Terahertz (THz) radiation generation by the interaction of two co-propagating high intensity laser beams with a warm collisional inhomogeneous plasma is analytically investigated. By presenting the dielectric permittivity of plasma and taking into account the ponderomotive force, the nonlinear current at THz frequency is obtained. A secondary resonant enhancement of THz radiation is observed, in addition to that occurs at the plasma frequency, which can be tuned by plasma density and temperature. Moreover, we show that for each beat frequency, there exists an optimum temperature at which THz radiation is maximized. It is also shown that the power and efficiency of THz radiation decrease by increasing the collision frequency.

Quasi-phase matching in corrugated plasma channels has been proposed as a way to overcome the dephasing limitation in laser wakefield accelerators. In this study, the phase-lock dynamics of a relatively long electron bunch injected in an axially-modulated plasma waveguide is investigated by performing particle simulations. The main objective here is to obtain a better understanding of how the transverse and longitudinal components of the wakefield as well as the initial properties of the beam affect its evolution and qualities. The results indicate that the modulation of the electron beam generates trains of electron microbunches. It is shown that increasing the initial energy of the electron beam leads to a reduction in its final energy spread and produces a more collimated electron bunch. For larger bunch diameters, the final emittance of the electron beam increases due to the stronger experienced transverse forces and the larger diameter itself. Increasing the laser power improves the maximum energy gain of the electron beam. However, the stronger generated focusing and defocusing fields degrade the collimation of the bunch.

A new scheme for injection and acceleration of electrons in wakefield accelerators is suggested based on the co-action of a laser pulse and an electron beam. This synergy leads to stronger wakefield generation and higher energy gain in the bubble regime. The strong deformation of the whole bubble leads to electron self-injection at lower laser powers and lower plasma densities. To predict the practical ranges of electron beam and laser pulse parameters an interpretive model is proposed. The effects of altering the initial electron beam position on self-trapping of plasma electrons are studied. It is observed that an ultra-short (25 fs), high charge (340 pC), 1 GeV electron bunch is produced by injection of a 280 pC electron beam in the decelerating phase of the 75 TW laser driven wakefield.

A novel technique for generating high current electron bunches in electron beam driven plasma wakefield accelerators (PWFAs) is suggested based on co-propagation of an electron beam and a laser pulse. It is observed that propagation of a laser pulse in front of an electron beam driver leads to bubble expansion and consequently electron injection into a PWFA. The acceleration structure is extensively studied in this scheme and the bubble evolution process is discussed. The difference in propagation velocity of the laser pulse and the beam driver in the plasma and variation of electron beam driver density in presence of the laser pulse cause the bubble radius grows. Using a laser pulse in a PWFA leads to the generation of an ultra short (10 fs) electron bunch with charge three times larger than the electron beam driver total charge. It is shown by altering the initial electron beam driver density and the laser pulse intensity, the external control of the amount of loaded charge is possible. The number of self-injected electrons is enhanced by increasing the laser pulse intensity and the density of the electron beam driver. The results represent that the accelerator operates in a highly loaded regime. Therefore, by raising the density of the electron beam driver and the laser pulse intensity, the final energy spread of the generated electron bunch increases. An interpretive approach to find the appropriate parameters for the laser pulse and the electron beam is proposed in this scheme.

The nonlinear dynamics of electromagnetic waves propagating through a plasma considering the effects of relativistic mass and ponderomotive nonlinearities is investigated. The modified electron density distribution, the dispersion relation, and the spatial profiles of electromagnetic wave amplitude in the plasma are obtained. It is shown that the cut-off frequency decreases, and there is an intensity range in which the ponderomotive self-focusing takes place. In the upper limit of this range, the laser beam is defocused due to the relativistic ponderomotive force. In addition, the stability of electromagnetic waves to stimulated Brillouin scattering is studied, and the backscattered wave resulting from decay of high power electromagnetic beam is resolved in relativistic regime. The study of effects of electron density and temperature on the growth rate of backscattered wave has been shown that by increasing these effects, the growth rate of instability increases.