A comparative study of plasma channels for a 100 GeV electron accelerator using a multi-petawatt laser

Acceleration of electrons to the 100 GeV range in laser wakefield accelerators using multi-petawatt lasers is numerically modelled. It is demonstrated that an externally injected electron bunch with an initial energy of 50 MeV can achieve an energy gain of 100 GeV in the weakly non-linear regime of laser wakefield acceleration. The guiding of the laser is achieved by a plasma channel having a parabolic radial density profile. A comparative study...