Universal classical mechanism of free-electron lasing without inversion

Raman and Thompson regimes of amplification in a wiggler with noncollinear laser and electron beams

The collective and single-electron amplification regimes of a noncollinear free-electron laser (FEL) are studied within the framework of dispersion equations. In the limit of small-signal gain the growth rates and the conditions for self-amplified excitations are found for the collective (Raman) and single-electron (Thompson) regimes. The Raman regime is shown to be preferable for the coherent spontaneous second harmonic generation by ultrarelativistic electron beams. Raman excitations in a noncollinear FEL, e.g., in an FEL without inversion, are favored by the noncollinear geometry of the electron and the laser beams, and by the relativity of the beam electrons.

Numerical experiments on free-electron lasers without inversion

The inversionless free-electron laser having a drift region consisting of two magnets is analyzed. Performing numerical simulations of electron motion inside wigglers and the drift region, we have shown that this system has a positive mean gain over the entire energy distribution of the electron beam. We study the influence of emittance and the spread of electron energies on the gain.

Broadband optical gain via interference in the free electron laser: principles and proposed realizations

We propose experimentally simplified schemes of an optically dispersive interface region between two coupled free electron lasers (FELs), aimed at achieving a much broader gain bandwidth than in a conventional FEL or a conventional optical klystron composed of two separated FELs. The proposed schemes can universally enhance the gain of FELs, regardless of their design, when operated in the short pulsed regime.

X-ray amplification by laser controlled coherent bremsstrahlung

A coherent x-ray generation scheme is proposed which involves characteristics of free electron lasers and atomic high harmonic generation schemes. A thin solid layer or any other periodic atomic structure with limited dimensions is exposed to a short, superintense laser pulse. The electrons are extracted from the layer due to the extreme force and penetrate periodically through the ionic structure. Consequently, thousands of harmonics of the laser radiation field are shown to coherently amplify along the interaction length. The small signal gain of the generated x-ray radiation exceeds that arising from the multiphoton Compton process in plasmas and is competitive with that in the leading x-ray free electron lasers.

Free-electron laser without inversion: gain optimization and implementation scheme

We consider a scheme of two noncollinear wigglers with an intermediate magnetic drift region, constituting a free-electron laser without inversion (FELWI). Two mechanisms of phase shifts in the drift region between the wigglers owing to a series of magnetic lenses can give rise to FELWI: velocity- and angle-dependent shifts. An appropriate combination of these shifts is shown to provide the conditions for amplification without inversion. The phase shifts optimizing the gain are found. A specific scheme for the drift region is suggested.