Abstract
In a strong magnetic field, ultra-relativistic electrons or positrons undergo spin flip transitions as they radiate, preferentially spin polarizing in one direction -- the Sokolov-Ternov effect. Here we show that this effect could occur very rapidly (in less than 10 fs) in high intensity ($I\gtrsim10^{23}$ W/cm$^{2}$) laser-matter interactions, resulting in a high degree of electron spin polarization (70%-90%).
Highlights
At the intensities which will be reached by next-generation ultraintense lasers ( 5 × 1022–1024 W/cm2), such as several of those comprising the Extreme Light Infrastructure [1], light-matter interactions are predicted to reach the new quantum electrodynamic (QED) plasma regime
The important strong-field QED processes in laser-created QED plasmas are [2,7,8] (i) incoherent emission of MeV energy γ -ray photons by electrons and positrons on acceleration by the macroscopic electromagnetic fields in the laserproduced plasma, with the resulting radiation reaction strongly modifying the dynamics of the emitting electron or positron [9,10], and (ii) pair creation by the emitted γ -ray photons in the same electromagnetic fields
We have shown that electrons in a plasma created by two counterpropagating, ultraintense (a0 > 200; I > 5 × 1022 W/cm2) laser pulses can spin polarize on a femtosecond time scale
Summary
At the intensities which will be reached by next-generation ultraintense lasers ( 5 × 1022–1024 W/cm2), such as several of those comprising the Extreme Light Infrastructure [1], light-matter interactions are predicted to reach the new quantum electrodynamic (QED) plasma regime. Matter in the laser focus is rapidly ionized, creating a plasma whose behavior is characterized by the interplay of relativistic plasma and “strong-field” quantum electrodynamic processes [2]. In this article we demonstrate a process, analogous to the Sokolov-Ternov effect in a strong magnetic field [18,19], in which the electrons in laser-generated QED plasmas rapidly spin polarize due to asymmetry in the rate of spin-flip transitions, i.e., interactions where the spin changes sign during the emission of a γ -ray photon.
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