Simulations of efficient laser wakefield accelerators from 1 to 100GeV

Optimization of laser wakefield acceleration involves understanding and control of the laser evolution in tenuous plasmas, the response of the plasma medium, and its effect on the accelerating particles. We explore these phenomena in the weakly nonlinear regime, in which the laser power is similar to the critical power for self-focusing. Using Particle-In-Cell simulations with the code QuickPIC, we demonstrate that a laser pulse can remain...