Strong energy enhancement in a laser-driven plasma-based accelerator through stochastic friction

TL;DR

This paper reveals that in nonlinear quantum electrodynamics, stochastic radiation friction can unexpectedly enhance energy transfer in laser-driven plasma accelerators, leading to significantly higher particle energies.

Contribution

It demonstrates analytically and numerically that radiation friction can improve the efficiency of laser-driven particle accelerators, contrary to traditional dissipation expectations.

Findings

Energy of particles enhanced by orders of magnitude

Directional energy flow due to stochastic friction

Radiation friction can boost accelerator performance

Abstract

Conventionally, friction is understood as an efficient dissipation mechanism depleting a physical system of energy as an unavoidable feature of any realistic device involving moving parts, e.g., in mechanical brakes. In this work, we demonstrate that this intuitive picture loses validity in nonlinear quantum electrodynamics, exemplified in a scenario where spatially random friction counter-intuitively results in a highly directional energy flow. This peculiar behavior is caused by radiation friction, i.e., the energy loss of an accelerated charge due to the emission of radiation. We demonstrate analytically and numerically how radiation friction can enhance the performance of a specific class of laser-driven particle accelerators. We find the unexpected directional energy boost to be due to the particles' energy being reduced through friction whence the driving laser can accelerate them more efficiently. In a quantitative case we find the energy of the laser-accelerated particles to be enhanced by orders of magnitude.