Coupled dynamics of laser pulse and electron distribution from accurate modeling of laser wakefield accelerators

Using a fast and flexible field reconstruction method based on the Gerchberg-Saxton Algorithm with Hermite-Gauss Modes Decomposition (GSA-MD), a precise modeling of the laser driver distribution was performed and used to simulate the creation of a relativistic electron bunch by Laser WakeField Acceleration (LWFA). In the bubble regime, the fluence distribution of the laser driving the plasma waves directly affects plasma cavity formation, as well as the injection and acceleration of electron beams in these waves. A detailed analysis of the transverse dynamics of the laser energy distribution, as well as of its effects on the evolution of the plasma wave shape and of the accelerated electron beam, is provided. This high accuracy analysis technique can be applied to explain the data measured in experiments, often conducted with lasers presenting an asymmetric transverse energy distribution.