Numerical analysis of 10's femtosecond relativistic electron beam generation using single 12 TW50 fs laser pulse

Particle-in-cell two-dimensional (PIC-2D) simulations have been performed to verify the trapping of plasma electrons in the wake of ultrashort, multi-terawatt laser pulse as it propagates through underdense uniform plasma. It is supposed that the wake wavebreaking is the reason for the beam generation. This mechanism may lead to a compact ultrashort-pulse relativistic electron accelerator/injector (we call it laser-plasma linac). For a laser pulse with a duration of 50 fs and a peak power of 12 TW propagating through plasma, the simulation results show the generation of electron beam from the self-trapped plasma electrons with maximum energy > 25 MeV and pulse duration of about 12 fs at FWHM. The two-dimensional effect of the plasma wave and the phase space of accelerated electrons are discussed. The present numerical results are relevant to the laser-plasma acceleration experiments that use the 12 TW 50 fs laser system at the Nuclear Engineering Research Laboratory (NERL), University of Tokyo. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.