Laser absorption via quantum electrodynamics cascades in counter propagating laser pulses

Grismayer, Thomas; Vranić, Marija; Martins, Joana; Fonseca, Ricardo; Silva, L. O.

doi:10.1063/1.4950841

Cited by 163 publications

(156 citation statements)

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“…Additionally, the growth rate of the cascade can only be determined in a unambiguous manner when the density of the pair plasma is relativistically under dense such that the self-generated field remains negligible compared to the external fields provided by the overlap of the two lasers. The case of relativistically over dense pair plasmas is of high relevance for laser absorption and this problem has been addressed with QED-PIC showing that significant absorption can be achieved for I > 10 24 W/cm 2 and pulses of few 10's of fs as first demonstrated by Nerush [16] and later by Grismayer [41]. As mentioned previously, the focal spot of both lasers is 3.2 microns, which is still in the paraxial approximation for a one-micron wavelength and thus ensures that at the focus, the field structure of the laser can be described by a plane wave.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeded QED cascades in counterpropagating laser pulses

et al. 2017

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The growth rates of seeded QED cascades in counter propagating lasers are calculated with first principles 2D/3D QED-PIC simulations. The dependence of the growth rate on laser polarization and intensity are compared with analytical models that support the findings of the simulations. The models provide an insight regarding the qualitative trend of the cascade growth when the intensity of the laser field is varied. A discussion about the cascade's threshold is included, based on the analytical and numerical results. These results show that relativistic pair plasmas and efficient conversion from laser photons to gamma rays can be observed with the typical intensities planned to operate on future ultra-intense laser facilities such as ELI or VULCAN.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeded QED cascades in counterpropagating laser pulses

et al. 2017

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“…EM field configuration An electron interaction with an EM field formed by two counter-propagating waves has been addressed a number of times in high field theory using classical quantum electrodynamics approaches because it provides one of the basic EM configurations where important properties of a radiating electron can be revealed (e.g. see above cited publications Mendonca 1983;Di Piazza et al 2012;Lehmann & Spatschek 2012, 2016Gonoskov et al 2013Gonoskov et al , 2014Bashinov et al 2015;Bulanov et al 2015;Chang et al 2015;Esirkepov et al 2015;Lobet et al 2015;Bashinov, Kumar & Kim 2016;Grismayer et al 2016;Jirka et al 2016;Kirk 2016). Here, we present the results of the analysis of electron motion in a standing EM wave in order to compare them below with the radiating electron behaviour in a more complicated EM configuration formed by three or four waves with various polarizations.…”

Section: Radiation Friction Force With the Qed Form Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

Charged particle dynamics in multiple colliding electromagnetic waves. Survey of random walk, Lévy flights, limit circles, attractors and structurally determinate patterns

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The multiple colliding laser pulse concept formulated by Bulanov et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 104, 2010b, 220404) is beneficial for achieving an extremely high amplitude of coherent electromagnetic field. Since the topology of electric and magnetic fields of multiple colliding laser pulses oscillating in time is far from trivial and the radiation friction effects are significant in the high field limit, the dynamics of charged particles interacting with the multiple colliding laser pulses demonstrates remarkable features corresponding to random walk trajectories, limit circles, attractors, regular patterns and Lévy flights. Under extremely high intensity conditions the nonlinear dissipation mechanism stabilizes the particle motion resulting in the charged particle trajectory being located within narrow regions and in the occurrence of a new class of regular patterns made by the particle ensembles.

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“…It is not surprising then that a generalization of this algorithm has been recently proposed [11][12][13] to explore the extreme scenarios associated with the coupling of QED with plasmas. These models are computationally very demanding because the plasma scale is coupled with the QED scale via a probabilistic event generator technique.…”

Section: "Boiling the Vacuum"mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Collective plasma processes are also important when the density of the self-generated plasma due to the QED cascade is so high that the plasma becomes opaque to the laser itself. In this case there is strong light absorption and efficient conversion of energy from the laser to the pair plasma and the gamma rays [13].…”

Section: Exploring Extreme Plasma Conditions In the Lab And In Astropmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PIC codes are also used to study a broad set of topics, including accelerator physics, cosmology, and semi-classical systems. The numerical codes based on the PIC algorithm are routinely used in some of the largest supercomputers in the World (figure 2), and thus can fully take advantage of the transformative nature that numerical simulations are bringing to the 21 st century science.It is not surprising then that a generalization of this algorithm has been recently proposed [11][12][13] to explore the extreme scenarios associated with the coupling of QED with plasmas. These models are computationally very demanding because the plasma scale is coupled with the QED scale via a probabilistic event generator technique.…”

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“Boiling the vacuum”: in silico plasmas under extreme conditions in the laboratory and in astrophysics

Silva¹

2017

Europhysics News

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Laser technology has progressed tremendously since Theodore Maiman first demonstrated the laser in 1960. One of the most striking examples of this progress is the focused intensity of lasers. Present day lasers in the near infrared frequency range can deliver intensities in excess of 10 23 W/cm 2 . Imagine that you have a very large and powerful lens that captures the light of the sun hitting the upper atmosphere of the Earth and focus it down to a region with the cross section of a human hair. The corresponding intensity is in the range of the most intense lasers now available.EPN 48/5&6 35 bOILING THE VAcUUM FEATURES start to be important. A single ultra relativistic electron quivering in an ultra intense laser field can radiate x-rays. As the intensity is ramped up, the electron oscillating in the laser field will radiate gamma-rays. These gamma-rays can, in turn, interact with the laser and generate electron-positron pairs which, in the presence of the laser field, can again radiate strongly. An electromagnetic cascade of pairs and gamma-rays is then triggered, generating a quantum electrodynamic (QED) electron-positron plasma.It is also possible to conceive scenarios where a static (or slowly varying) ultra strong electric field is present in a finite region of space. Let us imagine the field is so strong that, as the electron is accelerated over the distance of a Compton wavelength it gains more than 2 m e c 2 , i.e. the rest mass energy of an electron and a positron. In this case, an electron-positron pair is generated, which will then interact with the ultra strong field itself, and a cascading process can also be triggered. The critical electric field for pair creation in vacuum, first identified by Sauter, is called the Schwinger critical field E s = 2 π m e 2 c 3 /e h, where e is the electron charge, m e the electron mass, h is the Planck constant, and c the speed of light. For extreme field physics a common used dimensionless parameter is χ = E/E s , where E represents the electric field in the rest frame of the electron. χ determines the transition from the classical to the quantum dynamics; for χ on the order or higher than unity, QED effects are important and must be considered. Colloquially, when copious amounts of electrons and positrons are produced by ultra strong electromagnetic fields in vacuum, or via a cascade from a low density seed of electrons, the "vacuum is boiling".The prospect to reach in the laboratory these conditions in the near future is triggering many exciting developments [7,8] at the cross roads of nonperturbative QED, plasma physics, and astrophysics. In many extreme astrophysical objects (e.g. pulsars, magnetars, or in the magnetosphere U nder the action of these intense electromagnetic fields, electrons quiver at velocities close to the speed of light with Lorentz gamma factors ~100. The nonlinear effects associated with special relativity determine the evolution of light-plasma interactions at these intensities. These lasers are now being explored to drive plasma acceler...

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Laser absorption via quantum electrodynamics cascades in counter propagating laser pulses

Cited by 163 publications

References 43 publications

Seeded QED cascades in counterpropagating laser pulses

Seeded QED cascades in counterpropagating laser pulses

Charged particle dynamics in multiple colliding electromagnetic waves. Survey of random walk, Lévy flights, limit circles, attractors and structurally determinate patterns

“Boiling the vacuum”: in silico plasmas under extreme conditions in the laboratory and in astrophysics

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