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The radiation trapping effect (RTE) of electrons in the interaction of an ultra-intense laser and a near-critical-density plasma-filled gold cone is numerically investigated by using the particle-in-cell code EPOCH. It is found that, by using the cone, the threshold laser intensity for electron trapping can be significantly decreased. The trapped electrons located behind the laser front and confined near the laser axis oscillate significantly in the transverse direction and emit high-energy photons in the forward direction. With parameters optimized, a narrow photon angular distribution and a high-energy conversion efficiency from the laser to the photons can be obtained. The proposed scheme may offer possibilities to demonstrate the RTE of electrons in experiments at approachable laser intensities and serve as a novel table-top ray source.

A relatively simple interfering-pulses-assisted laser wakefield acceleration (IPA-LWFA) scheme is proposed for enhancing the charge of the LWFA electron bunch. Prior to the short intense pump pulse, two long low-intensity auxiliary laser pulses first interact in the plasma and excite a slow electron plasma wave at the beat frequency. The weak but finite-amplitude plasma wave energizes the affected electrons and acts like a slow-moving grating. Particle-in-cell simulations show that electron trapping in the wakefield of the pump laser pulse, which arrives at a later time, can be significantly enhanced. The charge of the IPA-LWFA electron bunch depends mainly on the intensity of the auxiliary pulses and the time delay of the pump laser.