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Electron energy enhancement by a circularly polarized laser pulse in vacuum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2009

K.P. Singh*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, MSJ College, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
D.N. Gupta
Affiliation:
Singh Simutech Pvt. Ltd., Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
V. Sajal
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology University, Uttar Pradesh, India
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kunwar Pal Singh, Department of Physics, MSJ College, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, 321001, India. E-mail: k_psingh@yahoo.com

Abstract

Energy enhancement by a circularly polarized laser pulse during acceleration of the electrons by a Gaussian laser pulse has been investigated. The electrons close to the temporal peak of the laser pulse show strong initial phase dependence for a linearly polarized laser pulse. The energy gained by the electrons close to the rising edge of the pulse does not show initial phase dependence for either linearly- or circularly-polarized laser pulse. The maximum energy of the electrons gets enhanced for a circularly polarized in comparison to a linearly polarized laser pulse due to axial symmetry of the circularly polarized pulse. The variation of electron energy with laser spot size, laser intensity, initial electron energy, and initial phase has been studied.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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