Related papers: Identifying the electron-positron cascade regimes …
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…
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…
We report the observation of longitudinal filamentation of an electron-positron pair plasma in a beam-driven QED cascade. The filaments are created in the "pair-reflection" regime, where the generated pairs are partially stopped and…
A survey of physical parameters and of a ladder of various regimes of laser-matter interactions at extreme intensities is given. Special emphases is made on three selected topics: (i) qualitative derivation of the scalings for probability…
We employ the $\lambda^3$ regime where a near-single-cycle laser pulse is tightly focused, thus providing the highest possible intensity for the minimal energy at a certain laser power. The quantum electrodynamics processes in the course of…
Dense positrons are shown to be effectively generated from laser-solid interactions in the strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) regime. Whether these positrons are polarized has not yet been reported, limiting their potential…
Novel emergent phenomena are expected to occur under conditions exceeding the QED critical electric field, where the vacuum becomes unstable to electron-positron pair production. The required intensity to reach this regime,…
Laser-electron beam collisions that aim to generate electron-positron pairs require laser intensities $I \gtrsim 10^{21} ~\textrm{W/cm}^2$, which can be obtained by focusing a 1-PW optical laser to a spot smaller than 10 $~\mu$m. Spatial…
Electromagnetic showers developing from the collision of an ultra-intense laser pulse with a beam of high-energy electrons or photons are investigated under conditions relevant to future experiments on multi-petawatt laser facilities. A…
Apart from maximizing the strength of optical electromagnetic fields achievable at high-intensity laser facilities, the collision of several phase-matched laser pulses has been theoretically identified as a trigger of and way to study…
The dynamics of an electron bunch irradiated by two focused colliding super-intense laser pulses and the resulting gamma and electron-positron production are studied. Due to attractors of electron dynamics in a standing wave created by…
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…
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 propose an all-optical, single-laser-pulse scheme for generating dense, relativistic, strongly-magnetized electron-positron pair plasma. The scheme involves the interaction of an extremely intense ($I \gtrsim \SI{e24}{\watt/\cm^2}$)…
QED cascades in intense electromagnetic field can occur if the dynamical quantum parameter $\chi$ of a seed electron, which in Compton units coincides with the electron proper acceleration, attains the order of unity. We derive general…
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…
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…
Triggering vacuum breakdown at the upcoming laser facilities can provide rapid electron-positron pair production for studies in laboratory astrophysics and fundamental physics. However, the density of the emerging plasma should seemingly…
The scientific community is currently witnessing an expensive and worldwide race to achieve the highest possible light intensity. Within the next decade this effort is expected to reach nearly $10^{24}\,\mathrm{W}/\mathrm{cm^2}$ in the lab…
We study electron-positron pair production in polar caps of energetic pulsars to determine the maximum multiplicity of pair plasma a pulsar can produce under the most favorable conditions. This paper complements and updates our study of…