Photon mirror acceleration in the quantum regime

Abstract

Reflection of an electron beam by an intense laser pulse is considered. This is the so-called photon mirror configuration for laser acceleration in vacuum, where the energy of the incident electron beam is nearly double-Doppler shifted due to reflection on the laser pulse front. A wave-electron optical description for electron reflection and resonant backscattering, due to both linear electric field force and quadratic ponderomotive force, is provided beyond the paraxial approximation. This is done by assuming that the single electron of the beam is spin-less and therefore its motion can be described by a quantum scalar field whose spatiotemporal evolution is governed by the Klein-Gordon equation (Klein-Gordon field). Our present model, not only confirms the classical results but also shows the occurrence of purely quantum effects, such as partial reflection of the incident electron beam and enhanced backscattering due to Bragg resonance.