Ion motion in self-modulated plasma wakefield accelerators.

The effects of plasma ion motion in self-modulated plasma-based accelerators are examined. An analytical model describing ion motion in the narrow beam limit is developed and confirmed through multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that the ion motion can lead to the early saturation of the self-modulation instability and to the suppression of the accelerating gradients. This can reduce the total energy that can be transformed into kinetic energy of accelerated particles. For the parameters of future proton-driven plasma accelerator experiments, the ion dynamics can have a strong impact. Possible methods to mitigate the effects of the ion motion in future experiments are demonstrated.