1. QED cascade saturation in extreme high fields
- Author
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Zheng-Ming Sheng, Wei-Yuan Liu, Christopher Ridgers, Ji-Ye Yu, Wen Luo, Tao Yuan, D. Del Sorbo, Feiyu Li, and Min Chen
- Subjects
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,lcsh:Medicine ,01 natural sciences ,7. Clean energy ,Article ,010305 fluids & plasmas ,law.invention ,Nuclear physics ,Pulsar ,Astrophysical jet ,law ,0103 physical sciences ,Physics::Atomic Physics ,010306 general physics ,lcsh:Science ,Scaling ,QC ,Physics ,Multidisciplinary ,lcsh:R ,Quasar ,Plasma ,Laser ,Cascade ,lcsh:Q ,Saturation (chemistry) - Abstract
Upcoming ultrahigh power lasers at 10 PW level will make it possible to experimentally explore electron-positron (e−e+) pair cascades and subsequent relativistic e−e+ jets formation, which are supposed to occur in extreme astrophysical environments, such as black holes, pulsars, quasars and gamma-ray bursts. In the latter case it is a long-standing question as to how the relativistic jets are formed and what their temperatures and compositions are. Here we report simulation results of pair cascades in two counter-propagating QED-strong laser fields. A scaling of QED cascade growth with laser intensity is found, showing clear cascade saturation above threshold intensity of ~1024 W/cm2. QED cascade saturation leads to pair plasma cooling and longitudinal compression along the laser axis, resulting in the subsequent formation of relativistic dense e−e+ jets along transverse directions. Such laser-driven QED cascade saturation may open up the opportunity to study energetic astrophysical phenomena in laboratory.
- Published
- 2018