Compact X-ray sources by Traveling-Wave Thomson scattering and All-Optical FELs

Compact synchrotron and SASE-FEL sources in the hard X-ray range require both compact electron accelerators and undulators. Traveling-Wave Thomson-Scattering (TWTS) provides an all-optical undulator with hundreds to thousands of undulator periods from high-power, pulse-front tilted lasers pulses. These allow to realize optical free-electron lasers (OFELs) with state-of-the-art technology in electron accelerators and laser systems.

We provide an overview on the applications that become possible with TWTS -- bright Thomson sources with high photon-yields, all-optical FELs and a novel class of laser-plasma accelerators not limited by dephasing and pump depletion. We outline both experimental and computational challenges and present recent results.