Drift mechanism of laser-induced electron acceleration in vacuum

Laser-induced electron acceleration in vacuum is possible due to the ejection of electrons from the beam as a consequence of the transverse drift orthogonal to the propagation direction. The transverse drift is derived from the general solution of the equations of motion of the electrons in the field of a plane electromagnetic wave with arbitrary polarization. It is shown that the energy gain is proportional to the square of the field strength additionally modulated by the function of the injection and ejection phases. In particular, for a linearly polarized beam this function is reduced to the squared difference between the cosines of these phases. The finite laser pulse duration restricts the range of the field strength suitable for direct electron acceleration in vacuum within certain limits. It is demonstrated that the high efficiency of energy transfer from the laser wave into the kinetic energy of the accelerated electrons demands phase matching between the electron quiver phase at the exit point and the phase of the energy transfer. (paper)