All-optical radiation reaction at 10²¹ W/cm²

Area of Science:

• Plasma Physics
• High-Intensity Laser-Matter Interactions

Background:

• The radiation reaction regime is crucial for understanding high-energy particle dynamics.
• Reaching this regime experimentally is challenging with current laser technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate an all-optical configuration for achieving the radiation reaction dominated regime.
• To identify experimental signatures for detecting radiation reaction effects.
• To explore the transition between classical and quantum radiation reaction.

Main Methods:

• Full-scale 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations.
• Modeling the collision of a ~1 GeV laser wakefield accelerated electron bunch with a counterpropagating laser pulse.

Main Results:

• The simulations show that the radiation reaction dominated regime is achievable in an all-optical setup.
• Significant reduction in electron bunch energy due to radiation reaction was observed, providing clear experimental signatures.
• The proposed configuration can be used to investigate the transition between classical and quantum radiation reaction at laser intensities of 10²³ W/cm².

Conclusions:

• An all-optical configuration using laser wakefield accelerated electron bunches colliding with intense laser pulses can achieve the radiation reaction dominated regime.
• This method offers a viable pathway for experimental observation of radiation reaction effects with current laser systems.
• The study paves the way for investigating fundamental physics, including the classical-to-quantum transition in radiation reaction.