Laser Beat Wave Electron Accelerator

A static periodic magnetic field (wiggler) together with a radiation field, can induce a beat wave in the presence of an injected electron beam. This beat wave, if properly phased, can trap and continuously energize the electron beam. To optimize the transfer of energy from the photons to electrons, both the wiggler amplitude and wavelength are spatially increased as a function of acceleration distance. The acceleration process is self-consistently analyzed and includes radiation depletion and space charge effects. Two numerical illustrations are given using different radiation sources.