G. Sarri,
W. Schumaker,
A. Di Piazza,
M. Vargas,
B. Dromey,
M. E. Dieckmann,
V. Chvykov,
A. Maksimchuk,
V. Yanovsky,
Z. H. He,
B. X. Hou,
J. A. Nees,
A. G. R. Thomas,
C. H. Keitel,
M. Zepf,
and K. Krushelnick
Table-Top Laser-Based Source of Femtosecond, Collimated, Ultrarelativistic Positron Beams
Phys. Rev. Lett., 110 :255002 (June 2013)
Table-Top Laser-Based Source of Femtosecond, Collimated, Ultrarelativistic Positron Beams
Phys. Rev. Lett., 110 :255002 (June 2013)
Abstract:
The generation of ultrarelativistic positron beams with short duration (τ_e+≃30 fs), small divergence (θ_e+≃3 mrad), and high density (n_e+≃10^14–10^15 cm−3) from a fully optical setup is reported. The detected positron beam propagates with a high-density electron beam and γ rays of similar spectral shape and peak energy, thus closely resembling the structure of an astrophysical leptonic jet. It is envisaged that this experimental evidence, besides the intrinsic relevance to laser-driven particle acceleration, may open the pathway for the small-scale study of astrophysical leptonic jets in the laboratory.