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Abstract:

A two-beam high-power laser facility is essential for the study of one of the most captivating phenomena predicted by strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) and yet unobserved experimentally: the avalanchetype cascade. In such a cascade, the energy of intense laser light can be efficiently transformed into high-energy radiation and electron-positron pairs. The future 50-petawatt-scale laser facility NSF OPAL will provide unique opportunities for studying such strong-field QED effects, as it is designed to deliver two ultra-intense, tightly focused laser pulses onto the interaction point. In this work, we investigate the potential of such a facility for studying elementary particle and plasma dynamics deeply in the quantum radiation-dominated regime, and the generation of QED avalanches. With 3D particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate that QED avalanche precursors can be reliably triggered under realistic laser parameters and layout (namely, focusing f /2, tilted optical axes, and non-ideal co-pointing) with the anticipated capabilities of NSF OPAL. We demonstrate that seed electrons can be efficiently injected into the laser focus by using targets of three types: a gas of heavy atoms, an overcritical plasma, and a thin foil. A strong positron and high-energy photon signal is generated in all cases. The cascade properties can be identified from the final particle distributions, which have a clear directional pattern. At increasing laser field intensity, such distributions provide signatures of the transition, first, to the radiation-dominated interaction regime, and then to a QED avalanche. Our findings can also be used for designing related future experiments.

Abstract:

<jats:p>We discuss the emission of radiation from general sources in quantum scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational fields using the Rindler coordinate frame, which is suitable for uniformly accelerated observers, in the Minkowski vacuum. In particular, we point out that to recover, from the point of view of uniformly accelerated observers in the interaction picture, the usual Larmor radiation, which is independent of the choice of the vacuum state, it is necessary to incorporate the Unruh effect assuming the Minkowski vacuum. Thus, the observation of classical Larmor radiation in the Minkowski vacuum could be seen as vindicating the Unruh effect in the sense that it is not correctly recovered in the uniformly accelerated frame unless the Unruh effect is taken into account.</jats:p>