The Effect of Laser Focusing Conditions on Propagation and Monoenergetic Electron Production in Laser Wakefield Accelerators

The effect of laser focusing conditions on the evolution of relativistic plasma waves in laser wakefield accelerators is studied both experimentally and with particle-in-cell simulations. For short focal length ($w_0 < \lambda_p$) interactions, beam break-up prevents stable propagation of the pulse. High field gradients lead to non-localized phase injection of electrons, and thus broad energy spread beams. However for long focal length geometries ($w_0 > \lambda_p$), a single optical filament can capture the majority of the laser energy, and self-guide over distances comparable to the dephasing length, even for these short-pulses ($c\tau \approx \lambda_p$). This allows the wakefield to evolve to the correct shape for the production of the monoenergetic electron bunches, as measured in the experiment.