Hannover 2010 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 13: Interaction with Strong or Short Laser Pulses I

A 13.1: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 14:00–14:30, F 107

Testing strong-field CED and QED with intense laser fields — •Antonino Di Piazza, Karen Z. Hatsagortsyan, Ben King, and Christoph H. Keitel — Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg

Strong laser fields can be employed to test classical and quantum electrodynamics (CED and QED, respectively) under extreme conditions. A fundamental problem in electrodynamics is the “radiation reaction” problem: classically, an accelerated electron emits radiation and this emission alters the motion of the electron itself. The Landau-Lifshitz equation consistently describes the electron’s motion in an external field by including radiation reaction. We explore a new scenario in which this equation can be in principle tested experimentally for the first time and with presently available laser technology [1]. We will also briefly address quantum vacuum polarization effects. We demonstrate the possibility of observing electron-positron pair production in laser and nuclear fields, by controlling the tunneling barrier through the assistance of an additional high-energy photon [2]. Finally, by exploiting the quantum interaction among real photon in vacuum, we propose a double-slit-like experiment devoid of any material parts [3].

[1] A. Di Piazza, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 254802 (2009).
[2] A. Di Piazza et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 170403 (2009).
[3] B. King, A. Di Piazza, and C. H. Keitel, Nature Photonics (in press).