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Title: Photon mirror acceleration in the quantum regime

Abstract

Reflection of an electron beam by an intense laser pulse is considered. This is the so-called photon mirror configuration for laser acceleration in vacuum, where the energy of the incident electron beam is nearly double-Doppler shifted due to reflection on the laser pulse front. A wave-electron optical description for electron reflection and resonant backscattering, due to both linear electric field force and quadratic ponderomotive force, is provided beyond the paraxial approximation. This is done by assuming that the single electron of the beam is spin-less and therefore its motion can be described by a quantum scalar field whose spatiotemporal evolution is governed by the Klein-Gordon equation (Klein-Gordon field). Our present model, not only confirms the classical results but also shows the occurrence of purely quantum effects, such as partial reflection of the incident electron beam and enhanced backscattering due to Bragg resonance.

Authors:
 [1];  [2]
  1. Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-090 (Brazil)
  2. Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Napoli Federico II and INFN Sezione di Napoli, Napoli (Italy)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22407928
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Physics of Plasmas
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 21; Journal Issue: 12; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; ACCELERATION; BACKSCATTERING; DOPPLER EFFECT; ELECTRIC FIELDS; ELECTRON BEAMS; ELECTRONS; KLEIN-GORDON EQUATION; LASERS; MIRRORS; PHOTONS; PONDEROMOTIVE FORCE; PULSES; REFLECTION; SCALAR FIELDS; SPACE DEPENDENCE; TIME DEPENDENCE

Citation Formats

Mendonça, J. T., E-mail: josetitomend@gmail.com, and Fedele, R., E-mail: renato.fedele@na.infn.it. Photon mirror acceleration in the quantum regime. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4903325.
Mendonça, J. T., E-mail: josetitomend@gmail.com, & Fedele, R., E-mail: renato.fedele@na.infn.it. Photon mirror acceleration in the quantum regime. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4903325
Mendonça, J. T., E-mail: josetitomend@gmail.com, and Fedele, R., E-mail: renato.fedele@na.infn.it. 2014. "Photon mirror acceleration in the quantum regime". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4903325.
@article{osti_22407928,
title = {Photon mirror acceleration in the quantum regime},
author = {Mendonça, J. T., E-mail: josetitomend@gmail.com and Fedele, R., E-mail: renato.fedele@na.infn.it},
abstractNote = {Reflection of an electron beam by an intense laser pulse is considered. This is the so-called photon mirror configuration for laser acceleration in vacuum, where the energy of the incident electron beam is nearly double-Doppler shifted due to reflection on the laser pulse front. A wave-electron optical description for electron reflection and resonant backscattering, due to both linear electric field force and quadratic ponderomotive force, is provided beyond the paraxial approximation. This is done by assuming that the single electron of the beam is spin-less and therefore its motion can be described by a quantum scalar field whose spatiotemporal evolution is governed by the Klein-Gordon equation (Klein-Gordon field). Our present model, not only confirms the classical results but also shows the occurrence of purely quantum effects, such as partial reflection of the incident electron beam and enhanced backscattering due to Bragg resonance.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4903325},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22407928}, journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
issn = {1070-664X},
number = 12,
volume = 21,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}