Light-Matter Interaction near the Schwinger Limit Using Tightly Focused Doppler-Boosted Lasers

Zaïm, Neïl; Sainte-Marie, Antonin; Fedeli, Luca; Bartoli, Pierre; Huebl, Axel; Leblanc, Adrien; Vay, Jean-Luc; Vincenti, Henri

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.132.175002

Title: Light-Matter Interaction near the Schwinger Limit Using Tightly Focused Doppler-Boosted Lasers

Journal Article · 24 April 2024 · Physical Review Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.132.175002 · OSTI ID:2505099

^[1];

^[1]; Huebl, Axel ^[2];

^[3];

^[2]; Vincenti, Henri ^[1]

Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA-Saclay), Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Laboratoire d' Optique Appliquée (LOA), CNRS, Palaiseau (France)

Strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SF QED) is a burgeoning research topic dealing with electromagnetic fields comparable to the Schwinger field (≈1.32×10¹⁸ V/m). While most past and proposed experiments rely on reaching this field in the rest frame of relativistic particles, the Schwinger limit could also be approached in the laboratory frame by focusing to its diffraction limit the light reflected by a plasma mirror irradiated by a multipetawatt laser. Here, we explore the interaction between such intense light and matter with particle-in-cell simulations. We find that the collision with a relativistic electron beam would enable the study of the nonperturbative regime of SF QED, while the interaction with a solid target leads to a profusion of SF QED effects that retroact on the interaction. In both cases, relativistic attosecond pair jets with high densities are formed.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR). Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC); USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 2505099

Journal Information:: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 17 Vol. 132; ISSN 0031-9007

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Light-Matter Interaction near the Schwinger Limit Using Tightly Focused Doppler-Boosted Lasers

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