Related papers: Laser field absorption in self-generated electron-…
A model for laser light absorption in electron-positron plasmas self-consistently created via QED cascades is described. The laser energy is mainly absorbed due to hard photon emission via nonlinear Compton scattering. The degree of…
Electrons at the surface of a plasma that is irradiated by a laser with intensity in excess of $10^{23}~\mathrm{W}\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ are accelerated so strongly that they emit bursts of synchrotron radiation. Although the combination of high…
The radiation pressure of next generation ultra-high intensity ($>10^{23}$ W/cm$^{2}$) lasers could efficiently accelerate ions to GeV energies. However, nonlinear quantum-electrodynamic effects play an important role in the interaction of…
It is generally believed that relativistically underdense plasma is transparent for intense laser radiation. However, particle-in-cell simulations reveal abnormal laser field absorption above the intensity threshold about~$3 \times…
In simulations of a 10PW laser striking a solid we demonstrate the possibility of producing a pure electron-positron plasma by the same processes as those thought to operate in high-energy astrophysical environments. A maximum positron…
Creation of electrons and positrons from light alone is a basic prediction of quantum electrodynamics, but yet to be observed. Here we show that it is possible to create ${>}10^8$ positrons by dual laser irradiation of a structured plasma…
In this study we explore the possibility of using the process of electron-positron pair creation in strong laser fields as a tool for measuring the intensity of the corresponding laser radiation. In the initial state we consider either free…
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…
We present the results of kinetic modelling of quantum effects in laser-beam interaction. In the developed numerical model, electron-positron pair production by hard photons, hard photon emission and the electromagnetic fields generated by…
In simulations of a 12.5PW laser (focused intensity I = 4x10^23W/cm^2) striking a solid aluminium target 10% of the laser energy is converted to gamma-rays. A dense electron-positron plasma is generated with a maximum density of 10^26/m^3;…
Strong-field quantum electrodynamics predicts electron-seeded electron-positron pair cascades when the electric field in the rest-frame of the seed electron approaches the Sauter-Schwinger field, i.e. $\eta = E_{RF}/E_S \sim 1$. Electrons…
The electron-positron pair production accompanying interaction of a circularly polarized laser pulse with a foil is studied for laser intensities higher than $10^{24}$W cm$^{-2}$. The laser energy penetrates into the foil due to the effect…
High-energy-density electron-positron pair plasma production and its dynamics in a thin foil illuminated by two counter-propagating laser pulses are investigated through multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We compare the…
Exploring quantum electrodynamics in the most extreme conditions, where electron-positron pairs can emerge in the presence of a strong background field, is now becoming possible in Compton collisions between ultraintense lasers and…
Two oppositely charged particles created within a microscopic space-time region can be separated, accelerated over a much larger distance, and brought to a recollision by a laser field. Consequently, new reactions become feasible, where the…
When an electromagnetic wave is obliquely incident on an inhomogeneous high density plasma, it will be absorbed resonantly as long as it is polarized in the plane of incidence and has an electric field component along the plasma electron…
We discovered a simple regime where a near-critical plasma irradiated by a laser of experimentally available intensity can self-organize to produce positrons and accelerate them to ultra-relativistic energies. The laser pulse piles up…
We present a new theoretical approach for collisional absorption of laser energy in dense plasmas which accommodates arbitrary frequencies and high intensities of the laser field. We establish a connection between laser absorption by…
Absorption covers the physical processes which convert intense photon flux into energetic particles when a high-power laser illuminates optically-thick matter. It underpins important petawatt-scale applications today, e.g., medical-quality…
We systematically investigate the field-aligned propagation and collisional absorption of normally incident laser light in a strongly magnetized inhomogeneous plasma. Analytical expressions for electric fields in both vacuum and plasma are…