46th International Workshop on High Energy Density Physics with Intense Ion and Laser Beams

Relativistic oscillating plasma mirrors provide a promising platform for generating bright high-harmonic radiation and, ultimately, extreme electromagnetic fields. Theory predicts that, under optimized conditions, these systems can strongly compress laser energy in space and time, forming a Coherent Harmonic Focus (CHF) with intensities orders of magnitude beyond those of the driving pulse....

Efficiency limit relativistic harmonic generation from solid targets (ROM) has recently been demonstrated experimentally. Multi-petawatt laser facilities will soon be able to harness this mechanism to generate intense coherent attosecond harmonic foci suitable for probing the quantum vacuum via fully optical means. However, experiment has demonstrated that efficiency scaling with harmonic...

Precise control over the temporal profile of the incident laser radiation in ultra-relativistic plasma interactions is crucial for many applications. While the effects of laser contrast on longer timescales have been studied and methods of control are well known, here we investigate the impact of the rising edge within a few picoseconds of the peak intensity of the pulse. As laser powers...

Quantum field theory predicts that the vacuum exhibits a nonlinear response to strong electromagnetic fields, giving rise to phenomena such as vacuum birefringence. Despite its fundamental significance, this effect has remained experimentally inaccessible and has yet to be observed in the laboratory. Detecting it would provide a distinct signature of the optical activity of the quantum vacuum...