Electron acceleration to GeV energy by a radially polarized laser

Abstract

We present a relativistic single particle simulation of vacuum acceleration of an electron by a high-intensity radially polarized laser beam. The inherent complete symmetry of radially polarized laser beam leads to improvement in the trapping and acceleration of an electron so that an electron can be accelerated to the level of GeV. In addition, the external magnetic field further enhances the electron acceleration. Hence, an electron of ultrahigh energy was observed. The strong correlation between final electron energy and scattering angle is discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.