Related papers: X-ray vacuum diffraction at finite spatio-temporal…
We study how to search for photon-photon scattering in vacuum at present petawatt laser facilities such as HERCULES, and test Quantum Electrodynamics and non-standard models like Born-Infeld theory or scenarios involving minicharged…
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…
Diffraction imaging of non-equilibrium dynamics at atomic resolution is becoming possible with X-ray free-electron lasers. However, there are unresolved problems with applying this method to objects that are confined in only one dimension.…
Due to their broad spectral width, ultrashort lasers provide new possibilities to shape light beams and control their properties, in particular through the use of spatio-temporal couplings. In this context, we present a theoretical…
We present a systematic study on linear propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in media with dispersion, dispersionless media and vacuum. The applied method of amplitude envelopes gives the opportunity to estimate the limits of slowly…
X-ray parametric down-conversion is a fundamental nonlinear effect that promises a wide range of possible applications. Nevertheless, it has been scarcely investigated and unequivocal evidence of the effect is still missing for certain…
Ultrafast-optical-pump -- structural-probe measurements, including ultrafast electron and x-ray scattering, provide direct experimental access to the fundamental timescales of atomic motion, and are thus foundational techniques for studying…
Detection of scattered light can determine the susceptibility of dielectrics. Such imaging normally holds Rayleigh's limit: details finer than the wavelength of the incident light cannot be determined from the far-field zone. We show that…
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…
We present one- and two-photon diffraction and interference experiments involving parametric down-converted photon pairs. By controlling the divergence of the pump beam in parametric down-conversion, the diffraction-interference pattern…
The LUXE experiment (Laser Und XFEL Experiment) is an experiment in planning at DESY Hamburg using the electron beam of the European XFEL (Eu.XFEL). LUXE is intended to study collisions between a high-intensity optical laser pulse and 16.5…
Signatures of stochastic effects in the radiation of a relativistic electron beam interacting with a counterpropagating superstrong short focused laser pulse are investigated in a quantum regime when the electron's radiation dominates its…
Carrier dynamics in single-layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is studied using spatially and temporally resolved pump-probe spectroscopy by measuring both differential transmission and differential reflection. By…
Ultrafast imaging is essential in physics and chemistry to investigate the femtosecond dynamics of nonuniform samples or of phenomena with strong spatial variations. It relies on observing the phenomena induced by an ultrashort laser pump…
Compton scattering of short and ultra short (sub-cycle) laser pulses off mildly relativistic electrons is considered within a QED framework. The temporal shape of the pulse is essential for the differential cross section as a function of…
We study the Compton scattering of x-rays off electrons that are driven by a relativistically intense short optical laser pulse. The frequency spectrum of the laser-assisted Compton radiation shows a broad plateau in the vicinity of the…
Quasi-elastic scattering processes have long been thought of providing the most promising signal for a first experimental detection of quantum vacuum nonlinearity. A prominent example of such a process is vacuum birefringence. However,…
In this paper we propose an all-optical vacuum birefringence experiment and evaluate its feasibility for various scenarios. Many petawatt-class lasers became operational and many more are expected to enter operation in the near future,…
When exposed to intense electromagnetic fields, the quantum vacuum is expected to exhibit properties of a polarisable medium akin to a weakly nonlinear dielectric material. Various schemes have been proposed to measure such vacuum…
Irradiation of a medium by short intense pulses from x-ray / XUV free electron lasers can result in saturated photoionization of inner electronic shells. As a result an inversion of populations between core levels appears. The resulting…