Dense electron-positron plasmas and bursts of gamma-rays from laser-generated quantum electrodynamic plasmas
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)
- Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)
- Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, DAM DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Postfach 10 39 80, 69029 Heidelberg (Germany)
In simulations of a 12.5 PW laser (focussed intensity I=4×10{sup 23}Wcm{sup −2}) striking a solid aluminum target, 10% of the laser energy is converted to gamma-rays. A dense electron-positron plasma is generated with a maximum density of 10{sup 26}m{sup −3}, seven orders of magnitude denser than pure e{sup −} e{sup +} plasmas generated with 1PW lasers. When the laser power is increased to 320 PW (I=10{sup 25}Wcm{sup −2}), 40% of the laser energy is converted to gamma-ray photons and 10% to electron-positron pairs. In both cases, there is strong feedback between the QED emission processes and the plasma physics, the defining feature of the new “QED-plasma” regime reached in these interactions.
- OSTI ID:
- 22228113
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 20, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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