Generation of an electromagnetic field in the course of a short pulse of photoelectrons emitted from the surface of a plane target in vacuum

A theoretical study is made of generation of an electromagnetic field associated with the formation of a transient double electric layer which appears near the surface of a target as a result of a short pulse of photoelectrons emitted from the target in vacuum. Equations describing collisionless kinetics were used to predict the time evolution of the dipole moment. In the case of a single photoemission pulse the lifetime of the double layer and the characteristic frequency of the generated electromagnetic field are governed by the plasma frequency of the space charge region.