Laser-driven electron acceleration in infinite vacuum
Author(s)
Wong, Liang Jie![Thumbnail](/bitstream/handle/1721.1/66479/756462920-MIT.pdf.jpg?sequence=5&isAllowed=y)
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Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Advisor
Franz X. Kartner.
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I first review basic models for laser-plasma interaction that explain electron acceleration and beam confinement in plasma. Next, I discuss ponderomotive electron acceleration in infinite vacuum, showing that the transverse scattering angle of the accelerated electron may be kept small with a proper choice of parameters. I then analyze the direct (a.k.a. linear) acceleration of an electron in infinite vacuum by a pulsed radially-polarized laser beam, consequently demonstrating the possibility of accelerating an initially-relativistic electron in vacuum without the use of ponderomotive forces or any optical devices to terminate the laser field. As the Lawson-Woodward theorem has sometimes been cited to discount the possibility of net energy transfer from a laser pulse to a relativistic particle via linear acceleration in unbounded vacuum, I derive an analytical expression (which I verify with numerical simulation results) defining the regime where the Lawson-Woodward theorem in fact allows for this. Finally, I propose a two-color laser-driven direct acceleration scheme in vacuum that can achieve electron acceleration exceeding 90% of the one-color theoretical energy gain limit, over twice of what is possible with a one-color pulsed beam of equal total energy and pulse duration.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2011. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-88).
Date issued
2011Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer SciencePublisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.