Poster 12

Nicholas Matlis UT-Physics

Holographic Snapshots of Laser Wakefields Tabletop plasma accelerators can now produce GeV-range electron beams and femtosecond x-ray pulses, providing compact radiation sources for medicine, nuclear engineering, materials science and high-energy physics. In these accelerators, electrons surf on ¿100 GeV/m electric fields (¿1000 stronger than conventional accelerators sustain) generated within plasma structures (e.g. Langmuir waves,[8] electron density bubbles) propagating near light speed behind laser or charged-particle5 driving pulses. Here we demonstrate single-shot visualization of laser wakefield accelerator structures for the first time. Our snapshots capture evolution of multiple wake periods, detect structure variations as laser-plasma parameters change, and resolve wavefront curvature, features never previously observed.