Bahman Hafizi | Searcharxiv

arXiv2020

Special unitary particle pusher for extreme fields

An exact momentum update useful for particle codes was previously given. The expressions involved were unwieldy. By treating the momentum as a representation of SU(2)xSU(2) instead of SO(3,1), a more compact expression for the exact momentum update is obtained. An expansion in powers of the timestep can be formulated such that invariance properties are exactly preserved, and push rates comparable to the standard Boris pusher are obtained.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2015

Gigavolt bound-free transitions driven by extreme light

The photoelectron spectrum in the ultra-relativistic limit of tunneling ionization is strongly affected by wave-particle resonance and finite spot-size effects, in contradistinction with the usual assumptions of strong field physics. Near term laser facilities will access a regime where ionized electrons are abruptly accelerated in the laser propagation direction, such that they stay in phase with the laser fields through a substantial portion of the confocal region. The final momentum of the electron depends significantly on where in the confocal region it originated. By manipulating the target and collection geometry, it is possible to obtain low emittance, low energy spread, gigavolt photoelectrons. Radiation reaction effects play a negligible role in near term scenarios, but become interesting in the multi-exawatt regime. A significant advance in numerical particle tracking is introduced.

physics.acc-ph↗