Relativistic Laser Acceleration Of Electrons Along Solid Surfaces

Recent experimental and theoretical studies on surface electron emission will be presented. A collimated fast electron beam was observed along the target surface irradiated by intense laser pulses up to 20TW when the laser is incident with large angles such as over 45 degree. Numerical simulations suggest that such an electron beam is formed due to the confinement of the surface quasistatic electric and magnetic fields. Meanwhile, an acceleration process similar to the inverse‐free‐electron‐laser is found to occur and is responsible for the generation of the most energetic electrons. A general formula for electron angular distributions accounting for the quasistatic electric and magnetic fields is given. In certain conditions, quasi‐monoenergetic electron beams are also produced. These results are of interest for potential applications of laser‐produced electron beams and helpful to the undersanding of the cone‐target physics in the fast ignition related experiments.