All-optical steering of laser-wakefield-accelerated electron beams.

Journal article

We investigate the influence of a tilted laser-pulse-intensity front on laser-wakefield acceleration. Such asymmetric light pulses may be exploited to obtain control over the electron-bunch-pointing direction and in our case allowed for reproducible electron-beam steering in an all-optical way within an 8 mrad opening window with respect to the initial laser axis. We also discovered evidence of collective electron-betatron oscillations due to off-axis electron injection into the wakefield induced by a pulse-front tilt. These findings are supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations.

Authors: Popp, A; Vieira, J; Osterhoff, J; Major, Z; Hörlein, R

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Physical Review Letters
• Volume: 105
• Issue: 21
• Pages: 215001
• Publication date: 2010-11-01
• DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.105.215001
• EISSN: 1079-7114
• ISSN: 0031-9007
• Language: English