Efficient plasma electron accelerator driven by linearly chirped multi-10-TW laser pulsesEfficient plasma electron accelerator driven by linearly chirped multi-10-TW laser pulses Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2025-06-022023enThe temporal rearrangement of the spectral components of an ultrafast and intense laser pulse, i.e., the chirp of the pulse, offers significant possibilities for controlling its interaction with matter and plasma. In the propagation of ultra-strong laser pulses within the self-induced plasma, laser pulse chirp can play a major role in the dynamics of wakefield and plasma bubble formation, as well as in the electron injection and related electron acceleration. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the control of the generation efficiency of a relativistic electron beam, with respect to maximum electron energy and current, by accurately varying the chirp value of a multi-10-TW laser pulse. We explicitly show that positively chirped laser pulses, i.e., pulses with instantaneous frequency increasing with time, accelerate electrons in the order of 100 MeV much more efficiently in comparison to unchirped or negatively chirped pulses. Corresponding Particle-In-Cell simulations strongly support the experimental results, depicting a smoother plasma bubble density distribution and electron injection conditions that favor the maximum acceleration of the electron beam, when positively chirped laser pulses are used. Our results, aside from extending the validity of similar studies reported for PW laser pulses, provide the ground for understanding the subtle dynamics of an efficient plasma electron accelerator driven by chirped laser pulses.A.G. acknowledges financial support by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the 3rd Call for HFRI PhD Fellowships (Fellowship Number:5985). This work was supported by computational time granted by the Greek Research & Technology Network (GRNET) in the National HPC facility-ARIS under Project ID pr011027-LaMPIOS. The EPOCH code was developed under the UK EPSRC Grants EP/G054950/1, EP/G056803/1, EP/G055165/1 and EP/M022463/1. This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium, funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme (Grant Agreement No. 101052200-EUROfusion) and the Hellenic National Program of Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion. The involved teams have operated within the framework of the Enabling Research Project: ENR-IFE.01.CEA-02 ‘Advancing shock ignition for direct-drive inertial fusion’.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Scientific Reports131Grigoriadis_et_al_Sci. Rep._13(1)_2023.pdfChania [Greece]Library of TUC2025-06-02application/pdf2.4 MBfree Grigoriadis Anastasios Andrianaki Georgia Ανδριανακη Γεωργια Tazes Ioannis Dimitriou Vasilis Tatarakis, Michael, 19..- Benis Emmanouil Papadogiannis Nektarios Nature Portfolio Laser-produced plasmas Plasma-based accelerators Ultrafast lasers