Optimizing direct laser-driven electron acceleration and energy gain at ELI-NP

We study and discuss electron acceleration in vacuum interacting with fundamental Gaussian pulses using specific parameters relevant for the multi-PW femtosecond lasers at ELI-NP. Taking into account the characteristic properties of both linearly and circularly polarized Gaussian beams near focus we have calculated the optimal values of beam waist leading to the most energetic electrons for given laser power. The optimal beam waist at full width at half maximum correspond to few tens of wavelengths, Δ w 0 = {13, 23, 41} λ 0 , for increasing laser power P 0 = {0.1, 1, 10} PW. Using these optimal values we found an average energy gain of a few MeV and highest-energy electrons of about 160 MeV in full-pulse interactions and in the GeV range in case of half-pulse interaction. Graphical abstract