Coherent Thomson backscattering from laser-driven relativistic ultra-thin electron layers

Coherent Thomson backscattering from laser-driven relativistic ultra-thin electron layers

The generation of laser-driven dense relativistic electron layers from ultra-thin foils and their use for coherent Thomson backscattering is discussed, applying analytic theory and one-dimensional particlein-cell simulation. The blow-out regime is explored in which all foil electrons are separated from ions by direct laser action. The electrons follow the light wave close to its leading front. ...

The reflectivity of relativistic ultra-thin electron layers

The coherent reflectivity of a dense, relativistic, ultra-thin electron layer is derived analytically for an obliquely incident probe beam. Results are obtained by two-fold Lorentz transformation. For the analytical treatment, a plane uniform electron layer is considered. All electrons move with uniform velocity under an angle to the normal direction of the plane; such electron motion correspon...

Stimulated Backscattering From Relativistic Unmagnetized Electron Beams

Corrections to Laser Electron Thomson Scattering

Thomson scattering is the classical process of light being deflected by a charged obstacle of typical size smaller than the wavelength of the incident radiation. For definiteness we will henceforth assume the charge to be an electron and the incoming wave stemming from a laser beam. The scattered radiation may be viewed as resulting from a two-step process: (i) the acceleration of the charge du...

All-laser-driven Thomson X-ray sources

We discuss the development of a new generation of accelerator-based hard X-ray sources driven exclusively by laser light. High-intensity laser pulses serve the dual roles: first, accelerating electrons by laser-driven plasma wakefields, and second, generating X-rays by inverse Compton scattering. Such all-laser-driven X-rays have recently been demonstrated to be energetic, tunable, relatively n...