Optical Deflection and Temporal Characterization of an Ultrafast Laser-Produced Electron Beam

Authors

• Sudeep Banerjee, University of Michigan, Ann ArborFollow
• Scott Sepke, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Rahul Shah, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Anthony Valenzuela, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Anatoly Maksimchuk, University of MichiganFollow
• Donald P. Umstadter, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

7-15-2005

Comments

Published by American Physical Society. Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 035004 (2005). http://prl.aps.org. Copyright © 2005 American Physical Society. Permission to use.

Abstract

The interaction of a laser-produced electron beam with an ultraintense laser pulse in free space is studied. We show that the optical pulse with a₀=0.5 imparts momentum to the electron beam, causing it to deflect along the laser propagation direction. The observed 3-degree angular deflection is found to be independent of polarization and in good agreement with a theoretical model for the interaction of free electrons with a tightly focused Gaussian pulse, but only when longitudinal fields are taken into account. This technique is used to temporally characterize a subpicosecond laser-wakefield-driven electron bunch. Applications to electron-beam conditioning are also discussed.