title: Relativistic attosecond electron pulses from a free-space laser-acceleration scheme.
abstract: In this paper we describe how relativistic attosecond electron pulses could be produced in free space by ultrafast and ultraintense transverse magnetic (TM) laser beams. Numerical solutions of the time-dependent three-dimensional Maxwell-Lorentz equations reveal that electrons initially at rest at the waist of a multi-TW pulsed TM01 laser beam can be accelerated to multi-MeV energies. The use of a few-cycle laser beam and a compact initial electron cloud forces the particles to effectively interact with a single half-cycle of the laser field and form a pulse of attosecond duration.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'optique, photonique et laser, Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada, G1K 7P4. charles.varin.1@ulaval.ca
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Varin
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piché