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arXiv · 1107.3596

Nonlinear propagation of light in Dirac matter

Bengt Eliasson·Padma K. Shukla
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Abstract

The nonlinear interaction between intense laser light and a quantum plasma is modeled by a collective Dirac equation coupled with the Maxwell equations. The model is used to study the nonlinear propagation of relativistically intense laser light in a quantum plasma including the electron spin-1/2 effect. The relativistic effects due to the high-intensity laser light lead, in general, to a downshift of the laser frequency, similar to a classical plasma where the relativistic mass increase leads to self-induced transparency of laser light and other associated effects. The electron spin-1/2 effects lead to a frequency up- or downshift of the electromagnetic (EM) wave, depending on the spin state of the plasma and the polarization of the EM wave. For laboratory solid density plasmas, the spin-1/2 effects on the propagation of light are small, but they may be significant in super-dense plasma in the core of white dwarf stars. We also discuss extensions of the model to include kinetic effects of a distribution of the electrons on the nonlinear propagation of EM waves in a quantum plasma.

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Bengt Eliasson, Padma K. Shukla. 2011-07-18. Nonlinear propagation of light in Dirac matter. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.84.036401

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