Correlation of beam parameters to decelerating gradient in the E-167 plasma wakefield acceleration experiment

Recent experiments at SLAC have shown that high gradient acceleration of electrons is achievable in meter scale plasmas [1,2]. Results from these experiments show that the wakefield is sensitive to parameters in the electron beam which drives it. In the experiment the bunch length and beam waist location were varied systematically at constant charge. Here we investigate the correlation of peak beam current to the decelerating gradient. Limits on the transformer ratio will also be discussed. The results are compared to simulation.