Past exam of the short options paper shared by Prelims and Parts A and B of the physics course of the University of Oxford / 2016 / S19 / 3

TODO — the source does not supply the longitudinal position-energy correlation, imposed chirp, or chicane dispersion/geometry needed for a unique compressed bunch length. A four-bend drawing and an uncorrelated energy spread are insufficient. In linear optics,If the given spread is uncorrelated, the minimum is the unchanged 0.2 m, not a compressed submillimetre bunch. If a chirp is supplied, optimal $R_{56}$ depends on it and on the uncorrelated residual spread.

A sometimes intended phase-space lower-bound estimate conserves longitudinal emittance and permits final relative energy spread of order unity, giving ${\sigma }_{zf}\gtrsim {\sigma }_z{\sigma }_{\delta }\sim 20\mu$m. This is an additional extreme energy-spread allowance, not a consequence of an unspecified magnetic chicane. If one illustratively matches a plasma scale $k_p{\sigma }_{zf}\sim 1$, then $n_e\sim {ϵ}_0{m}_e{c}^2/(e^2{\sigma }_{zf}^2)\simeq 7\times 10^{22}$ m${}^{-3}$. Matching to a whole wavelength instead changes this by $4{\pi }^2$. The parametric density relation is valid; the unique requested numerical compression is not established by the source.

The required energy increment is 9.9 TeV. If the usable longitudinal gradient is $\eta E_0$, with $E_0=m_{e}c{\omega }_p/e$, the channel length isUnder the illustrative preceding ${\sigma }_{zf}=20\mu$m and $k_p{\sigma }_{zf}=1$ choices, $E_0\simeq 25.6$ GV m${}^{-1}$ and $L_p\simeq 390/\eta$ m. TODO — a unique numerical length inherits the missing compression/density specification and additionally requires a usable wake amplitude/loading factor $\eta$ or driver information. A driver energy per proton alone does not fix its bunch population or accelerating gradient.

Propagation through an already formed cold plasma requires ${\omega }_L>{\omega }_p$, hence $\boxed{{\lambda }_L<{\lambda }_p=2\pi c/{\omega }_p}$. For the illustrative density above, that is a cutoff near 126 micrometres. It is a propagation ceiling, not a sufficient condition for producing ionization.

TODO — the unique cutoff inherits the unspecified density, and a literal maximum wavelength for gas ionization also needs gas species, laser intensity and the ionization mechanism. A single-photon threshold would impose $hc/\lambda \ge I_{\mathrm{ion}}$; strong-field or multiphoton ionization is a different criterion. None of those data is supplied. The density-dependent propagation condition is the part determined symbolically.

For a 1 micrometre laser, $n_c\simeq 1.1\times 10^{27}$ m${}^{-3}$ and a cold underdense wave has ${\gamma }_{\varphi }^2\simeq n_c/n_e$. At peak wave scale $E_0$, optimal passage through an accelerating half-cycle gives ideal stage gain $\Delta \mathcal{E}\sim 4(n_c/n_e)m_e{c}^2$; crest-to-zero injection gives half that. With the illustrative $n_e\simeq 7\times 10^{22}$ m${}^{-3}$, the optimal ideal gain is about 32 GeV and a 9.9 TeV increment needs order 300 stages, or order 600 with the crest convention.

TODO — no unique stage count follows without the missing density and laser/wake amplitude assumptions. Depletion, diffraction, guiding, beam loading, injection, energy spread, driver evolution and interstage losses can all increase or otherwise alter the requirement. The parametric count is $N\gtrsim \Delta {\mathcal{E}}_{\mathrm{total}}/[4\eta (n_c/n_e)m_e{c}^2]$, with the phase and field conventions explicitly retained.