Abstract
We recently achieved the first experimental observation of laser-driven particle acceleration of relativistic electrons from a single Gaussian near-infrared laser beam in a semi-infinite vacuum. This article presents an in-depth account of key aspects of the experiment. An analysis of the transverse and longitudinal forces acting on the electron beam is included. A comparison of the observed data to the acceleration viewed as an inverse transition radiation process is presented. This is followed by a detailed description of the components of the experiment and a discussion of future measurements.
Highlights
Laser-driven particle acceleration in vacuum shows promise for substantially increased energy gradients for future advanced accelerators [1]
It was realized that certain laser beam configurations in vacuum produce an electric field component parallel to the direction of motion of the electron beam and create a linear acceleration force
This implies the necessity of an accelerator structure that limits the interaction of the laser field with the electrons or slows the effective phase velocity of the laser observed by the particles
Summary
Laser-driven particle acceleration in vacuum shows promise for substantially increased energy gradients for future advanced accelerators [1]. Due to the mismatch of the phase velocity of the electromagnetic wave and the particles no energy transfer to the electron beam through this linear acceleration mechanism can occur in free space [5] This implies the necessity of an accelerator structure that limits the interaction of the laser field with the electrons or slows the effective phase velocity of the laser observed by the particles. The simplest such laser accelerator configuration, proposed by Pantell and Piestrup [6], is a single laser beam oriented at a shallow angle to the electron beam and terminated by a downstream boundary. We have carried out a proof-of-principle experiment using a single laser beam terminated by a single downstream boundary that led to the first experimental observation of laser-driven acceleration of relativistic electrons in a semi-infinite vacuum and confirmed the key physics for this particle acceleration process [12]
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