We show how electrons could be accelerated from rest to multi-MeV energies within a few millimeters by the longitudinal electric field of a pulsed transverse magnetic laser beam of multiterawatt power. The use of an ultrafast laser beam and a compact initial electron cloud forces the particles to effectively interact with a single half-cycle of the laser field. Numerical simulations of the time-dependent three-dimensional Maxwell-Lorentz equations show that relativistic attosecond electron pulses could thus be produced. Preliminary theoretical investigations predict that electron pulses of zeptosecond duration could be generated with multipetawatt laser power.

Date Published: 8 September 2006
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 6343, Photonics North 2006, 634344 (8 September 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.707932

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6343:
Photonics North 2006
Pierre Mathieu, Editor(s)