Overloading effect of energetic electrons in the bubble regime of laser wakefield acceleration

The overloading effect of self-injected high-charge electron bunch in the bubble regime of laser wakefield acceleration is studied. When too many electrons are trapped by the bubble, the wakefield can be strongly modified, preventing further injection of the background electrons. This process is directly observed in two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation and is explained using a one-dimensional wake model. For obtaining significantly more energetic electrons, the use of a decreasing plasma density profile is proposed. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3494237]