Mechanism of high-energy electron production in a laser plasma

A mechanism of high-energy electron production in the interaction of high-intensity short laser pulses with a solid target is proposed and analysed. The theoretical dependences of fast-electron kinetic energy on the parameters of laser radiation and target material are given. The effect of ionisation of the target material is considered. The generation of ultrastrong magnetic fields in the laser plasma is shown to play the key part in the formation, transfer, and acceleration of electron beams. This results in the production of vortex electric fields accelerating electrons. The theoretical dependences yield well-proved limits for the electron energy and are in good agreement with the results of experiments performed on high-intensity laser setups, including the results obtained with participation of the author.