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Title: Relativistic plasma physics in supercritical fields

Abstract

Since the invention of chirped pulse amplification, which was recognized by a Nobel Prize in physics in 2018, there has been a continuing increase in available laser intensity. Combined with advances in our understanding of the kinetics of relativistic plasma, studies of laser-plasma interactions are entering a new regime where the physics of relativistic plasmas is strongly affected by strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) processes, including hard photon emission and electron-positron (e⁻-e⁺) pair production. Additionally, this coupling of quantum emission processes and relativistic collective particle dynamics can result in dramatically new plasma physics phenomena, such as the generation of dense e⁻-e⁺ pair plasma from near vacuum, complete laser energy absorption by QED processes, or the stopping of an ultra-relativistic electron beam, which could penetrate a cm of lead, by a hair's breadth of laser light. In addition to being of fundamental interest, it is crucial to study this new regime to understand the next generation of ultra-high intensity laser-matter experiments and their resulting applications, such as high energy ion, electron, positron, and photon sources for fundamental physics studies, medical radiotherapy, and next generation radiography for homeland security and industry.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Center for Ultrafast Optical Science
  4. Univ. of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1782146
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1630777
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231; FA9550-18-1-0061; SC0019255; 1632777; 1821944; 1935950; FA9550-17-1-0382; AC02- 05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physics of Plasmas
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 27; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; electron positron interactions; quantum electrodynamics; relativistic effects; laser plasma interactions; plasma physics; fundamental physics; pair production; gamma rays

Citation Formats

Zhang, P., Bulanov, S. S., Seipt, D., Arefiev, A. V., and Thomas, A. R. Relativistic plasma physics in supercritical fields. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1063/1.5144449.
Zhang, P., Bulanov, S. S., Seipt, D., Arefiev, A. V., & Thomas, A. R. Relativistic plasma physics in supercritical fields. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5144449
Zhang, P., Bulanov, S. S., Seipt, D., Arefiev, A. V., and Thomas, A. R. Tue . "Relativistic plasma physics in supercritical fields". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5144449. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1782146.
@article{osti_1782146,
title = {Relativistic plasma physics in supercritical fields},
author = {Zhang, P. and Bulanov, S. S. and Seipt, D. and Arefiev, A. V. and Thomas, A. R.},
abstractNote = {Since the invention of chirped pulse amplification, which was recognized by a Nobel Prize in physics in 2018, there has been a continuing increase in available laser intensity. Combined with advances in our understanding of the kinetics of relativistic plasma, studies of laser-plasma interactions are entering a new regime where the physics of relativistic plasmas is strongly affected by strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) processes, including hard photon emission and electron-positron (e⁻-e⁺) pair production. Additionally, this coupling of quantum emission processes and relativistic collective particle dynamics can result in dramatically new plasma physics phenomena, such as the generation of dense e⁻-e⁺ pair plasma from near vacuum, complete laser energy absorption by QED processes, or the stopping of an ultra-relativistic electron beam, which could penetrate a cm of lead, by a hair's breadth of laser light. In addition to being of fundamental interest, it is crucial to study this new regime to understand the next generation of ultra-high intensity laser-matter experiments and their resulting applications, such as high energy ion, electron, positron, and photon sources for fundamental physics studies, medical radiotherapy, and next generation radiography for homeland security and industry.},
doi = {10.1063/1.5144449},
journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
number = 5,
volume = 27,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue May 26 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Tue May 26 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}

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