title: Energy gain of an electron by a laser pulse in the presence of radiation reaction.
abstract: A well-known no-energy-gain theorem states that an electron cannot gain energy when being overrun by a plane (transverse) laser pulse of finite length. The theorem is based on symmetries which are broken when radiation reaction (RR) is included. It is shown here that an electron, e.g., being initially at rest, will gain a positive velocity component in the laser propagation direction after being overrun by an intense laser pulse (of finite duration and with intensity of order 5×10(22) W/cm(2) or larger). The velocity increment is due to RR effects. The latter are incorporated in the Landau-Lifshitz form. Both linear as well as circular polarization of the laser pulse are considered. It is demonstrated that the velocity gain is proportional to the pulse length and the square of the peak amplitude of the laser pulse. The results of numerical simulations are supported by analytical estimates.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Spatschek