Dense electron-positron plasmas and bursts of gamma-rays from laser-generated quantum electrodynamic plasmas

作者：Ridgers C P^*; Brady C S; Duclous R; Kirk J G; Bennett K; Arber T D; Bell A R

来源：Physics of Plasmas, 2013, 20(5): 056701.

DOI：10.1063/1.4801513

In simulations of a 12.5 PW laser (focussed intensity I = 4 x 10(23) Wcm(-2)) striking a solid aluminum target, 10% of the laser energy is converted to gamma-rays. A dense electron-positron plasma is generated with a maximum density of 10(26) m(-3), seven orders of magnitude denser than pure e(-) e(+) plasmas generated with 1PW lasers. When the laser power is increased to 320 PW (I = 10(25) Wcm(-2)), 40% of the laser energy is converted to gamma-ray photons and 10% to electron-positron pairs. In both cases, there is strong feedback between the QED emission processes and the plasma physics, the defining feature of the new %26quot;QED-plasma%26quot; regime reached in these interactions.

• 出版日期2013-5