- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review D

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Intrinsic nonlocality of spin- and polarization-resolved probabilities in strong-field quantum electrodynamics

Samuele Montefiori1, Antonino Di Piazza2,3, Tobias Podszus1, Christoph H. Keitel1, and Matteo Tamburini1,*

  • *Contact author: matteo.tamburini@mpi-hd.mpg.de
PDF

Phys. Rev. D 114, 016030 – Published 27 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cg88-lgg8

Abstract

Spin and polarization are central to precision tests of fundamental physics and for interpreting radiation from astrophysical sources and ultraintense laser-matter experiments. Here, focusing on the fundamental process of nonlinear Compton scattering, we demonstrate that a key assumption underlying current strong-field quantum electrodynamics models, i.e., that emission can be treated as an instantaneous random event sampled from a local differential rate, is inconsistent once emission angles, electron spin, and/or photon polarization are resolved. Namely, even in strictly constant and uniform fields, the resulting fully differential distribution is sign indefinite, yielding negative inferred probabilities. The physical reason is that the photon emission probability builds up over a finite length of the electron trajectory, the formation region, during which the electron direction changes by roughly the same small angle that defines the radiation cone. Therefore, we put forward a new method where we integrate over this formation region analytically to obtain a physically consistent electron spin and photon polarization model. We show that the implementation of our model is compatible with existing Monte Carlo and particle-in-cell workflows. Simulations of a GeV-class electron-laser collision accessible at current petawatt facilities and of emission in a pulsarlike magnetic field are shown to reveal spin and polarization patterns that differ even qualitatively from state-of-the-art local models. In particular, our new model predicts substantial angle-dependent circular photon polarization where the well-known collinear-emission approach yields none, and a pronounced helicity bias in the recoiling electrons absent from current predictions. These findings have direct implications for upcoming strong-field QED experiments and for interpreting polarized radiation from extreme astrophysical environments.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (112)

  1. P. L. Anthony et al. (SLAC E158 Collaboration), Observation of parity nonconservation in Møller scattering, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 181602 (2004).
  2. P. L. Anthony et al. (SLAC E158 Collaboration), Precision measurement of the weak mixing angle in Møller scattering, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 081601 (2005).
  3. D. Androić et al. (Qweak Collaboration), Precision measurement of the weak charge of the proton, Nature (London) 557, 207 (2018).
  4. H. A. Tolhoek, Electron polarization, theory and experiment, Rev. Mod. Phys. 28, 277 (1956).
  5. D. W. Gidley, A. R. Köymen, and T. W. Capehart, Polarized low-energy positrons: A new probe of surface magnetism, Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1779 (1982).
  6. T. Jungwirth, J. Wunderlich, V. Novák, K. Olejník, B. L. Gallagher, R. P. Campion, K. W. Edmonds, A. W. Rushforth, A. J. Ferguson, and P. Němec, Spin-dependent phenomena and device concepts explored in (Ga,Mn)as, Rev. Mod. Phys. 86, 855 (2014).
  7. J. R. Danielson, D. H. E. Dubin, R. G. Greaves, and C. M. Surko, Plasma and trap-based techniques for science with positrons, Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 247 (2015).
  8. I. Žutić, J. Fabian, and S. Das Sarma, Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications, Rev. Mod. Phys. 76, 323 (2004).
  9. Z. Gong, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Retrieving transient magnetic fields of ultrarelativistic laser plasma via ejected electron polarization, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 165002 (2021).
  10. Z. Gong, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Deciphering in situ electron dynamics of ultrarelativistic plasma via polarization pattern of emitted γ-photons, Phys. Rev. Res. 4, L022024 (2022).
  11. Z. Gong, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Electron polarization in ultrarelativistic plasma current filamentation instabilities, Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 015101 (2023).
  12. Z. Gong, X. Shen, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Electron slingshot acceleration in relativistic preturbulent shocks explored via emitted photon polarization, Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 225101 (2023).
  13. Z. Gong, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Spin-polarized condensed plasmoids in radiation reaction dominated magnetic reconnection, Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 045101 (2025).
  14. K. Abe et al. (E143 Collaboration), Precision measurement of the deuteron spin structure function g1d, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 25 (1995).
  15. B. S. Schlimme et al., Measurement of the neutron electric to magnetic form factor ratio at Q2=1.58  GeV2 using the reaction he3(e,e′n)pp, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 132504 (2013).
  16. C. Schaerf, Polarized gamma-ray beams, Phys. Today 58, 44 (2005).
  17. M. M. Günther, O. N. Rosmej, P. Tavana, M. Gyrdymov, A. Skobliakov, A. Kantsyrev, S. Zähter, N. G. Borisenko, A. Pukhov, and N. E. Andreev, Forward-looking insights in laser-generated ultra-intense γ-ray and neutron sources for nuclear application and science, Nat. Commun. 13, 170 (2022).
  18. Z. Akbar et al. (CLAS Collaboration), Measurement of the helicity asymmetry E in ω→π+π−π0 photoproduction, Phys. Rev. C 96, 065209 (2017).
  19. Y. Nakamiya and K. Homma, Probing vacuum birefringence under a high-intensity laser field with gamma-ray polarimetry at the GeV scale, Phys. Rev. D 96, 053002 (2017).
  20. S. Bragin, S. Meuren, C. H. Keitel, and A. Di Piazza, High-energy vacuum birefringence and dichroism in an ultrastrong laser field, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 250403 (2017).
  21. A. Di Piazza, C. Müller, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Extremely high-intensity laser interactions with fundamental quantum systems, Rev. Mod. Phys. 84, 1177 (2012).
  22. A. Gonoskov, T. G. Blackburn, M. Marklund, and S. S. Bulanov, Charged particle motion and radiation in strong electromagnetic fields, Rev. Mod. Phys. 94, 045001 (2022).
  23. A. Fedotov, A. Ilderton, F. Karbstein, B. King, D. Seipt, H. Taya, and G. Torgrimsson, Advances in QED with intense background fields, Phys. Rep. 1010, 1 (2023).
  24. Y. Minami and E. Komatsu, New extraction of the cosmic birefringence from the Planck 2018 polarization data, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 221301 (2020).
  25. D. A. Uzdensky and S. Rightley, Plasma physics of extreme astrophysical environments, Rep. Prog. Phys. 77, 036902 (2014).
  26. A. J. Dean, D. J. Clark, J. B. Stephen, V. A. McBride, L. Bassani, A. Bazzano, A. J. Bird, A. B. Hill, S. E. Shaw, and P. Ubertini, Polarized gamma-ray emission from the Crab, Science 321, 1183 (2008).
  27. H.-H. Song and M. Tamburini, Polarized QED cascades over pulsar polar caps, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 530, 2087 (2024).
  28. P. Laurent, J. Rodriguez, J. Wilms, M. Cadolle Bel, K. Pottschmidt, and V. Grinberg, Polarized gamma-ray emission from the galactic black hole Cygnus X-1, Science 332, 438 (2011).
  29. B. Zhang, The physics of fast radio bursts, Rev. Mod. Phys. 95, 035005 (2023).
  30. S.-N. Zhang et al., Detailed polarization measurements of the prompt emission of five gamma-ray bursts, Nat. Astron. 3, 258 (2019).
  31. D. Del Sorbo, D. Seipt, T. G. Blackburn, A. G. R. Thomas, C. D. Murphy, J. G. Kirk, and C. P. Ridgers, Spin polarization of electrons by ultraintense lasers, Phys. Rev. A 96, 043407 (2017).
  32. M. Wen, M. Tamburini, and C. H. Keitel, Polarized laser-wakefield-accelerated kiloampere electron beams, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 214801 (2019).
  33. Y.-F. Li, R. Shaisultanov, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, F. Wan, C. H. Keitel, and J.-X. Li, Ultrarelativistic electron-beam polarization in single-shot interaction with an ultraintense laser pulse, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 154801 (2019).
  34. Y.-Y. Chen, P.-L. He, R. Shaisultanov, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Polarized positron beams via intense two-color laser pulses, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 174801 (2019).
  35. H.-H. Song, W.-M. Wang, J.-X. Li, Y.-F. Li, and Y.-T. Li, Spin-polarization effects of an ultrarelativistic electron beam in an ultraintense two-color laser pulse, Phys. Rev. A 100, 033407 (2019).
  36. D. Seipt, D. Del Sorbo, C. P. Ridgers, and A. G. R. Thomas, Ultrafast polarization of an electron beam in an intense bichromatic laser field, Phys. Rev. A 100, 061402 (2019).
  37. Y.-F. Li, Y.-Y. Chen, W.-M. Wang, and H.-S. Hu, Production of highly polarized positron beams via helicity transfer from polarized electrons in a strong laser field, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 044802 (2020).
  38. R.-T. Guo, Y. Wang, R. Shaisultanov, F. Wan, Z.-F. Xu, Y.-Y. Chen, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and J.-X. Li, Stochasticity in radiative polarization of ultrarelativistic electrons in an ultrastrong laser pulse, Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 033483 (2020).
  39. F. Wan, R. Shaisultanov, Y.-F. Li, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, C. H. Keitel, and J.-X. Li, Ultrarelativistic polarized positron jets via collision of electron and ultraintense laser beams, Phys. Lett. B 800, 135120 (2020).
  40. Z. Nie, F. Li, F. Morales, S. Patchkovskii, O. Smirnova, W. An, N. Nambu, D. Matteo, K. A. Marsh, F. Tsung, W. B. Mori, and C. Joshi, In situ generation of high-energy spin-polarized electrons in a beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 054801 (2021).
  41. H.-H. Song, W.-M. Wang, Y.-F. Li, B.-J. Li, Y.-T. Li, Z.-M. Sheng, L.-M. Chen, and J. Zhang, Spin and polarization effects on the nonlinear Breit–Wheeler pair production in laser-plasma interaction, New J. Phys. 23, 075005 (2021).
  42. Y. Tang, Z. Gong, J. Yu, Y. Shou, and X. Yan, Radiative polarization dynamics of relativistic electrons in an intense electromagnetic field, Phys. Rev. A 103, 042807 (2021).
  43. K. Xue, R.-T. Guo, F. Wan, R. Shaisultanov, Y.-Y. Chen, Z.-F. Xu, X.-G. Ren, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, C. H. Keitel, and J.-X. Li, Generation of arbitrarily polarized GeV lepton beams via nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process, Fundam. Res. 2, 539 (2022).
  44. Y.-F. Li, Y.-Y. Chen, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, and C. H. Keitel, Helicity transfer in strong laser fields via the electron anomalous magnetic moment, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 174801 (2022).
  45. K. Xue, T. Sun, K.-J. Wei, Z.-P. Li, Q. Zhao, F. Wan, C. Lv, Y.-T. Zhao, Z.-F. Xu, and J.-X. Li, Generation of high-density high-polarization positrons via single-shot strong laser-foil interaction, Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 175101 (2023).
  46. Z. Gong, M. J. Quin, S. Bohlen, C. H. Keitel, K. Pøder, and M. Tamburini, Spin-polarized electron beam generation in the colliding-pulse injection scheme, Matter Radiat. Extremes 8, 064005 (2023).
  47. S. Bohlen, Z. Gong, M. J. Quin, M. Tamburini, and K. Poder, Colliding pulse injection of polarized electron bunches in a laser-plasma accelerator, Phys. Rev. Res. 5, 033205 (2023).
  48. B.-J. Li, Y.-F. Li, Y.-Y. Chen, X.-F. Weng, X.-J. Tan, X.-J. Ma, L. Sheng, and H.-S. Hu, Highly polarized positrons generated via few-PW lasers, Phys. Plasmas 30, 083103 (2023).
  49. Q. Qian, D. Seipt, M. Vranic, T. E. Grismayer, T. G. Blackburn, C. P. Ridgers, and A. G. R. Thomas, Parametric study of the polarization dependence of nonlinear Breit–Wheeler pair creation process using two laser pulses, Phys. Plasmas 30, 103107 (2023).
  50. L. R. Yin, X. F. Li, Y. J. Gu, N. Cao, Q. Kong, M. Büscher, S. M. Weng, M. Chen, and Z. M. Sheng, Generation of polarized electron beams through self-injection in the interaction of a laser with a pre-polarized plasma, High Power Laser Sci. Eng. 12, e28 (2024).
  51. T. Omori, M. Fukuda, T. Hirose, Y. Kurihara, R. Kuroda, M. Nomura, A. Ohashi, T. Okugi, K. Sakaue, T. Saito, J. Urakawa, M. Washio, and I. Yamazaki, Efficient propagation of polarization from laser photons to positrons through Compton scattering and electron-positron pair creation, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 114801 (2006).
  52. Y.-F. Li, R. Shaisultanov, Y.-Y. Chen, F. Wan, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, C. H. Keitel, and J.-X. Li, Polarized ultrashort brilliant multi-GeV γ rays via single-shot laser-electron interaction, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 014801 (2020).
  53. K. Xue, Z.-K. Dou, F. Wan, T.-P. Yu, W.-M. Wang, J.-R. Ren, Q. Zhao, Y.-T. Zhao, Z.-F. Xu, and J.-X. Li, Generation of highly-polarized high-energy brilliant γ-rays via laser-plasma interaction, Matter Radiat. Extremes 5, 054402 (2020).
  54. F. Wan, Y. Wang, R.-T. Guo, Y.-Y. Chen, R. Shaisultanov, Z.-F. Xu, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, C. H. Keitel, and J.-X. Li, High-energy γ-photon polarization in nonlinear Breit–Wheeler pair production and γ polarimetry, Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 032049 (2020).
  55. Y.-N. Dai, B.-F. Shen, J.-X. Li, R. Shaisultanov, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, C. H. Keitel, and Y.-Y. Chen, Photon polarization effects in polarized electron–positron pair production in a strong laser field, Matter Radiat. Extremes 7, 014401 (2021).
  56. Y. Wang, M. Ababekri, F. Wan, J.-X. Wen, W.-Q. Wei, Z.-P. Li, H.-T. Kang, B. Zhang, Y.-T. Zhao, W.-M. Zhou, and J.-X. Li, Manipulation of γ-ray polarization in compton scattering, Phys. Plasmas 31, 053105 (2024).
  57. J.-J. Jiang, K.-H. Zhuang, J.-D. Chen, J.-X. Li, and Y.-Y. Chen, Controlling the polarization and vortex charge of γ photons via nonlinear compton scattering, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 153802 (2025).
  58. V. N. Baier, V. M. Katkov, and V. M. Strakhovenko, Electromagnetic Processes at High Energies in Oriented Single Crystals (World Scientific, Singapore, 1998).
  59. D. Seipt, D. Del Sorbo, C. P. Ridgers, and A. G. R. Thomas, Theory of radiative electron polarization in strong laser fields, Phys. Rev. A 98, 023417 (2018).
  60. T. N. Wistisen and A. Di Piazza, Numerical approach to the semiclassical method of radiation emission for arbitrary electron spin and photon polarization, Phys. Rev. D 100, 116001 (2019).
  61. G. Torgrimsson, Loops and polarization in strong-field QED, New J. Phys. 23, 065001 (2021).
  62. D. Seipt and B. King, Spin- and polarization-dependent locally constant field approximation rates for nonlinear compton and Breit–Wheeler processes, Phys. Rev. A 102, 052805 (2020).
  63. T. Podszus, V. Dinu, and A. Di Piazza, Nonlinear compton scattering and nonlinear Breit–Wheeler pair production including the damping of particle states, Phys. Rev. D 106, 056014 (2022).
  64. Y.-Y. Chen, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, C. H. Keitel, and R. Shaisultanov, Electron spin- and photon polarization-resolved probabilities of strong-field QED processes, Phys. Rev. D 105, 116013 (2022).
  65. Y.-F. Li, Y.-Y. Chen, K. Z. Hatsagortsyan, A. Di Piazza, M. Tamburini, and C. H. Keitel, Strong signature of one-loop self-energy in polarization-resolved nonlinear Compton scattering, Phys. Rev. D 107, 116020 (2023).
  66. Y.-N. Dai, J.-J. Jiang, Y.-H. Jiang, R. Shaisultanov, and Y.-Y. Chen, Effects of angular spread in nonlinear Compton scattering, Phys. Rev. D 108, 056025 (2023).
  67. S. Montefiori, Analytical and numerical methods for high-precision studies in ultrarelativistic strong-field quantum electrodynamics, Ph.D. thesis, Heidelberg University, 2025, PhD dissertation, 10.11588/heidok.00036586.
  68. V. Yakimenko, L. Alsberg, E. Bong, G. Bouchard, C. Clarke, C. Emma, S. Green, C. Hast, M. J. Hogan, J. Seabury, N. Lipkowitz, B. O’Shea, D. Storey, G. White, and G. Yocky, FACET-II facility for advanced accelerator experimental tests, Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 22, 101301 (2019).
  69. C. N. Danson, C. Haefner, J. Bromage, T. Butcher, J.-C. F. Chanteloup, E. A. Chowdhury, A. Galvanauskas, L. A. Gizzi, J. Hein, D. I. Hillier et al., Petawatt and exawatt class lasers worldwide, High Power Laser Sci. Eng. 7, e54 (2019).
  70. V. I. Ritus, Quantum effects of the interaction of elementary particles with an intense electromagnetic field, J. Russ. Laser Res. 6, 497 (1985).
  71. M. Mirzaie, C. I. Hojbota, D. Y. Kim, V. B. Pathak, T. G. Pak, C. M. Kim, H. W. Lee, J. W. Yoon, S. K. Lee, Y. J. Rhee, M. Vranic, Ó. Amaro, K. Y. Kim, J. H. Sung, and C. H. Nam, All-optical nonlinear compton scattering performed with a multi-petawatt laser, Nat. Photonics 18, 1212 (2024).
  72. J. M. Cole et al., Experimental evidence of radiation reaction in the collision of a high-intensity laser pulse with a laser-wakefield accelerated electron beam, Phys. Rev. X 8, 011020 (2018).
  73. K. Poder et al., Experimental signatures of the quantum nature of radiation reaction in the field of an ultraintense laser, Phys. Rev. X 8, 031004 (2018).
  74. E. E. Los et al., Observation of quantum effects on radiation reaction in strong fields, Nat. Commun. 17, 1157 (2026).
  75. E-320: Probing strong-field QED at FACET-II, https://conferences.slac.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/2023-08/Wed_01_sfqed_2019.pdf (2019) (accessed 2026-03-05).
  76. H. Abramowicz et al., Conceptual design report for the LUXE experiment, Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 230, 2445 (2021).

  77. An important exception is Ref. [89], where NCS is studied beyond the collinear approximation while still averaging/summing over spin and polarization.

  78. V. B. Berestetskii, E. M. Lifshitz, and L. P. Pitaevskii, Quantum Electrodynamics, Course of Theoretical Physics Vol. 4 (Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 1982).
  79. A. Di Piazza, M. Tamburini, S. Meuren, and C. H. Keitel, Implementing nonlinear compton scattering beyond the locally constant field approximation, Phys. Rev. A 98, 012134 (2018).
  80. A. Di Piazza, M. Tamburini, S. Meuren, and C. H. Keitel, Improved local-constant-field approximation for strong-field QED codes, Phys. Rev. A 99, 022125 (2019).

  81. Although not demonstrated analytically, panel (b) and (d) of Fig. 3 show that this occurs also if one sums over the final electron spin states.

  82. Throughout this work, for any real number a the cube root a1/3 is defined as the unique real number b satisfying b3=a.

  83. J. Schwinger, The quantum correction in the radiation by energetic accelerated electrons, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 40, 132 (1954).
  84. V. N. Baier and V. M. Katkov, Quantum effects in magnetic bremsstrahlung, Phys. Lett. 25A, 492 (1967).
  85. A. Di Piazza, WKB electron wave functions in a tightly focused laser beam, Phys. Rev. D 103, 076011 (2021).
  86. H.-H. Song, W.-M. Wang, and Y.-T. Li, Dense polarized positrons from laser-irradiated foil targets in the QED regime, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 035001 (2022).

  87. In the Furry-picture formulation, the momentum and spin evolution according to the Lorentz and BMT equations are encoded in the Volkov state (see Ref. [112]).

  88. The Lorentz and BMT precession frequency coincide except for the anomalous magnetic moment contribution, which is negligible over the photon formation region.

  89. T. G. Blackburn, D. Seipt, S. S. Bulanov, and M. Marklund, Radiation beaming in the quantum regime, Phys. Rev. A 101, 012505 (2020).

  90. For an outgoing photon, eμ*eν corresponds to the Hermitian of the polarization density matrix defined in Eq. (3).

  91. S. Montefiori and M. Tamburini, SFQEDtoolkit: A high-performance library for the accurate modeling of strong-field QED processes in PIC and Monte Carlo codes, Comput. Phys. Commun. 292, 108855 (2023).
  92. User’s manual of CAIN, https://www-jlc.kek.jp/subg/ir/lib/cain21b.manual/ (accessed 2026-03-05).
  93. G. Torgrimsson, Resummation of quantum radiation reaction in plane waves, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 111602 (2021).
  94. V. N. Baĭer, Radiative polarization of electrons in storage rings, Sov. Phys. Usp. 14, 695 (1972).
  95. V. N. Baier, V. M. Katkov, and V. M. Strakhovenko, Quantum radiation theory in inhomogeneous external fields, Nucl. Phys. B328, 387 (1989).
  96. A. Ilderton, B. King, and D. Seipt, Extended locally constant field approximation for nonlinear Compton scattering, Phys. Rev. A 99, 042121 (2019).
  97. D. Seipt and B. Kämpfer, Two-photon Compton process in pulsed intense laser fields, Phys. Rev. D 85, 101701(R) (2012).
  98. F. Mackenroth and A. Di Piazza, Nonlinear double Compton scattering in the ultrarelativistic quantum regime, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 070402 (2013).
  99. B. King, Double Compton scattering in a constant crossed field and approximations used in simulation, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 594, 012053 (2015).
  100. V. Dinu and G. Torgrimsson, Single and double nonlinear Compton scattering, Phys. Rev. D 99, 096018 (2019).
  101. O. Lundh, J. Lim, C. Rechatin, L. Ammoura, A. Ben-Ismaïl, X. Davoine, G. Gallot, J.-P. Goddet, E. Lefebvre, V. Malka, and J. Faure, Few femtosecond, few kiloampere electron bunch produced by a laser-plasma accelerator, Nat. Phys. 7, 219 (2011).
  102. X. Wang et al., Downer, Quasi-monoenergetic laser-plasma acceleration of electrons to 2 GeV, Nat. Commun. 4, 1988 (2013).
  103. W. P. Leemans, A. J. Gonsalves, H.-S. Mao, K. Nakamura, C. Benedetti, C. B. Schroeder, C. Tóth, J. Daniels, D. E. Mittelberger, S. S. Bulanov, J.-L. Vay, C. G. R. Geddes, and E. Esarey, Multi-GeV electron beams from capillary-discharge-guided subpetawatt laser pulses in the self-trapping regime, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 245002 (2014).
  104. A. J. Gonsalves et al., Petawatt laser guiding and electron beam acceleration to 8 GeV in a laser-heated capillary discharge waveguide, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 084801 (2019).
  105. Y. I. Salamin, G. R. Mocken, and C. H. Keitel, Electron scattering and acceleration by a tightly focused laser beam, Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 5, 101301 (2002).
  106. J. W. Yoon, Y. G. Kim, I. W. Choi, J. H. Sung, H. W. Lee, S. K. Lee, and C. H. Nam, Realization of laser intensity over 1023  W/cm2, Optica 8, 630 (2021).
  107. National science foundation optical parametric amplifier lines (NSF OPAL). https://nsf-opal.rochester.edu/ (accessed 2026-03-05).
  108. Vulcan 20-20, https://www.clf.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/Vulcan-2020.aspx (accessed 2026-03-05).
  109. Station of extreme light (SEL), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_of_Extreme_Light (accessed 2026-03-05).
  110. S. Keppler, M. Hornung, R. Bödefeld, M. Kahle, J. Hein, and M. C. Kaluza, All-reflective, highly accurate polarization rotator for high-power short-pulse laser systems, Opt. Express 20, 20742 (2012).
  111. J. K. Daugherty and A. K. Harding, Electromagnetic cascades in pulsars, Astrophys. J. 252, 337 (1982).
  112. S. Meuren, O. Har-Shemesh, and A. Di Piazza, Tests of classical and quantum electrodynamics with intense laser fields, in Progress in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science: Volume X, edited by K. Yamanouchi, G. G. Paulus, and D. Mathur (Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2014), pp. 111–135.

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, 016030– Published 27 July, 2026
  • Received 12 March 2026
  • Accepted 29 June 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation