Compact beam transport system for free-electron lasers driven by a laser plasma accelerator

Utilizing laser-driven plasma accelerators (LPAs) as a high-quality electron beam source is a promising approach to significantly downsize the x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facility. A multi-GeV LPA beam can be generated in several-centimeter acceleration distance, with a high peak current and a low transverse emittance, which will considerably benefit a compact FEL design. However, the large initial angular divergence and energy spread make it challenging to transport the beam and realize FEL radiation. In this paper, a novel design of beam transport system is proposed to maintain the superior features of the LPA beam and a transverse gradient undulator (TGU) is also adopted as an effective energy spread compensator to generate high-brilliance FEL radiation. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are presented based on a demonstration experiment with an electron energy of 380 MeV and a radiation wavelength of 30 nm.