Talk

Speaker:

Anthony Hartin

University College London

England

Title:

Strong field quantum electrodynamics in experiment and theory

Abstract:

Physical interactions that take place in the midst of an intense electromagnetic field display unusual features. Pair production can occur from a single high energy photon, Compton scattering of electrons shows an intensity dependent shift in the Compton edge spectrum, and the anomalous magnetic moment decreases in magnitude. These features can be accounted for by changes induced to the quantum vacuum by the intense field. I review the different arenas where strong field physics can take place. In order to perform simulations to design experiments to test strong field QED predictions, the basics of the underlying stong field theory is needed. The intense laser field can be taken into account exactly in the exact Dirac equation solutions in intense fields of different form. The simulations can be performed using a custom build code which consists of a PIC code combined with a monte-carlo of the quantum interactions. I review also a new experiment being planned at the XFEL that will search specifically for strong field effects, including a laboratory measurement of the Schwinger critical field.