Acceleration of electrons in hollow glass capillaries under the action of intense picosecond laser pulses

The generation of relativistic electron beams in hollow glass capillaries is investigated using a picosecond laser system. A plasma is formed in a capillary due to the ablation of its inner walls by a specially formed pre-pulse. Electron beams with an opening angle of ~40 mrad, exponential energy spectrum with maximum energy about 20 MeV, and a total charge of ~0.2 nC are experimentally detected.