Related papers: Extensive study of electron acceleration by relati…
The process of nuclear excitation by electron capture in plasma environments generated by the interaction of ultra-strong optical lasers with solid-state samples is investigated theoretically. With the help of a plasma model we perform a…
The amplification of a surface electromagnetic wave by means of ultrarelativistic monoenergetic electron bunch running over the flat plasma surface in absence of a magnetic field is studied theoretically. It is shown that when the ratio of…
While collisionless plasmas are ubiquitously present near astrophysical compact objects, the impact that their composition has on the high-energy emission is presently unknown. We present the first investigation of particle-acceleration…
Nonlinear electron emission processes induced by surface plasmon oscillations have been studied both experimentally and theoretically. The measured above-threshold electron spectra extend up to energies whose appearance cannot be explained…
Laser-plasma technology promises a drastic reduction of the size of high energy electron accelerators. It could make free electron lasers available to a broad scientific community, and push further the limits of electron accelerators for…
Cosmic rays and solar energetic particles may be accelerated to relativistic energies by shock waves in astrophysical plasmas. On the Sun, shocks and particle acceleration are often associated with the eruption of magnetized plasmoids,…
Highly polarized, multi-kiloampere-current electron bunches from compact laser-plasma accelerators are desired for numerous applications. Current proposals to produce these beams suffer from intrinsic limitations to the reproducibility,…
The interaction of micro- and nano-structured target surfaces with high-power laser pulses is being widely investigated for its unprecedented absorption efficiency. We have developed vertically aligned metallic micro-pillar arrays for…
Particle acceleration at magnetized purely perpendicular relativistic shocks in electron-ion plasmas are studied by means of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Magnetized shocks with the upstream bulk Lorentz factor $\gamma_1 \gg…
An effective scheme of synchronized laser-triggered ion acceleration and the corresponding theoretical model are proposed for a slow light pulse of relativistic intensity, which penetrates into a near-critical-density plasma, strongly…
We investigate the dynamics of a relativistic electron in a strongly nonlinear plasma wave in terms of classical mechanics by taking into account the action of the radiative reaction force. The two limiting cases are considered. In the…
The manuscript deals with electron acceleration by a laser pulse in a plasma with a static uniform magnetic field $B_*$. The laser pulse propagates perpendicular to the magnetic field lines with the polarization chosen such that…
Laser-plasma accelerators produce electric fields of the order of 100 GV/m, more than 1000 times larger than radio-frequency accelerators. Thanks to this unique field strength, they appear as a promising path to generate electron beams…
Laser-plasma proton acceleration was investigated in the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) regime using a novel gas-foil target. The target is designed for reaching higher laser intensity at the foil plane owing to relativistic…
Relativistically-intense laser beam with large field gradient ("laser gate") enables strong inelastic scattering of electrons crossing the beam. This process allows for multi-MeV electron net acceleration per pass within the wavelength…
Calculations on the dynamics of ions and electrons in near-infrared laser fields at intensities up to $3 \times 10^{23}$ W/cm$^2$ are presented. We explore the acceleration of ions in a laser focus by conservation of canonical momentum…
We revisit the matching conditions for self-guided laser pulse propagation in plasma and refine their formulation to maximize the energy of electrons produced via laser wakefield acceleration. Bayesian optimization, combined with…
We present an analytical theory that reveals the importance of the longitudinal laser electric field in the resonant acceleration of relativistic electrons by the tightly confined laser beam. It is shown that this field always counterworks…
We study the direct acceleration of a free electron in infinite vacuum along the axis of a pulsed radially-polarized laser beam. We find that net energy transfer from laser pulse to electron is maximized with the tightest focusing. We show…
Plasma waves generated in the wake of intense, relativistic laser or particle beams can accelerate electron bunches to giga-electronvolt (GeV) energies in centimetre-scale distances. This allows the realization of compact accelerators…