High-resolution modeling of nonlinear Compton scattering in focused laser pulses

TL;DR

This paper presents a semi-classical model for nonlinear Compton scattering in focused laser pulses, capturing complex spectral features beyond local approximations, and introduces formation length as a diagnostic tool.

Contribution

It introduces a semi-classical approach that accurately models spectral features in nonlinear Compton scattering, surpassing traditional local approximation methods.

Findings

Semi-classical approach captures subharmonics and bandwidth structures.

Comparison shows semi-classical results align better with complex spectral features.

Formation length effectively distinguishes between modeling approaches.

Abstract

A semi-classical approach is used to calculate radiation emission in the collision of an electron with an intense focused laser pulse. The results are compared to predictions from the locally constant field and locally monochromatic approximations. It is found that simulations employing the semi-classical approach capture features in the energy spectra, such as subharmonics and bandwidth structure, which are beyond local approaches. The formation length is introduced as a diagnostic to select between approaches as the electron is propagated through the pulse.