Electron trajectories associated with laser-driven coherent synchrotron emission at the front surface of overdense plasmas

We present an in-depth analysis of an ultrafast electron trajectory type that produces attosecond electromagnetic pulses in both the reflected and forward directions during normal incidence, relativistic laser-plasma interactions. Our particle-in-cell simulation results show that for a target which is opaque to the frequency of the driving laser pulse the emission trajectory is synchrotronlike but differs significantly from the previously identified figure-eight type which produces bright attosecond bursts exclusively in the reflected direction. The origin and characteristics of this trajectory type are explained in terms of the driving electromagnetic fields, the opacity of the plasma, and the conservation of canonical momentum.