Generation of ultra-relativistic monoenergetic electron bunches via a synergistic interaction of longitudinal electric and magnetic fields of a twisted laser

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates through 3D simulations that twisted laser beams reflecting off plasma mirrors can generate ultra-relativistic, monoenergetic electron bunches with high energy, low spread, and extremely short duration, useful for advanced accelerators.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel method using twisted laser beams and plasma mirrors to produce high-quality electron bunches, supported by analytical modeling and detailed simulations.

Findings

Electron energy reaches 1.6 GeV with 5.5% spread

Bunch duration is 320 attoseconds

Charge of 60 pC with density ~10^27 m^-3

Abstract

We use 3D simulations to demonstrate that high-quality ultra-relativistic electron bunches can be generated upon reflection of a twisted laser beam off a plasma mirror. The unique topology of the beam with a twist index $|l| = 1$ creates an accelerating structure dominated by longitudinal laser electric and magnetic fields in the near-axis region. We show that the magnetic field is essential for creating a train of dense mono-energetic bunches. For a 6.8~PW laser, the energy reaches 1.6~GeV with a spread of 5.5\%. The bunch duration is 320 as, its charge is 60~pC and density is $\sim 10^{27}$~m$^{-3}$. The results are confirmed by an analytical model for the electron energy gain. These results enable development of novel laser-driven accelerators at multi-PW laser facilities.