Electromagnetic launchers (railguns) are set to replace traditional large caliber ship mounted cannons in the near future. The success of the railgun depends heavily upon a comprehensive understanding of beam behavior during periods of heavy dynamic loading. It is hypothesized that the combination of velocity transition effects, electromagnetic loading, and other non-linear or design specific effects contribute to areas of high stresses/strains over the length of the rail/beam during launch. This paper outlines the use of the Timoshenko beam model, a model which builds upon the traditional Bernoulli-Euler beam theory with the addition of shear deformation and rotary inertia effects, a necessity for high wave velocities. Real-world experimental setups are simplified and approximated by a series of linear springs and dampers for model prediction and validation. The Timoshenko beam model is solved using finite difference (FD) methods for the approximation of spatial derivatives and MATLAB ordinary differential equation (ODE) solvers. The model shows good convergence and precision over a large range of system parameters including load velocities, foundation stiffness values, and beam dimensions. Comparison to experimental strain data has validated model accuracy to an acceptable level. Accuracy is further enhanced with the inclusion of damping and non-linear or piecewise effects used to mimic experimental observations. The MATLAB software package presents a valid preliminary analysis tool for railgun beam and foundation design while offering advantages in ease of use, computation time, and system requirements when compared to traditional FEA tools. / Master of Science

Dans tout accélérateur de particules, l'injecteur est d'une importance cruciale car il détermine la plupart des caractéristiques du faisceau accéléré. Les accélérateurs laser plasma, basés sur l'interaction d'une impulsion laser ultra brève et ultra intense avec un plasma sous dense, ne dérogent pas à cette règle. Cependant, pour ces accélérateurs ultra compacts, l'injection est un véritable défi : pour obtenir une source de bonne qualité, il faut injecter un faisceau d'électrons ultra court synchronisé très précisément avec le laser. Dans cette thèse, la pertinence d'un injecteur optique, utilisant une deuxième impulsion laser, est démontrée expérimentalement. Cet injecteur permet d'obtenir des faisceaux d'électrons mono-énergétiques de façon stable. De plus, cet injecteur permet de régler les paramètres du faisceau produit. Ainsi l'énergie, la charge et la dispersion en énergie du faisceau sont ajustables simplement, en changeant les paramètres de la deuxième impulsion laser. Ces contrôles supplémentaires permettent d'étudier précisément les phénomènes physiques ayant lieu lors de l'accélération du faisceau d'électrons. Ainsi, les effets de beam loading, liés à l'interaction du faisceau d'électrons avec le plasma, ont pu être mis en évidence et étudiés. L'optimisation de l'injecteur a permis d'obtenir les faisceaux d'électrons les plus fins spectralement mesurés à ce jour dans l'interaction laser plasma, avec des dispersions en énergie de l'ordre du pourcent.

Laser plasma wakefield accelerators have seen tremendous progress in the last years, now capable of producing electron beams in the GeV energy range. The inherent few-femtoseconds short bunch duration of these accelerators leads to ultra-high peak-currents. Reducing the energy spread found in these accelerators, while scaling their output to hundreds of kiloampere peak current would stimulate the next generation of radiation sources covering high-field THz, high-brightness X-ray and -ray sources, compact free-electron lasers and laboratory-size beam-driven plasma accelerators. At such high currents, an accelerator operates in the beam loaded regime where the accelerating field is strongly modified by the self-fields of the injected bunch, potentially deteriorating key beam parameters. However, if appropriately controlled, the beam loading effect can be employed to improve the accelerator’s performance, specifically to reduce the energy spread. In this thesis the beam-loading effect is systematically studied at a quasi-monoenergetic nanocoulomb-class laser wakefield accelerator. For this purpose, a tailored scheme of the self-truncated ionisation injection process is introduced for the non-linear bubble regime. This scheme facilitates stable and tunable injection of high-charge electron bunches within a short and limited time-frame, ensuring low energy spread right after injection. Employing a three millimetres gas-jet acceleration medium and a moderate 150 TW short pulse laser system as driver, unprecedented charges of up to 0.5 nC within a quasi-monoenergetic peak and energies of ~0.5 GeV are achieved. Studying the beam loading mechanism, it is demonstrated that at the optimal loading condition, i.e. at a specific amount of injected charge, performance of the accelerator is optimised with a minimisation of the energy spread. At a relative energy spread of only 15%, the associated peak current is around 10 kA, while scaling this scheme to operate with a petawatt driver laser promises peak-currents up to 100 kA.

Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation wird die Stärke der Multibunch-Instabilität (MBI), die von longitudinalen Dipol-, transversalen Dipol- und Quadrupolschwingungsmoden höherer Ordnung getrieben werden mithilfe von analytischen Rechnungen und Trackingsimulationen in dem Ausbauprojekt BESSY Variable Pulse Length Storage Ring (BESSY VSR) des Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB) untersucht und mit dem vorhanden aktiven Dämpfungssystem verglichen. Algorithmen für Trackingsimulationen werden hergeleitet und eine halbempirische Formel zur Abschätzung der transversalen quadrupolaren MBI wird präsentiert. MBI Studien bilden einen wesentlichen Teil der Beurteilung der BESSY VSR Hohlraumresonatoren und begleiteten und beeinflussten ihren Entwicklungsprozess. Mit Berechnungen auf Grundlage des neusten BESSY VSR Hohlraumresonatormodels kann Strahlstabilität als wahrscheinlich und unabhängig vom Füllmuster angesehen werden. Des weiteren wurden Messungen der MBI an BESSY II und der Metrology Light Source (MLS) der Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt durchgeführt, bei welcher die longitudinale langreichende Impedanz charakterisiert wurde. Transiente Strahllast wird in dieser Arbeit mit analytischen Formeln und neuen, experimentell überprüften Trackingsimulationen berechnet. Für das Standardfüllmuster von BESSY VSR wurde gezeigt, dass die besondere Konfiguration der Hohlraumresonatorfrequenzen zu einer relativ starken Beeinflussung der langen Elektronenpakete führt. Diese verkürzt das Elektronenpaket und vergrößert die Touschekverluste. / In the scope of this thesis, the strength of coupled bunch instabilities (CBIs) driven by longitudinal monopole higher order modes (HOMs) and transverse dipole and quadrupole HOMs is evaluated for the upgrade project BESSY Variable Pulse Length Storage Ring (BESSY VSR) at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB), based on analytic calculations and tracking simulations, and compared to the performance of an active bunch-by-bunch feedback (BBFB). Algorithms for tracking codes are derived, and a semi-empirical formula for the estimation of transverse quadrupole CBIs is presented. CBI studies are an integral part of the benchmarking of the cavity models for BESSY VSR and have been accompanying and influencing their entire design process. Based on the BESSY VSR cavity model with highly advanced HOM damping, beam stability is likely to be reached with a BBFB system, independent of the bunch fill pattern. Additionally, measurements of CBIs have been performed at BESSY II and the Metrology Light Source of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (MLS), where the longitudinal long range impedance was characterized. Transient beam loading is evaluated by means of analytic formulas and new experimentally verified tracking codes. For the baseline bunch fill pattern of BESSY VSR, it is shown that the particular setup of cavity frequencies amplifies the transient effect on the long bunch, limiting its elongation and potentially resulting in increased Touschek losses.

In laser wakefield acceleration, an ultra-short high-intensity laser pulse excites a plasma wave, which can sustain accelerating electric fields of several hundred GV/m. This scheme advances a novel concept for compact and less expensive electron accelerators, which can be hosted in a typical university size laboratory. Furthermore, laser wakefield accelerators (LWFA) feature unique electron bunch characteristics, namely micrometer size with duration ranging from several fs to tens of fs. Precise knowledge of the longitudinal profile of such ultra-short electron bunches is essential for the design of future table-top X-ray light-sources and remains a big challenge due to the resolution limit of existing diagnostic techniques. Spectral measurement of broadband coherent and incoherent transition radiation (TR) produced when electron bunches passing through a metal foil is a promising way to analyze longitudinal characteristics of these bunches. Due to the limited reproducibility of the electron source this measurement highly requires single-shot capability. An ultra-broadband spectrometer combines the TR spectrum in UV/NIR (200-1000 nm), NIR (0.9-1.7 µm) and mid-IR (1.6-12 µm). A high spectral sensitivity, dynamic bandwidth and spectral resolution are realized by three optimized dispersion and detection systems integrated into a single-shot spectrometer. A complete characterization and calibration of the spectrometer have been done concerning wavelengths, relative spectral sensitivities, and absolute photometric sensitivities, also taking into account for the light polarization. The TR spectrometer is able to characterize electron bunches with charges as low as 1pC and can resolve time-scales of 0.4 fs. Electron bunches up to 16 fs (rms width) can be reconstructed from their TR spectrum. In the presented work, the self-truncated ionization induced injection (STII) scheme has been explored to study the relevant beam parameters especially its longitudinal bunch profile and the resulting peak current.

GeV electron bunches accelerated on a centimeter scale device exemplify the extraordinary advances of laser-plasma acceleration. The combination of high charges from optimized injection schemes and intrinsic femtosecond short bunch duration yields kiloampere peak currents. Further enhancing the current while reducing the energy spread will pave the way for future application, e.g. the driver for compact secondary radiation sources such as high-field THz, high-brightness x-ray or gamma-ray sources. One essential key for beam transport to a specific application is an electron bunch with high quality beam parameters such as low energy spread as well as small divergence and spot size. The inherent micrometer size at the plasma exit is typically sufficient for an efficient coupling into a conventional beamline. However, energy spread and beam divergence require optimization before the beam can be transported efficiently. Induced by the high peak current, the beam loading regime can be used in order to achieve optimized beam parameters for beam transport. / In this thesis, the impact of beam loading on the transverse electron dynamic is systematically studied by investigating betatron radiation and electron beam divergence. For this reason, the bubble regime with self-truncated ionization injection (STII) is applied to set up a nanocoulomb-class laser wakefield accelerator. The accelerator is driven by 150TW laser pulses from the DRACO high power laser system. A supersonic gas jet provides a 3mm long acceleration medium with electron densities from 3 × 10^18 cm^−3 to 5 × 10^18 cm^−3. The STII scheme together with the employed setup yields highly reproducible injections with bunch charges of up to 0.5 nC. The recorded betatron radius at the accelerator exit is about one micron and reveals that the beam size stays at the same value. The optimal beam loading, which is observed at around 250 pC to 300 pC, leads to the minimum energy spread of ~40MeV and a 20% smaller divergence. It is demonstrated that an incomplete betatron phase mixing due to the small energy spread can explain the experimentally observed minimum beam divergence.