Jitter mitigation in low density discharge plasma cells for wakefield accelerators

Abstract

In the field of beam driven acceleration of particles in plasma wakefields (PWFA), the source of the plasma medium is a crucial part of the accelerator setup. Gas discharges have proven to be a reliable and simple type of a plasma source in past experiments. Nevertheless, especially in plasma cells that aim for peak density in the range of 10 15 cm - 3, physical apertures around 10 mm, and lengths of up to several meters, the stability of the discharge ignition and the pulse current waveform is limiting the applicability. We show successful mitigation of these jitters in a 0.1 m argon gas discharge cell, operating at maximum densities of ≤ 10 16 cm - 3 by optimisation of the cell design and the discharge current pulse circuit.