Compton Scattering in Plasma: Multiple Scattering Effects and Application to Laser-Plasma Acceleration

Abstract: We explore the physics of electron acceleration in a plasma medium in an effective field theory framework. Employing a multiple Compton scattering mechanism, it is found that the acceleration can be sustained in such a medium so as to attain the energies up to the order of $O(100 \rm{MeV})$ within a centimeter. Also, the collimation and mono-energetic electron spectrum can be obtained by proper tuning of the plasma parameters with the photon frequency. The present work is potentially useful in understanding the physics of laser-plasma accelerators.