• High Power Laser Science and Engineering
  • Vol. 10, Issue 6, 06000e45 (2022)
Yin Shi1,2,*, David R. Blackman2, Ping Zhu3, and Alexey Arefiev2
Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Plasma Physics and Fusion Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
  • 2Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
  • 3Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
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    DOI: 10.1017/hpl.2022.37 Cite this Article Set citation alerts
    Yin Shi, David R. Blackman, Ping Zhu, Alexey Arefiev, "Electron pulse train accelerated by a linearly polarized Laguerre–Gaussian laser beam," High Power Laser Sci. Eng. 10, 06000e45 (2022) Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    A linearly polarized Laguerre–Gaussian (LP-LG) laser beam with a twist index $l = -1$ has field structure that fundamentally differs from the field structure of a conventional linearly polarized Gaussian beam. Close to the axis of the LP-LG beam, the longitudinal electric and magnetic fields dominate over the transverse components. This structure offers an attractive opportunity to accelerate electrons in vacuum. It is shown, using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, that this scenario can be realized by reflecting an LP-LG laser off a plasma with a sharp density gradient. The simulations indicate that a 600 TW LP-LG laser beam effectively injects electrons into the beam during the reflection. The electrons that are injected close to the laser axis experience a prolonged longitudinal acceleration by the longitudinal laser electric field. The electrons form distinct monoenergetic bunches with a small divergence angle. The energy in the most energetic bunch is 0.29 GeV. The bunch charge is 6 pC and its duration is approximately $270$ as. The divergence angle is just ${0.57}^{\circ }$ (10 mrad). By using a linearly polarized rather than a circularly polarized Laguerre–Gaussian beam, our scheme makes it easier to demonstrate the electron acceleration experimentally at a high-power laser facility.
    dp/dt=eE, ((1))

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    E=Esin(Φ+Φ0)1+x2/xR2, ((2))

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    Δpmec=aπ2w02λ02{cosΦ0cos[Φ02arctan(x/xR)]}, ((3))

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    Δptermmec=2aπ2w02λ02cos(Φ0π). ((4))

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    εtermmec2=2aπ2w02λ02cos(Φ0π). ((5))

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    εterm[GeV]0.5cos(Φ0π)P1/2[PW]. ((6))

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