Two Electron Bunches (IMAGE)
Caption
This simulation depicts two electron bunches -- containing 5 billion to 6 billion electrons each -- that were accelerated by a laser-generated column of plasma inside an oven of hot lithium gas during experiments at SLAC. The first bunch in each pair was the drive bunch; it blasted all the free electrons away from the lithium atoms, leaving the positively charged lithium nuclei behind -- a configuration known as the "blowout regime." The blasted electrons then fell back in behind the second bunch of electrons, known as the trailing bunch, forming a "plasma wake" that propelled the trailing bunch to higher energy.
Credit
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
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