Numerical study of electron acceleration driven by two-color laser pulses

Abstract

The use of two-color relativistic femtosecond laser pulses for large-amplitude wakefield excitation and electron acceleration to relativistic energies in very short distances is a promising candidate that has recently been investigated experimentally and numerically by using the particle-in-cell method. Here, we have numerically studied the evolution of a large-amplitude wakefield excited by two-color relativistic femtosecond laser pulses in an underdense plasma. Moreover, the effects of some physical parameters such as two-color pulse polarization and time delay on the wakefield, and the electron acceleration are investigated. The results show that the wakefield amplitude and the energy of the accelerated electrons can be controlled by these parameters. We compare some results with those obtained by applying single-color pulses with similar energy. According to the comparison results, by applying two-color laser pulses, a stronger wakefield and higher electron energies can be obtained. We also show that our results are in good agreement with the experimental data obtained earlier.