Electron dynamics, gamma and electron-positron production by colliding laser pulses

TL;DR

This paper investigates how colliding super-intense laser pulses influence electron dynamics and the resulting gamma-ray and electron-positron pair production, highlighting polarization effects and conditions for plasma cascade development.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the efficiency of photon emission and pair production depending on laser polarization, intensity, and wavelength in high-intensity laser interactions.

Findings

Linearly polarized pulses produce more efficient photon emission and pair creation than circular polarization.

Electron dynamics exhibit attractors in a standing wave, affecting cascade development.

Conditions for gamma-electron-positron plasma creation are identified based on laser parameters.

Abstract

The dynamics of an electron bunch irradiated by two focused colliding super-intense laser pulses and the resulting gamma and electron-positron production are studied. Due to attractors of electron dynamics in a standing wave created by colliding pulses the photon emission and pair production, in general, are more efficient with linearly polarized pulses than with circularly polarized ones. The dependence of the key parameters on the laser intensity and wavelength allows to identify the conditions for the cascade development and gamma-electron-positron plasma creation.