Electron plasma wave excitation by a q-Gaussian laser beam and subsequent electron acceleration

Abstract

In this paper, we theoretically study the propagation dynamics of a q-Gaussian laser beam in a plasma by considering the relativistic and ponderomotive nonlinearities. The q-Gaussian laser beam exhibits unique characteristics while interacting with the plasma. The q-Gaussian laser beam redistributes the plasma density in a different way, which affects the laser self-focusing. A comparative study of the self-focusing for Gaussian and q-Gaussian laser beams is reported. The results obtained from numerical analysis reveal a stronger self-focusing of the q-Gaussian laser beam in plasmas, which is desirable to excite a large amplitude plasma wave for electron acceleration by extending the interaction length. We then extended this study to investigate the electron plasma wave excitation by the q-Gaussian laser beam. The electron plasma wave is driven more efficiently by the q-Gaussian laser beam. Our results show that the electron plasma wave field intensity enhances more than twofold for the q-Gaussian laser beam in comparison with the case of a Gaussian laser beam. The electron plasma wave excited by a q-Gaussian beam can accelerate the plasma electrons to higher energies. Numerical results are presented for the established set of laser and plasma parameters.

Influence of non‐uniform magnetic field on relativistic q‐Gaussian laser pulses propagating in magnetized plasmas

“…The profile of the field distribution of the QG laser pulse is given as [ 38 ] $$$$ E={E}_0{\left(1+\frac{r^2}{qr_0^2}\right)}^{\frac{-q}{2}} $$$$ where E 0 is the axial amplitude of the QG electric field in z = 0, r 0 is the initial spot‐size of the laser pulse, and q is a parameter related to the deviation of the intensity profile of laser pulse from Gaussian distribution. Note that while q → ∞, the profile of a QG laser pulse gently converges to a Gaussian profile.…”

Nonlinear interaction of elliptical q-Gaussian laser beams with plasmas with axial density ramp: effect of ponderomotive force

“…The amplitude structure over the cross section of elliptical q-Gaussian laser beam at the plane if incidence (i.e., z = 0) is given by [34,35]…”

On the Exploration of q Parameter in Propagation Dynamics of q-Gaussian Laser Beam in Underdense Collisional Plasma

“…In the recent years, many researchers have showed a significant interest in a new class of laser beam profile known as q-Gaussian laser beam [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Most of the studies of laser-plasma interaction have been carried out under the assumption that the intensity distributions of laser beam have a Gaussian nature [27][28][29][30][31][32].…”