Related papers: Pair plasma cushions in the hole-boring scenario
When a finite contrast petawatt laser pulse irradiates a micron-thick foil, a prepulse (including amplified spontaneous emission) creates a preplasma, where an ultrashort relativistically strong portion of the laser pulse (the main pulse)…
The effect of laser focusing conditions on the evolution of relativistic plasma waves in laser wakefield accelerators is studied both experimentally and with particle-in-cell simulations. For short focal length ($w_0 < \lambda_p$)…
With increasing laser peak power, the generation and manipulation of high-power laser pulses becomes a growing challenge for conventional solid-state optics due to their limited damage threshold. As a result, plasma-based optical components…
Plasma lensing is the refraction of low-frequency electromagnetic rays due to cold free electrons in the universe. For sources at a cosmological distance, there is observational evidence of elongated, complex plasma structures along the…
The interaction of multipetawatt lasers with plasma is a complex multiparameter problem, providing a wide field for fundamental research and opening up great opportunities for creating unique sources of high-energy electrons and positrons,…
Prolific electron-positron pair production is possible at laser intensities approaching 10^{24} W/cm^2 at a wavelength of 1 micron. An analysis of electron trajectories and interactions at the nodes (B=0) of two counter-propagating,…
We present an indepth investigation of certain aspects of the two level on resonant multiphoton approximation to pair production from vacuum in the presence of strong electromagnetic fields. Numerical computations strongly suggest that a…
QED cascades play an important role in extreme astrophysical environments like magnetars. They can also be produced by passing a relativistic electron beam through an intense laser field. Signatures of collective pair plasma effects in…
Non-linear cascade scattering of intense, tightly focused laser pulses by relativistic electrons is studied numerically in the classical approximation including the radiation damping for the quantum parameter hwx-ray/E<1 and an arbitrary…
Using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations we show that a strongly nonlinear plasma wave excited by an ultrahigh intensity laser pulse works as a compact high-brightness source of X-ray radiation. It has been recently suggested by…
We analytically study the impact of a short laser pulse onto an inhomogeneous cold diluted plasma at rest, in particular: the duration of the hydrodynamic regime; the formation and the features of plasma waves (PWs); their wave-breakings…
Highly polarized, multi-kiloampere-current electron bunches from compact laser-plasma accelerators are desired for numerous applications. Current proposals to produce these beams suffer from intrinsic limitations to the reproducibility,…
The process of electron positron pair annihilation, driven by strong fields (Inverse Schwinger mechanism) and high-frequency waves, is studied using the Dirac Heisenberg Wigner formalism. In an electron positron plasma, the presence of a…
A quantum kinetic equation coupled with Maxwell's equation is used to estimate the laser power required at an XFEL facility to expose intrinsically quantum effects in the process of QED vacuum decay via spontaneous pair production. A 9…
Ultrarelativistic electron-positron plasmas can be produced in high-intensity laser fields and play a role in various astrophysical situations. Their properties can be calculated using QED at finite temperature. Here we will use…
In a strong magnetic field, B > 4x10^{12} G, gamma-rays emitted nearly along curved field lines adiabatically convert into bound electron-positron pairs (positronium atoms) rather that decaying into free pairs. This process may modify the…
We present a theoretical and numerical study of resonant surface-plasmon (SP) excitation driven by the beating of two co-propagating laser pulses on a smooth cylindrical plasma-vacuum interface. Analytical expressions for the SP dispersion…
A new scheme for injection and acceleration of electrons in wakefield accelerators is suggested based on the co-action of a laser pulse and an electron beam. This synergy leads to stronger wakefield generation and higher energy gain in the…
This investigation deals with enhanced plasma wakefield amplitude generated using two co-propagating laser pulses in homogeneous plasma. The configuration consists of a seed pulse followed by a trailing pulse, both linearly polarized and…
Extreme laser pulses driving non-equilibrium processes in high density plasmas permit an increase of the fusion of hydrogen with the boron isotope 11 by nine orders of magnitude of the energy gains above the classical values. This is the…