Exploration of Strong Field Physics with Multi-PW Lasers

At the Center for Relativistic Laser Science (CoReLS) petawatt (PW) lasers have been developed for the investigations of strong field physics. The CoReLS has successfully upgraded one of the existing PW laser beamlines to a 4 PW laser at 20 fs. From laser-driven charged-particle acceleration experiments, multi-GeV electrons and 90-MeV protons can be generated using the laser wakefield acceleration and the radiation pressure acceleration schemes, respectively. The GeV electron beam can be, in turn, used for Compton backscattering with another PW laser. Such a Compton scattering process can be examined for other quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects, including the radiation reaction effect and the Breit-Wheeler pair production process. PW lasers have, thus, offered new opportunities to pursue novel physics research in relativistic plasma physics, strong field quantum electrodynamics, nuclear physics and laboratory astrophysics.