LAUSR

Abstract We investigate the parameters of accelerated electron bunch in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), when a skewed laser pulse propagates through a plasma in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. Two dimensional particle-in-cell (2D-PIC) simulations have been performed under the consideration of pulse skewness parameter ( s α = τ l / τ t ) that is defined as the ratio of leading ( τ l ) to trailing pulse edge ( τ t ) duration. The injected charge is estimated as 23 pC for the laser strength parameter a 0 = 2 when s α changes from 1 to 0.45 at a laser propagation distance of 1.5 mm with 50T magnetic field. The electron beam emittance reduces about 50 % when leading edge of the pulse becomes two-fold sharper ( s α = 0.45 ) with 50T magnetic field. Energy spread of accelerated electron bunch is also reduced from 18 to 6.6%. Hence, in the presence of a transverse magnetic field, the laser pulse skewness can significantly improve the quality of the accelerated electron bunch (i.e. charge, mean energy and emittance) in laser wakefield acceleration.