Particle Refraction, Reflection and Channeling by Laser Beams

TL;DR

This paper explores how charged and neutral particles can be refracted, reflected, and channeled by laser fields, enabling applications like ultrafast electron bunches and radiation pulses.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for particle refraction and channeling by laser fields, extending concepts from crystalline channeling to electromagnetic environments.

Findings

Particles can be refracted and reflected at laser field boundaries.

Charged and neutral particles with polarizability can be channeled by laser fields.

Potential applications include femtosecond electron bunches and radiation sources.

Abstract

It is shown that the charged particles are refracted and reflected on the boundary of field free and laser field regions in vacuum. Simple and transparent estimates are given which show the possibility of channeling of charged and neutral particles having polarizability by strong electromagnetic field of certain laser bunches just as by the field of orientated crystalline planes and axes. These processes can be applied for production of femtosecond sliced electron bunches, for measurement their length and particle distribution as well as for production of femtosecond X-ray and terahertz pulses using transition, channeling and other types of radiation.