Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan

The longitudinal fields of a tightly focused Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) laser can be used to accelerate electron pulse trains when it is reflected from a solid plasma. However, the normal transverse mode of laser beams in high-power laser systems is approximately Gaussian. A routine and reliable way to...

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Main Authors: Xiang Tang, Juexuan Hao, Yin Shi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2024-01-01
Series:High Power Laser Science and Engineering
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Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2095471924000562/type/journal_article
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author Xiang Tang
Juexuan Hao
Yin Shi
author_facet Xiang Tang
Juexuan Hao
Yin Shi
author_sort Xiang Tang
collection DOAJ
description The longitudinal fields of a tightly focused Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) laser can be used to accelerate electron pulse trains when it is reflected from a solid plasma. However, the normal transverse mode of laser beams in high-power laser systems is approximately Gaussian. A routine and reliable way to obtain high-intensity LG lasers in experiments remains a major challenge. One approach involves utilizing a solid plasma with a ‘light fan’ structure to reflect the Gaussian laser and obtain a relativistic intense LG laser. In this work, we propose a way to combine the mode transformation of a relativistic laser and the process of electron injection and acceleration. It demonstrates that by integrating a nanowire structure at the center of the ‘light fan’, electrons can be efficiently injected and accelerated during the twisted laser generation process. Using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, it is shown that a circularly polarized Gaussian beam with ${a}_0=20$ can efficiently inject electrons into the laser beam in interaction with the solid plasma. The electrons injected close to the laser axis are driven by a longitudinal electric field to gain longitudinal momentum, forming bunches with a low energy spread and a small divergence angle. The most energetic bunch exhibits an energy of 310 MeV, with a spread of 6%. The bunch charge is 57 pC, the duration is 400 as and the divergence angle is less than 50 mrad. By employing Gaussian beams, our proposed approach has the potential to reduce experimental complexity in the demonstrations of twisted laser-driven electron acceleration.
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issn 2095-4719
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publishDate 2024-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-c3a402b56daa46dcba852c01b397624c2025-01-16T21:46:53ZengCambridge University PressHigh Power Laser Science and Engineering2095-47192052-32892024-01-011210.1017/hpl.2024.56Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fanXiang Tang0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5611-5371Juexuan Hao1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8518-5048Yin Shi2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9902-873XDepartment of Plasma Physics and Fusion Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Plasma Physics and Fusion Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Plasma Physics and Fusion Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, ChinaThe longitudinal fields of a tightly focused Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) laser can be used to accelerate electron pulse trains when it is reflected from a solid plasma. However, the normal transverse mode of laser beams in high-power laser systems is approximately Gaussian. A routine and reliable way to obtain high-intensity LG lasers in experiments remains a major challenge. One approach involves utilizing a solid plasma with a ‘light fan’ structure to reflect the Gaussian laser and obtain a relativistic intense LG laser. In this work, we propose a way to combine the mode transformation of a relativistic laser and the process of electron injection and acceleration. It demonstrates that by integrating a nanowire structure at the center of the ‘light fan’, electrons can be efficiently injected and accelerated during the twisted laser generation process. Using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, it is shown that a circularly polarized Gaussian beam with ${a}_0=20$ can efficiently inject electrons into the laser beam in interaction with the solid plasma. The electrons injected close to the laser axis are driven by a longitudinal electric field to gain longitudinal momentum, forming bunches with a low energy spread and a small divergence angle. The most energetic bunch exhibits an energy of 310 MeV, with a spread of 6%. The bunch charge is 57 pC, the duration is 400 as and the divergence angle is less than 50 mrad. By employing Gaussian beams, our proposed approach has the potential to reduce experimental complexity in the demonstrations of twisted laser-driven electron acceleration.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2095471924000562/type/journal_articlelaser-driven electron accelerationlaser–plasma interactionslight fanLaguerre-Gaussian laser
spellingShingle Xiang Tang
Juexuan Hao
Yin Shi
Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan
High Power Laser Science and Engineering
laser-driven electron acceleration
laser–plasma interactions
light fan
Laguerre-Gaussian laser
title Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan
title_full Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan
title_fullStr Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan
title_full_unstemmed Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan
title_short Electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan
title_sort electron injection and acceleration in a twisted laser driven by the light fan
topic laser-driven electron acceleration
laser–plasma interactions
light fan
Laguerre-Gaussian laser
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2095471924000562/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT xiangtang electroninjectionandaccelerationinatwistedlaserdrivenbythelightfan
AT juexuanhao electroninjectionandaccelerationinatwistedlaserdrivenbythelightfan
AT yinshi electroninjectionandaccelerationinatwistedlaserdrivenbythelightfan