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Tests of Classical and Quantum Electrodynamics with Intense Laser Fields

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Progress in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Chemical Physics ((PUILS,volume 106))

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Abstract

In this chapter classical and quantum electrodynamics in intense laser fields are discussed. We focus on the interaction of relativistic electrons with strong laser pulses. In particular, by analyzing the dynamics of this interaction, we show how the peak intensity of a strong laser pulse can be related to the spectrum of the radiation emitted by the electron during the interaction itself. The discussed method could be used to accurately measure high peak laser intensities exceeding 1020 W/cm2 up to about 1023 W/cm2 with theoretical envisaged accuracies of the order of 10 %. Furthermore, we investigate non-linear quantum effects originating from the interaction of an electron with its own electromagnetic field in the presence of an intense plane wave. These “radiative corrections” modify the electron wave-function in the plane wave. The self-interaction changes, amongst others, the dynamics of the electron’s spin in comparison with the prediction of the Dirac equation. We show that this effect can be measured, in principle, already at intensities of the order of 1022 W/cm2.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this chapter natural units ħ=c=1 are used (in some formulas ħ and c are restored for clarity). The magnetic field is rescaled with c and the charge is measured in Gaussian units (4πε 0=1). The electron mass and charge are denoted by m and e<0, respectively and this implies that α=e 2. In covariant expressions the space-time metric η μν with signature (1,−1,−1,−1) is used and ∂ μ =(∂/∂t,∇) is the four-derivative. Greek and Latin indices take the values (0,1,2,3) and (1,2,3), respectively. Contractions of four-vectors are denoted by a μ b μ =ab, scalar products of three-vectors by a i b i=ab and summation over repeated indices is understood. The symbol ε ijk denotes the totally anti-symmetric tensor in three dimensions with ε 123=1. Dirac gamma matrices are denoted by γ μ and . For a spinor u it is \(\bar{u}=u^{\dagger}\gamma ^{0}\) and for a matrix M in spinor space it is \(\bar{M}=\gamma^{0} M^{\dagger}\gamma^{0}\).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK), Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

    Sebastian Meuren, Omri Har-Shemesh & Antonino Di Piazza

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  1. Sebastian Meuren
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  2. Omri Har-Shemesh
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  3. Antonino Di Piazza
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Correspondence to Antonino Di Piazza .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Kaoru Yamanouchi

  2. Quantum Electronics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Institute of Optics and, Jena, Germany

    Gerhard G. Paulus

  3. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India

    Deepak Mathur

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Meuren, S., Har-Shemesh, O., Di Piazza, A. (2014). Tests of Classical and Quantum Electrodynamics with Intense Laser Fields. In: Yamanouchi, K., Paulus, G., Mathur, D. (eds) Progress in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science. Springer Series in Chemical Physics(), vol 106. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00521-8_8

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