Astrophysics in Strong Electromagnetic Fields and Laboratory Astrophysics

TL;DR

This paper reviews quantum electrodynamics phenomena in strong electromagnetic and gravitational fields, highlighting recent advances in astrophysics and laboratory experiments involving intense lasers and cosmic sources.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of QED in curved spacetimes, connecting astrophysical phenomena with laboratory high-intensity laser physics.

Findings

Discussion of QED effects like vacuum polarization and Schwinger pair production in astrophysical contexts.

Analysis of strong field physics in black holes, neutron stars, and early universe.

Integration of laboratory laser techniques with astrophysical observations.

Abstract

Recent observations of gravitational waves from binary mergers of black holes or neutron stars and the rapid development of ultra-intense lasers lead strong field physics to a frontier of new physics in the 21st century. Strong gravity phenomena are most precisely described by general relativity, and lasers that are described by another most precisely tested quantum electrodynamics (QED) can be focused into a tiny area in a short period through the chirped pulse amplification and generate extremely high intensity electromagnetic (EM) fields beyond the conventional methods. It is physically interesting to study QED phenomena in curved spacetimes, in which both strong gravitational and electromagnetic fields play important roles. There are many sources for strong gravitational and electromagnetic fields in the sky or universe, such highly magnetized neutron stars, magnetized black holes, and the early universe. We review quantum field theoretical frameworks for QED both in the Minkowski spacetime and curved spacetimes, in particular, charged black holes and the early universe, and discuss the QED physics in strong EM fields, such as the vacuum polarization and Schwinger pair production and their implications to astrophysics and cosmology.