Kinetic Energy of Laser Accelerated Charged Particles in a Plasmaand the Possibility of Pair Production

Abstract

An exact solution of the general equation of notion of charged particles in a medium of refractive index n subjected to irradiation of electromagnetic waves at any intensity and frequency is .given. No approximations are necessary even for the relativistic case. Linearly polarized as well as circularly poarized waves are considered. Self-induced fields due to the generated charged particle currents have very little influence on the solutions, especially at higher intensities, where electron-positron pair production can be expected.