Blackburn, T. G., Ilderton, A., Marklund, M. et al. (1 more author) (2019) Reaching supercritical field strengths with intense lasers. New Journal of Physics. 053040. ISSN 1367-2630
Abstract
It is conjectured that all perturbative approaches to quantum electrodynamics (QED) break down in the collision of a high-energy electron beam with an intense laser, when the laser fields are boosted to `supercritical' strengths far greater than the critical field of QED. As field strengths increase toward this regime, cascades of photon emission and electron-positron pair creation are expected, as well as the onset of substantial radiative corrections. Here we identify the important role played by the collision angle in mitigating energy losses to photon emission that would otherwise prevent the electrons reaching the supercritical regime. We show that a collision between an electron beam with energy in the tens of GeV and a laser pulse of intensity $10^{24}~\text{W}\text{cm}^{-2}$ at oblique, or even normal, incidence is a viable platform for studying the breakdown of perturbative strong-field QED. Our results have implications for the design of near-term experiments as they predict that certain quantum effects are enhanced at oblique incidence.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft |
Keywords: | physics.plasm-ph,hep-ph |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Physics (York) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC EP/M018156/1 |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2019 09:10 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2024 15:51 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab1e0d |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1088/1367-2630/ab1e0d |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:148402 |
Download
Filename: Blackburn_2019_New_J._Phys._21_053040.pdf
Description: Blackburn_2019_New_J._Phys._21_053040
Licence: CC-BY 2.5