Acceleration of Electrons by the Interaction of a Bunched Electron Beam with a Plasma

A new scheme for accelerating electrons, employing a bunched relativistic electron beam in a cold plasma, is analyzed. We show that energy gradients can exceed 1 GeV/m and that the driven electrons can be accelerated from ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{0}m{c}^{2}$ to $3{\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{0}m{c}^{2}$ before the driving beam slows down enough to degrade the plasma wave. If the driving electrons are removed before they cause the collapse of the plasma wave, energies up to $4{\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{0}^{c}m{c}^{2}$ are possible. A noncollinear injection scheme is suggested in order that the driving electrons can be removed.