Missions

Design and perform experiments to accelerate and diagnose electron beams using the interaction of an intense laser beam and a plasma inside a gas cell. Optimise the process to achieve a high quality electron beam (low divergence, emittance, and energy spread, et high charge).

Activities

Contribute to the design of experiments including gas cells, participate to experimental campaigns using intense laser facilities (100TW class up to PW depending on beamtime allocation), contribute to optimisation processes using artificial intelligence methods, analyse results, write progress reports and publications.

Skills

Skills : practical knowledge on how to perform laser plasma experiments using intense lasers, knowledge of the physics of laser plasma acceleration of electrons, practical knowledge of methods for data analysis, written and oral communication skills.

Work Context

Context :
The proposed position is offered in the frame of the European project EuPRAXIA, aiming at designing and subsequently building, an accelerator based on plasma technology with parameters and reliability comparable to conventional accelerators in vacuum. LPGP is a partner of the EuPRAXIA project and contributes to define the acceleration concepts and laser plasma techniques that will be used to achieve the accelerated electron beams.
The proposed work in the frame of this position consist in testing experimentally mechanisms suitable to achieve compact, high quality, reproduceable electron sources, for EuPRAXIA injector.Simulations show that the required properties can be achieved by the interaction of an intense laser with a tailored, underdense, plasma. The objective of the work will be to study experimentally this regime, and implement plasma and laser diagnostics to characterise in detail the mechanisms controlling the quality of the electron beam. In addition, automatic optimisation of the process will be designed and implemented.
Development and characterisation of plasma cells are performed at LPGP. Experiments using intense laser beams to accelerate electrons are performed in collaboration with EuPRAXIA partners, in France and in Europe.

The position is located in a sector under the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with the regulations, that your arrival is authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.