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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2025
Chapter 3 examines in detail the dynamics of motion and energetics of individual free electrons in an intense laser field. It considers first electron dynamics at modest intensity in which the electron motion is nonrelativistic and the magnetic field of the laser field can be neglected. After a definition of the fields and potentials, the concept of a cycle-averaged ponderomotive energy is introduced. Then, the dynamics of free electrons at higher intensity are considered and the nonlinear oscillatory motion that results because of the relativistic mass change of the quivering electron is explored. Next, the radiation that is scattered by a free electron in a relativistic intensity field is considered, and the concept of relativistic Thomson scattering is detailed, exploring its high harmonic spectra and scattered radiation spatial distributions. The next portion of the chapter turns to the kinematics of free electrons in nonuniform laser fields, such as in the spatial profile of a laser focus. The various regimes of ponderomotive ejection of the electron from a focus are explored. A concluding section derives the quantum wavefunctions of an electron in the field.
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