Electrodynamics of electron in a superintense laser field: New principles of diagnostics of relativistic laser intensity

Abstract

The dynamics and energy spectra of electrons driven by a relativistically intense laser pulse are analyzed. The description is based on the numerical solution of the relativistic Newton’s equation with the Lorentz force generated by a strong focused optical field. After the interaction with it, electrons retain a considerable fraction of the energy of their oscillations during the interaction. The electron postinteraction energy spectrum is calculated. The energies in the spectrum high-energy tail are determined by the laser pulse intensity at the focal spot. An approach to estimating absolute values of the laser pulse intensity based on the measurement of the energy spectra of the electrons is proposed.