Abstract
The development of a self-sustained quantum electrodynamical (QED) cascade in a single strong laser pulse is studied analytically and numerically. A hydrodynamical approach is used to construct an analytical model of cascade evolution, which includes the key features of the cascade observed in 3D QED particle-in-cell (QED-PIC) simulations, such as the magnetic field dominance in the cascade plasma and laser energy absorption. The equations of the model are derived in closed form and solved numerically. Direct comparison between the solutions of the model equations and 3D QED-PIC simulations shows that our model is able to describe the complex nonlinear process of cascade development qualitatively well. Various regimes of the interaction based on the intensity of the laser pulse are revealed in both the solutions of the model equations and the results of the QED-PIC simulations.
Highlights
There is strong evidence that the development of quantum electrodynamical (QED) cascades is an inherent feature of the interaction of extremely strong electromagnetic fields with matter in the majority of cases where such interactions occur.1–11 The essence of these cascades is emission of high-energy photons by ultrarelativistic particles and the subsequent decay of these photons into electron–positron pairs, which leads to multiplication of particles
A hydrodynamical approach is used to construct an analytical model of cascade evolution, which includes the key features of the cascade observed in 3D QED particle-in-cell (QED-PIC) simulations, such as the magnetic field dominance in the cascade plasma and laser energy absorption
We further investigate a specific configuration of QED cascade development that occurs in a single extremely intense laser pulse and that can be initiated during interaction with a motionless seed
Summary
There is strong evidence that the development of quantum electrodynamical (QED) cascades is an inherent feature of the interaction of extremely strong electromagnetic fields with matter in the majority of cases where such interactions occur. The essence of these cascades is emission of high-energy photons by ultrarelativistic particles The significantly nonlinear nature of the QED cascade complicates its analytical study, and while particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations serve as a starting point for most theoretical research and can give valuable insight into the nature of the processes involved, even the derivation of phenomenological descriptions or scaling laws can be extremely time-consuming because of the need in most cases for a scan over the multidimensional map of parameters. These dependences, are crucial for the design of experiments to be carried out on the generation of laser facilities. The results for both these problems are used in the derivation of the model equations
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