Damping of electromagnetic waves due to electron-positron pair production

Bulanov, S. S.; Fedotov, A. M.; Пегораро, Ф.

doi:10.1103/physreve.71.016404

Cited by 51 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Bulanov et al (2005)). Effects of this kind will be of the utmost importance when laser compression schemes approaches the critical field strength E crit = m e c 2 eλ e ∼ 10 18 V/m,…”

Section: Fig 1 the Evolution Of Laser Intensity (Reprinted With Permmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear collective effects in photon-photon and photon-plasma interactions

2006

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We consider strong-field effects in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas and high intensity laser and cavity systems, related to quantum electrodynamical (QED) photon-photon scattering. Current state-of-the-art laser facilities are close to reaching energy scales at which laboratory astrophysics will become possible. In such high energy density laboratory astrophysical systems, quantum electrodynamics will play a crucial role in the dynamics of plasmas and indeed the vacuum itself. Developments such as the free electron laser may also give a means for exploring remote violent events such as supernovae in a laboratory environment. At the same time, superconducting cavities have steadily increased their quality factors, and quantum non-demolition measurements are capable of retrieving information from systems consisting of a few photons. Thus, not only will QED effects such as elastic photon-photon scattering be important in laboratory experiments, it may also be directly measurable in cavity experiments. Here we describe the implications of collective interactions between photons and photonplasma systems. We give an overview of strong field vacuum effects, as formulated through the Heisenberg-Euler Lagrangian. Based on the dispersion relation for a single test photon travelling in a slowly varying background electromagnetic field, a set of equations describing the nonlinear propagation of an electromagnetic pulse on a radiation-plasma is derived. The stability of the governing equations is discussed, and it is shown using numerical methods that electromagnetic pulses may collapse and split into pulse trains, as well as be trapped in a relativistic electron hole. Effects, such as the generation of novel electromagnetic modes, introduced by QED in pair plasmas is described. Applications to laser-plasma systems and astrophysical environments are discussed.

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“…Bulanov et al (2005)). Effects of this kind will be of the utmost importance when laser compression schemes approaches the critical field strength E crit = m e c 2 eλ e ∼ 10 18 V/m,…”

Section: Fig 1 the Evolution Of Laser Intensity (Reprinted With Permmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear collective effects in photon-photon and photon-plasma interactions

2006

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“…These back reaction effects on pair production by laser beams leading to the formation of plasma oscillation have been studied in Refs. [267,268,269]. Our studies [72,73] show that the plasma oscillation and electron-positron-photon collision are important for electric fields E 0.1E c , see Section 8.7.…”

Section: Pair Production By a Circularly Polarized Laser Beammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…standard model of particle physics [473], electromagnetic wave propagation in a plasma [269], as well in astrophysics [408]. In this section, following [73,474], the case of undercritical electric field is explored.…”

Section: Electro-fluidodynamics Of the Pair Plasmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Electron–positron pairs in physics and astrophysics: From heavy nuclei to black holes

Ruffini¹,

Vereshchagin²,

Xue³

2010

Physics Reports

496

305

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Due to the interaction of physics and astrophysics we are witnessing in these years a splendid synthesis of theoretical, experimental and observational results originating from three fundamental physical processes. They were originally proposed by Dirac, by Breit and Wheeler and by Sauter, Heisenberg, Euler and Schwinger. For almost seventy years they have all three been followed by a continued effort of experimental verification on Earth-based experiments. The Dirac process, e + e − → 2γ, has been by far the most successful. It has obtained extremely accurate experimental verification and has led as well to an enormous number of new physics in possibly one of the most fruitful experimental avenues by introduction of storage rings in Frascati and followed by the largest accelerators worldwide: DESY, SLAC etc. The Breit-Wheeler process, 2γ → e + e − , although conceptually simple, being the inverse process of the Dirac one, has been by far one of the most difficult to be verified experimentally. Only recently, through the technology based on free electron X-ray laser and its numerous applications in Earth-based experiments, some first indications of its possible verification have been reached. The vacuum polarization process in strong electromagnetic field, pioneered by Sauter, Heisenberg, Euler and Schwinger, introduced the concept of critical electric field E c = m 2 e c 3 /(e ). It has been searched without success for more than forty years by heavy-ion collisions in many of the leading particle accelerators worldwide.The novel situation today is that these same processes can be studied on a much more grandiose scale during the gravitational collapse leading to the formation of a black hole being observed in Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). This report is dedicated to the scientific race. The theoretical and experimental work developed in Earth-based laboratories is confronted with the theoretical interpretation of space-based observations of phenomena originating on cosmological scales. What has become clear in the last ten years is that all the three above mentioned processes, duly extended in the general relativistic framework, are necessary for the understanding of the physics of the gravitational collapse to a black hole. Vice versa, the natural arena where these processes can be observed in mutual interaction and on an unprecedented scale, is indeed the realm of relativistic astrophysics.We systematically analyze the conceptual developments which have followed the basic work of Dirac and Breit-Wheeler. We also recall how the seminal work of Born and Infeld inspired the work by Sauter, Heisenberg and Euler on effective Lagrangian leading to the estimate of the rate for the process of electron-positron production in 1 a constant electric field. In addition of reviewing the intuitive semi-classical treatment of quantum mechanical tunneling for describing the process of electron-positron production, we recall the calculations in Quantum Electro-Dynamics of the Schwinger rate and effective Lagrangian for cons...

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“…In the remaining part of this presentation we will restrict ourselves to an analytical investigation of the electron-positron pair production and of its backreaction on the pulse propagation. The relevant numerical results are presented in [13,14].…”

Section: Self-consistent Propagation Of An Ultraintense Em Wave In mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here we consider the process of electron-positron pair production in a cold collisionless plasma, under the action of an e.m. field which is an actual solution of the Maxwell equations and the backreaction of the produced pairs on the background field [13,14]. In doing so we adopt a kinetic plasma description based on the use of the BoltzmannVlasov equation, with a source term obtained from the pair production rate.…”

Section: Self-consistent Propagation Of An Ultraintense Em Wave In mentioning

confidence: 99%