Visible-Laser Acceleration of Relativistic Electrons in a Semi-Infinite Vacuum
Authors:
- R. L. ByerRBR. L. Byer
- E. ColbyECE. Colby
- B. CowanBCB. Cowan
- C. M. S. SearsCSC. M. S. Sears
- J. E. SpencerJSJ. E. Spencer
- R. H. SiemannRSR. H. Siemann
- 22 September 2005
- journal article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 95 (13) , 134801
Abstract
We demonstrate a new particle acceleration mechanism using 800 nm laser radiation to accelerate relativistic electrons in a semi-infinite vacuum. The experimental demonstration is the first of its kind and is a proof of principle for the concept of laser-driven particle acceleration in a structure loaded vacuum. We observed up to 30 keV energy modulation over a distance of 1000 lambda, corresponding to a 40 MeV/m peak gradient. The energy modulation was observed to scale linearly with the laser electric field and showed the expected laser-polarization dependence. Furthermore, as expected, laser acceleration occurred only in the presence of a boundary that limited the laser-electron interaction to a finite distance.Keywords
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