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Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 8, 121301 (2005) [12 pages]

Proof-of-principle experiment for laser-driven acceleration of relativistic electrons in a semi-infinite vacuum

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T. Plettner and R. L. Byer
E. L. Ginzton Laboratories, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA

E. Colby, B. Cowan, C. M. S. Sears, J. E. Spencer, and R. H. Siemann
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, California, 94025, USA

Received 22 September 2005; published 13 December 2005

We recently achieved the first experimental observation of laser-driven particle acceleration of relativistic electrons from a single Gaussian near-infrared laser beam in a semi-infinite vacuum. This article presents an in-depth account of key aspects of the experiment. An analysis of the transverse and longitudinal forces acting on the electron beam is included. A comparison of the observed data to the acceleration viewed as an inverse transition radiation process is presented. This is followed by a detailed description of the components of the experiment and a discussion of future measurements.

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.8.121301
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.8.121301
PACS:
41.75.Jv, 41.75.Ht, 42.25.Bs