Raman and Thompson regimes of amplification in a wiggler with noncollinear laser and electron beams

The collective and single-electron amplification regimes of a noncollinear free-electron laser (FEL) are studied within the framework of dispersion equations. In the limit of small-signal gain the growth rates and the conditions for self-amplified excitations are found for the collective (Raman) and single-electron (Thompson) regimes. The Raman regime is shown to be preferable for the coherent spontaneous second harmonic generation by ultrarelativistic electron beams. Raman excitations in a noncollinear FEL, e.g., in an FEL without inversion, are favored by the noncollinear geometry of the electron and the laser beams, and by the relativity of the beam electrons.