Related papers: Light by light diffraction in vacuum
We propose a quantum model for the vacuum filled of virtual particle pairs. The main originality of this model is to define a density and a life-time of the virtual particles. Compared to the usual QED $(p,E)$ framework, we add here the…
The measurement of vacuum polarisation effects, in particular vacuum birefringence, using combined optical and x-ray laser pulses is now actively pursued. Here we briefly examine the feasibility of two alternative setups. The first utilises…
Laser light possesses perfect coherence, but cannot be attenuated to single photons via linear optics. An elegant route to convert laser light into single photons is based on photon blockade in a cavity with a single atom in the strong…
Theory predicts that with an ultrashort and extremely bright coherent X-ray pulse, a single diffraction pattern may be recorded from a large macromolecule, a virus, or a cell before the sample explodes and turns into a plasma. Here we…
The phenomenon of electron-laser vacuum breakdown is the multiple cascade production of electron-positron pairs in head-on collision of a beam of relativistic electrons with an intense laser pulse. This effect was first predicted by the…
Ionization of atoms and molecules in laser fields can lead to various interesting interference structures in the photoelectron spectrum. For the case of a super-intense extreme ultraviolet laser pulse, we identify a novel petal-like…
We review studies of the fluctuations of light made accessible by the invention of the laser and the strong interactions realized in cavity QED experiments. Photon antibunching advocating the discrete (particles), is contrasted with…
We consider passive imaging tasks involving discrimination between known candidate objects and investigate the best possible accuracy with which the correct object can be identified. We analytically compute quantum-limited error bounds for…
Electric susceptibility of a laser-dressed atomic medium is calculated for a model Lambda - like system including two lower states and a continuum structured by a presence of an autoionizing state or a continuum with a laser-induced…
Interaction of ultera-short laser pulses with a dense cold plasma is investigated. Due to high density, of plasma, quantum effects such that Bohm potential and quantum pressure should be considered. The results reveal that electron density…
In the collision of a high-energy proton beam and a strong laser field, merging of the laser photons can occur due to the polarization of vacuum. The probability of photon merging is calculated by accounting exactly for the laser field and…
In low energy atom-surface scattering, it is possible for the atom to be reflected in a region of attractive potential with no classical turning point. This phenomenon has come to be known as quantum reflection and it can reduce the…
We show that for collisions of electrons with a high-intensity laser, discrete photon emissions introduce a transverse beam spread which is distinct from that due to classical (or beam shape) effects. Via numerical simulations, we show that…
Today's high-intensity laser facilities produce short pulses can, in tight focus, reach peak intensities of $10^{22}\,\mathrm{Wcm}^{-2}$ and, in long focus, wakefield-accelerate electrons to GeV energies. The radiation-reaction--dominated…
Several methods have been proposed in the literature to improve Free Electron Laser output by transforming the electron phase-space before entering the FEL interaction region. By utilising `beam by design' with novel undulators and other…
The coherent manipulation of the atomic matter waves is of great interest both in science and technology. In order to study how an atom optic device alters the coherence of an atomic beam, we consider the quantum lens proposed by Averbukh…
As generally known, the speed of propagation of light in solid state bodies can be different from the speed of light in vacuum. That the mere presence of electric or magnetic fields in the vacuum can suffice to influence the speed of light,…
These notes provide a pedagogical introduction to the theoretical study of vacuum polarization effects in strong electromagnetic fields as provided by state-of-the-art high-intensity lasers. Quantum vacuum fluctuations give rise to…
We show that the properties of the electron beam and bright x-rays produced by a laser wakefield accelerator can be predicted if the distance over which the laser self-focuses and compresses prior to self-injection is taken into account. A…
Quantum electrodynamics in a laser is formulated, in which the electron-laser interaction is exactly considered, while the interaction of an electron and a single photon is considered by perturbation. The formulation is applied to the…