A compact synchrotron light source driven by pulse laser

Ultrashort X-ray photon pulses are powerful tools for time-resolved studies of molecular and atomic dynamics. Free electron lasers remain the most promising source. However, in the future, developing much more compact sources will become significant in widening the field of application. A group led by Professor D. A. Jaroszynski (University of Strathclyde, UK) has recently reported the first successful combination of a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator, producing 55-75 MeV electron bunches, with an undulator to generate visible synchrotron radiation. Here, the key would be the laser wakefield accelerator, which produces electron beams with energies from tens of MeV to more than 1 GeV within a few cm, with pulse durations of several fs. Further improvements, particularly in the energy of electrons, could contribute to the generation of X-ray photons with ultrashort pulse-width as well as extremely high peak power. For details on laser-plasma wakefield acceleration, see, for example, "Accelerator physics: Electrons hang ten on laser wake", T. Katsouleas, Nature, 431, 515-516 (2004). For more information on the present experiments, see the paper, "A compact synchrotron radiation source driven by a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator", H.-P. Schlenvoigt et al., Nature Physics, advanced online publication, DOI: 10.1038/nphys811