A Multi-Parameter Optimization of Plasma Density for an Advanced Linear Collider*

Recent plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) experiments showed that an accelerating gradient as high as 50 GV/m can be driven and sustained over a meter-long plasma [1]. Based on this result, a straw man design for a future, multi-stage, PWFA-based electron/positron collider with an energy gain of ~ 25 GeV/stage has been generated [2]. However, the choice of plasma density remains open. On one hand, high density means large accelerating gradients and possibly a shorter collider. On the other it means that the accelerating structure dimensions become very small, on the order of the plasma wavelength. Operating at high gradient and with such small structure imposes very strong constraints on the particle bunches: small dimensions and spacing, large current or limited charge, etc. These constraints result is challenges in producing the bunches (compression, shaping for optimum loading, etc.) and could limit the achievable collider luminosity. We explore the global implications of operating at a lower accelerating gradient with the goal of relaxing the beam and plasma parameters while meeting the requirements of a collider operating in the blowout regime.