To study the effect of laser frequency-chirp on trapped electrons in laser wakefield acceleration

Abstract

The wakefield excitation and electron acceleration is investigated in the presence of laser pulse with and without frequency-chirp in an under-dense plasma via particle in cell simulation. For this purpose, first 1D model of laser wakefield acceleration is revisited. The analytical expressions for the longitudinal wake-potential and wakefield generated behind the laser pulse are obtained. The results show that the wake-fields excited by laser pulses are strongly dependent on the chirp parameter. These results could be very useful as a starting point for optimization studies for a real LWFA experiment.