Probing Strong-Field QED with Doppler-Boosted Petawatt-Class Lasers

Luca Fedeli (1, 2) , Antonin Sainte-Marie (1, 2) , Neil Zaïm (1, 2) , Maxence Thévenet , Jean-Luc Vay , Andrew Myers , Fabien Quéré (1, 2) , Henri Vincenti (1, 2)

1 LIDYL - Laboratoire Interactions, Dynamiques et Lasers (ex SPAM)
2 PHI - Physique à Haute Intensité

We propose a scheme to explore regimes of strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SF QED) otherwise unattainable with the currently available laser technology. The scheme relies on relativistic plasma mirrors curved by radiation pressure to boost the intensity of petawatt-class laser pulses by Doppler effect and focus them to extreme field intensities. We show that very clear SF QED signatures could be observed by placing a secondary target where the boosted beam is focused.

Domaines: Physique Générale [physics.gen-ph]

Luca Fedeli, Antonin Sainte-Marie, Neil Zaïm, Maxence Thévenet, Jean-Luc Vay, et al.. Probing Strong-Field QED with Doppler-Boosted Petawatt-Class Lasers. Physical Review Letters, 2021, 127 (11), pp.114801. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.114801⟩. ⟨hal-03107914⟩