论文标题
等离子体镜作为通往舒温格极限的途径
Plasma mirrors as a path to the Schwinger limit
论文作者
论文摘要
达到$ 10^{25} $ w/cm $^{2} $的光强度超过$ 10^{29} $，并达到Schwinger限制（$ 10^{29} $ w/cm $ $^{2} $）将实现数十年历史的量子电动动力学的基本预测。实现此类极端领域的一种有希望而又具有挑战性的方法在于反映了弯曲的相对论镜子的高功率飞秒激光脉冲。这通过将束的压缩及时压缩到Attosend范围，并将其集中在亚微米焦点斑点上，从而增强了反射光束的强度。在这里，我们表明，当超强度激光脉冲电离固体目标并产生密集的等离子体时，可以产生这种弯曲的相对论镜，从而易于反映入射光。这是第一次测量这种所谓的“等离子体镜”对反射梁引起的时间和空间效应的测量。此处展示的全光测量技术将有助于使用相对论的等离子体镜和新兴的Petawatt Lasers生成，这构成了Schwinger极限的可行实验路径。
Reaching light intensities above $10^{25}$ W/cm$^{2}$ and up to the Schwinger limit ($10^{29}$ W/cm$^{2}$) would enable testing decades-old fundamental predictions of Quantum Electrodynamics. A promising yet challenging approach to achieve such extreme fields consists in reflecting a high-power femtosecond laser pulse off a curved relativistic mirror. This enhances the intensity of the reflected beam by simultaneously compressing it in time down to the attosecond range, and focusing it to sub-micron focal spots. Here we show that such curved relativistic mirrors can be produced when an ultra-intense laser pulse ionizes a solid target and creates a dense plasma that specularly reflects the incident light. This is evidenced by measuring for the first time the temporal and spatial effects induced on the reflected beam by this so-called 'plasma mirror'. The all-optical measurement technique demonstrated here will be instrumental for the use of relativistic plasma mirrors with the emerging generation of Petawatt lasers, which constitutes a viable experimental path to the Schwinger limit.
