Related papers: Limitations on the attainable intensity of high po…
We present a short review of recent progress in studying QED effects of interaction of ultra-relativistic laser pulses with vacuum and $e^-e^+$ plasma. The development of laser technologies promises very rapid growth of laser intensities in…
QED cascades are complex avalanche processes of hard photon emission and electron-positron pair creation driven by ultra-strong electromagnetic fields. They play a fundamental role in astrophysical environments such as a pulsars'…
QED-effects are known to occur in a strong laser pulse interaction with a counter-propagating electron beam, among these effects being electron-positron pair creation. We discuss the range of laser pulse intensities of J > 5*10^22 W/cm2…
Electron-positron pair creation in a standing wave is explored using a parameter-free quantum kinetic equation. Field strengths and frequencies corresponding to modern optical lasers induce a material polarisation of the QED vacuum, which…
The availability of ever stronger, laser-generated electromagnetic fields underpins continuing progress in the study and application of nonlinear phenomena in basic physical systems, ranging from molecules and atoms to relativistic plasmas…
The cascaded production and dynamics of electron-positron plasma in ultimately focused laser fields of extreme intensity are studied by 3D particle-in-cell simulations with the account for the relevant processes of quantum electrodynamics…
Although existing technology cannot yet directly produce fields at the Schwinger level, experimental facilities can already explore strong-field QED phenomena by taking advantage of the Lorentz boost of energetic electron beams. Recent…
We consider the possibility of experimental verification of vacuum e^+e^- pair creation at the focus of two counter-propagating optical laser beams with intensities 10^{20}-10^{22} W/cm^2, achievable with present-day petawatt lasers, and…
The upper limit of the laser field strength in perfect vacuum is usually considered as the Schwinger field, corresponding to ~10^29W/cm^2. We investigate such limitations under realistic non-ideal vacuum conditions and find out that…
When studying the interaction of matter with extreme fields using multipetawatt lasers, there are two limiting cases maximizing either the electric field or the magnetic field. Here, the main attention is paid to the optimal configuration…
The self-sustained or avalanche-type cascade is an intriguing prediction of strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) that has yet to be observed in laboratories. It is accompanied by the conversion of electromagnetic energy into gamma…
It is conjectured that all perturbative approaches to quantum electrodynamics (QED) break down in the collision of a high-energy electron beam with an intense laser, when the laser fields are boosted to `supercritical' strengths far greater…
We consider the possibility of an experimental proof of vacuum e+e- pair creation in the focus of two counter-propagating optical laser beams with an intensity of the order of 10^20 - 10^22 W/cm^2. Our approach is based on the collisionless…
A two-beam high-power laser facility is essential for the study of one of the most captivating phenomena predicted by strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) and yet unobserved experimentally: the avalanche-type cascade. In such a…
A formula for the ionization rate in extremely intense electromagnetic field is proposed and used for numerical study of QED (quantum-electrodynamical) cascades in noble gases in the field of two counter-propagating laser pulses. It is…
Using a quantum kinetic equation coupled to Maxwell's equation we study the possibility that focused beams at proposed X-ray free electron laser facilities can generate electric field strengths large enough to cause spontaneous…
We consider interaction of a high-energy electron beam with two counterpropagating femtosecond laser pulses. Nonlinear Compton scattering and electron-positron pair production by the emitted photons result in development of an…
We study nonperturbative pair production in intense, focused laser fields called e-dipole pulses. We address the conditions required, such as the quality of the vacuum, for reaching high intensities without initiating beam-depleting…
Strong QED has attracted attention recently partly because many astrophysical phenomena have been observed to involve electromagnetic fields beyond the critical strength for electron-positron pair production and partly because terrestrial…
The probability of electron-positron pair creation by a focused laser pulse is calculated. For description of the focused laser pulse we use a 3-dimensional model of the electromagnetic field which is based on an exact solution of Maxwell…