Electromagnetic Field Distribution and Divergence-Dependence of a Radially Polarized Gaussian Vector Beam Focused by a Parabolic Mirror

TL;DR

This paper derives formulas for the electromagnetic field distribution of a focused radially polarized Gaussian beam using a parabolic mirror, highlighting its potential for particle acceleration especially in the terahertz regime.

Contribution

It provides a new computational approach based on Stratton-Chu diffraction for analyzing focused vector beams, surpassing Richards-Wolf theory in long wavelength regimes.

Findings

Longitudinal electric field of ~160 MV/cm predicted in terahertz range

Field distribution depends linearly on focusing divergence

Parabolic ring design enhances particle acceleration potential

Abstract

In this work, we derived formulae concerning the electric and magnetic field characteristics of a focused radially polarized Gaussian vector beam. Such a beam is consistent with Maxwell's equations contrary to plane waves having uniform field distribution. Hence a realistic picture is provided of the focused field distributions having importance before designing applications such as particle acceleration. For focusing a perfectly reflecting large numerical aperture on-axis parabolic mirror was supposed to have practical importance. The computation technique was based on the Stratton-Chu vector diffraction method. We pointed out that this offers a unique opportunity in the long wavelength regime, where the Richards-Wolf theory becomes unreliable. In the terahertz frequency range longitudinal electric field component with an amplitude of $\sim$160 $\text{MV}/\text{cm}$ was predicted, which is ideal for particle acceleration applications. Based on the field characteristics experienced as a function of the focusing angle, the possibility of using a paraboloid ring for particle acceleration was suggested. Its advantage is reflected not only in the strong available longitudinal field but also in ensuring the unobstructed transfer of particles as a practical point of view. The axial and radial distributions of the longitudinal electric field component for different incident beam divergences were analyzed in detail. It was found that the shift of the physical focus relative to the geometrical focus along the longitudinal direction shows a linear dependence on the divergence. The effect of the divergence angle on the field enhancement factor was also studied.