Optical deflection and temporal characterization of an ultrafast laser-produced electron beam.
The interaction of a laser-produced electron beam with an ultraintense laser pulse in free space is studied. We show that the optical pulse with a(0)=0.5 imparts momentum to the electron beam, causing it to deflect along the laser propagation direction. The observed 3-degree angular deflection is found to be independent of polarization and in good agreement with a theoretical model for the interaction of free electrons with a tightly focused Gaussian pulse, but only when longitudinal fields are taken into account. This technique is used to temporally characterize a subpicosecond laser-wakefield-driven electron bunch. Applications to electron-beam conditioning are also discussed.
Banerjee
Sudeep
S
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Sepke
Scott
S
Shah
Rahul
R
Valenzuela
Anthony
A
Maksimchuk
Anatoly
A
Umstadter
Donald
D