| Paper | Title | Page |
|---|---|---|
| THPD036 | Electron Acceleration by a Whistler Pulse | 4358 |
|
||
|
A Gaussian whistler pulse is shown to cause ponderomotive acceleration of electrons in a plasma when the peak whistler amplitude exceeds a threshold value. The threshold amplitude decreases with the ratio of plasma frequency to electron cyclotron frequency ωp / ωc. However above the threshold amplitude the acceleration energy decreases with ωp / ωc. The electrons gain velocities about twice the group velocity of the whistler. For acceleration of electrons one requires a whistler pulse of ω > ωc/2. It is seen that to enhance the energy gain the value of peak laser amplitude should be above a threshold value. |