Transverse electron beam dynamics in the beam loaded regime

GeV electrons show the extraordinary advances of laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Optimized beam parameters will enable drivers for compact secondary radiation sources. One essential key is a high quality electron bunch with low energy spread, small divergence and spot size. In this paper, the impact of beam loading on the transverse electron dynamic is systematically studied by investigating betatron radiation and electron beam divergence. The deployed LWFA setup yields reproducibly injected charges up to 0.5 nC and small energy spreads. The recorded betatron radiation reveals that the beam amplitude at the accelerator exit stays around one micron.