We present, using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, an observation that orbital angular momentum (OAM) is transferred to resonant electrons proportionally to longitudinal momentum when Laguerre-Gaussian plasma waves are subjected to Landau damping. A higher azimuthal mode number leads to a larger net orbital angular momentum transfer to particles traveling close to the phase velocity of the plasma wave, implying a population of electrons that are orbiting the same center of rotation as the plasma wave. This observation has implications on magnetic field excitation as a result of the formation and damping of OAM plasma waves. The energy distributions of electrons in damping Laguerre-Gaussian plasma waves are significantly changed as a function of azimuthal mode number. This leads to larger numbers of lower energy particles tending towards a significant narrowing of the energy distribution of accelerated particles.

CELIA University of Bordeaux CNRS CEA 33405 Talence France

ELI Beamlines Institute of Physics Czech Academy of Sciences 25241 Dolní Břežany Czech Republic

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla California 92093 0411 USA

National Research Nuclear University MEPhI Moscow 115409 Russia

P N Lebedev Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences 119991 Moscow Russia

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