocks.

Concept of circular-linear energy recovery accelerator to probe the energy frontier

Energy-frontier accelerators provide powerful tools performing high precision measurements confirming the fundamentals of the physics and broadening new research horizons. Such machines are either driven by circular or linear accelerators. The circular machines, having the centre-of-mass (CM) energy values reaching 200 GeV (for leptons) and above, experience beam energy loss and quality dilution, for example, due to synchrotron radiation, limiting the overall CM energy achievable and requiring a constant energy top-up to compensate the loss and the beam quality dilution. Linear colliders overcome these limitations, while the finite capabilities of generating high average current beams limits the luminosity. This is partially compensated by the quality of the colliding beams. In this work, we suggest a novel design of circular-linear accelerator based on the merging of the “non-emitting”, low-energy storage rings and energy recovery linear accelerators. We suggest using the recently considered dual-axis asymmetric cavities to enable the operation of such a system, and in particular the energy recovery from spent, high-intensity beams. The machine considered, under the scope of the SNOWMASS-2021 initiative, can be potentially used to reach ultimate energy frontiers in high-energy physics as well as to drive next generation light sources. The merging of circular and linear systems, and applications of dual axes cavities, should allow the maintaining of high beam quality, high luminosity, and high energy efficiency, while offering a flexible energy management and opening clear opportunity for reducing the running cost. We note that the numbers shown in the paper are for illustration purpose and can be improved further.

Ion-Doped Photonic Crystal Fiber Lasers

Compared with conventional solid-state lasers, fiber lasers have the advantages of small size, simple cooling system, and good output beam quality, enabling them an extended service lifetime in industrialized environments. Periodically arranged photonic crystals have been the most important gain medium for high-power laser applications, which overcame the problems in fiber lasers such as small mode field, low degree of nonlinearity, and non-adjustable dispersion. In this mini-review, we summarize the recent advances of typical ion-doped photonic crystal fiber lasers doped, discuss the challenges, and provide an outlook on the future developments in ion-doped photonic crystal fiber lasers.