James Robert van Meter

High-Intensity Scattering Processes of Relativistic Electrons in Vacuum and Their Relevance to High-Energy Astrophysics

The recent advent of ultra-short pulse, high-intensity lasers, together with advances in other novel technologies, such as high-gradient radiofrequency photoinjectors, have afforded researchers the possibility to simulate astrophysical conditions in the laboratory. Laser-produced plasmas have been successfully used to simulate astrophysical plasmas and supernovae in the laboratory for several years. Now, femtosecond laser systems operating in the terawatt to petawatt range are available, as are synchronized relativistic electron bunches with subpicosecond durations and terahertz bandwidths. With these tools, experiments have been conducted to study phenomena related to supernova explosions, stellar winds, solar coronae, cosmic rays, planetary and celestial matter, and interstellar plasmas. Other experiments have been proposed to investigate Unruh radiation, as well as ponderomotive scattering, which can accelerate electrons in vacuum to relativistic energies using the extremely high gradients in a three-dimensional laser focus. The nonlinear Doppler shift induced by ultrarelativistic radiation pressure is shown to yield complex nonlinear Compton backscattered spectra. Finally, strong radiative corrections are expected when the Doppler-upshifted laser wavelength approaches the Compton scale. These are discussed within the context of high-field classical electrodynamics, a new discipline borne out of the aforementioned innovations.