Ultrafast polarization of an electron beam in an intense bichromatic laser field

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ultrafast polarization of an electron beam in an intense bichromatic laser field

AU - Seipt, Daniel

AU - Del Sorbo, Dario

AU - Ridgers, Christopher P.

AU - Thomas, A. G.R.

N1 - ©2019 American Physical Society. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

PY - 2019/12/4

Y1 - 2019/12/4

N2 - Here, we demonstrate the radiative polarization of high-energy electron beams in collisions with ultrashort pulsed bichromatic laser fields. Employing a Boltzmann kinetic approach for the electron distribution allows us to simulate the beam polarization over a wide range of parameters and determine the optimum conditions for maximum radiative polarization. Those results are contrasted with a Monte Carlo algorithm where photon emission and associated spin effects are treated fully quantum mechanically using spin-dependent photon emission rates. The latter method includes realistic focusing laser fields, which allows us to simulate a near-term experimentally feasible scenario of an 8 GeV electron beam scattering from a 1 PW laser pulse and provide a measurement that would verify the ultrafast radiative polarization in high-intensity laser pulses that we predict. Aspects of spin-dependent radiation reaction are also discussed, with spin polarization leading to a measurable (5%) splitting of the energies of spin-up and spin-down electrons.

AB - Here, we demonstrate the radiative polarization of high-energy electron beams in collisions with ultrashort pulsed bichromatic laser fields. Employing a Boltzmann kinetic approach for the electron distribution allows us to simulate the beam polarization over a wide range of parameters and determine the optimum conditions for maximum radiative polarization. Those results are contrasted with a Monte Carlo algorithm where photon emission and associated spin effects are treated fully quantum mechanically using spin-dependent photon emission rates. The latter method includes realistic focusing laser fields, which allows us to simulate a near-term experimentally feasible scenario of an 8 GeV electron beam scattering from a 1 PW laser pulse and provide a measurement that would verify the ultrafast radiative polarization in high-intensity laser pulses that we predict. Aspects of spin-dependent radiation reaction are also discussed, with spin polarization leading to a measurable (5%) splitting of the energies of spin-up and spin-down electrons.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076895716&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevA.100.061402

DO - 10.1103/PhysRevA.100.061402

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85076895716

SN - 2469-9926

VL - 100

JO - Physical Review A

JF - Physical Review A

IS - 6

M1 - 061402

ER -