Theoretical study of ultra-relativistic laser electron interaction with radiation reaction by quantum description

Abstract

In the near future, the intensity of the ultra-short pulse laser will reach to 1022W/cm2. When an electron is irradiated by this laser, the electron's behavior is relativistic with significant bremsstrahlung. This radiation from the electron is regarded as the energy loss of electron. Therefore, the electron's motion changes because of the kinetic energy changing. This radiation effect on the charged particle is the self-interaction, called the "radiation reaction" or the "radiation damping". For this reason, the radiation reaction appears in laser electron interactions with an ultra-short pulse laser whose intensity becomes larger than 1022W/cm2. In the classical theory, it is described by the Lorentz-Abraham-Dirac (LAD) equation. But, this equation has a mathematical difficulty, which we call the "run-away". Therefore, there are many methodsfor avoiding this problem. However, Dirac's viewpoint is brilliant, based on the idea of quantum electrodynamics. We propose a new equation of motion in the quantum theory with radiation reaction in this paper. © 2012 The Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research.