| Electrons from laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA) are interesting as drivers of ultrashort X-ray sources. For high-brilliance it is necessary to further improve electron beam characteristics and shot-to-shot stability of the electron bunch with respect to spatial dimensions, energy, energy spread and divergence. Since there exists little diagnostics so far to accurately monitor the acceleration processes in the plasma on a shot-to-shot basis, it is difficult to control the bunches or compare them to results from 3D PIC simulations. By calculating the dynamics of the plasma electrons in LWFA, we aim to find distinct radiation signatures both in the optical and X-ray spectral range for the electron dynamics near injection and the evolution of the plasma wave. The accelerated electrons can then be used to realize brilliant radiation sources by betatron radiation, conventional undulators or Thomson scattering. For the latter option, the Travelling-wave Thomson scattering (TWTS) is of special interest, since the cm to meter long interaction distances at moderate intensities (a0<<1) are a promising route towards compact, optically free electron lasers. Here, we present an overview on the theoretical work done at the HZDR and its connections to experiments. |
|