Nonlinear Thomson scattering of intense laser pulses from beams and plasmas

1993/10/01 by E. Esarey, S. K. Ride, P. Sprangle · 448 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Molecular Physics #Atomic physics #Electron #Laser #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics #Nuclear physics #Optics #Photon #Physics #Plasma #Scattering #Thomson scattering

paper · doi:10.1103/physreve.48.3003

published in Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics 48(4), 3003-3021 (American Physical Society)

openalex publication_date 1993/10/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

A comprehensive theory is developed to describe the nonlinear Thomson scattering of intense laser fields from beams and plasmas. This theory is valid for linearly or circularly polarized incident laser fields of arbitrary intensities and for electrons of arbitrary energies. Explicit expressions for the intensity distributions of the scattered radiation are calculated and numerically evaluated. The space-charge electrostatic potential, which is important in high-density plasmas and prevents the axial drift of electrons, is included self-consistently. Various properties of the scattered radiation are examined, including the linewidth, angular distribution, and the behavior of the radiation spectra at ultrahigh intensities. Nonideal effects, such as electron-energy spread and beam emittance, are discussed. A laser synchrotron source (LSS), based on nonlinear Thomson scattering, may provide a practical method for generating tunable, near-monochromatic, well-collimated, short-pulse x rays in a compact, relatively inexpensive source. Two examples of possible LSS configurations are presented: an electron-beam LSS generating hard (30-keV, 0.4-\AA) x rays and a plasma LSS generating soft (0.3-keV, 40-\AA) x rays. These LSS configurations are capable of generating ultrashort (\ensuremath∼1-ps) x-ray pulses with high peak flux (\ensuremath\gtrsim10²¹ photons/s) and brightness [\ensuremath\gtrsim10¹⁹ photons /(s mm² mrad²), 0.1% bandwidth].

Cited by

• Carrier-envelope phase controlled isolated attosecond pulses in the nm wavelength range, based on coherent nonlinear Thomson-backscattering
• Optimized photonic gauge of extreme high vacuum with Petawatt lasers
• Compact spectroscopy of keV to MeV X-rays from a laser wakefield accelerator
• Frequency scaling law for nonlinear Compton and Thomson scattering: Relevance of spin and polarization effects
• Photoemission of a Single-Electron Wave Packet in a Strong Laser Field
• Schwinger Limit Attainability with Extreme Power Lasers
• Applications of laser wakefield accelerator-based light sources
• Experimental observation of relativistic nonlinear Thomson scattering
• Radiation Reaction Enhancement in Flying Focus Pulses
• Single-cycle attosecond pulses by Thomson backscattering of terahertz pulses
• Fusion power [wikipedia]