Brilliant GeV gamma-ray flash from inverse Compton scattering in the QED regime

Author:

Gong, Z.  Hu, R. H.  Lu, H. Y.  Yu, J. Q.  Wang, D. H.  Fu, E. G.  Chen, C. E.  He, X. T.  Yan, X. Q.  

Journal:

PLASMA PHYSICS AND CONTROLLED FUSION

Issue Date:

2018

Abstract(summary):

An all-optical scheme is proposed for studying laser plasma based incoherent photon emission from inverse Compton scattering in the quantum electrodynamic regime. A theoretical model is presented to explain the coupling effects among radiation reaction trapping, the self-generated magnetic field and the spiral attractor in phase space, which guarantees the transfer of energy and angular momentum from electromagnetic fields to particles. Taking advantage of a prospective similar to 10(23) W cm(-2) laser facility, 3D particle-in-cell simulations show a gamma-ray flash with unprecedented multi-petawatt power and brightness of 1.7 x 10(23) photons s(-1) mm(-2) mrad(-2)/0.1% bandwidth (at 1 GeV). These results bode well for new research directions in particle physics and laboratory astrophysics exploring laser plasma interactions.