Alternative interpretation of Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 410 (1998) 357 (H. Dewa et al.)

We consider a recent publication (H. Dewa et al., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 410 (1998) 357) of an experiment on ultra-high-energy laser wakefield acceleration of electrons, involving channeling of the laser pulse in the plasma. We find that in these experiments, channeling of the laser pulse may not have occurred and the detected electron signal may be background noise resulting from multiple electron scattering. (author)