Mid-IR Lasers for Energy Frontier Plasma Accelerators and Colliders

Plasma wakefield accelerators driven by solid-state, near-IR lasers have been considered as an alternative to conventional RF accelerators for next-generation TeV-class lepton colliders. Here, we extend this study to the mid-IR spectral domain covered by CO2 lasers. We show that the increase in the laser driver wavelength favors the regime of electron acceleration at a low plasma density and high bunch charge. The revealed benefits from spectral diversification of laser drivers for future colliders and offspring applications validate our reported ongoing efforts in advancing the enabling CO2 laser technology.