Simulation of a prebunched free-electron laser with planar wiggler and ion channel guiding

A one-dimensional and nonlinear simulation of a free-electron laser with a prebunched electron beam, a planar wiggler, and ion-channel guiding is presented. Using Maxwell’s equations and full Lorentz force equation of motion for the electron beam, a set of coupled nonlinear differential equations is derived in slowly varying amplitude and wave number approximation and is solved numerically. This set of equations describes self-consistently the longitudinal dependence of radiation amplitude, growth rates, space-charge amplitude, and wave numbers together with the evolution of the electron beam. Because of using full Lorentz force equation of motion, it is possible to treat the injection of the beam into the wiggler. The electron beam is assumed cold, propagates with a relativistic velocity, ions are assumed immobile, and slippage is ignored. The effect of prebunched electron beam on saturation is studied. Ion-channel density is varied and the results for groups I and II orbits are compared with the case when the ion channel is absent. It is found that by using an ion channel/a prebunched electron beam growth rate can be increased, saturation length can be decreased, and the saturated amplitude of the radiation can be increased.