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Deep understanding of photon polarization impact on pair production is essential for the efficient creation of laser driven polarized positron beams, and demands a complete description of polarization effects in strong-field QED processes. We investigate, employing fully polarization resolved Monte Carlo simulations, the correlated photon and electron (positron) polarization effects in multiphoton Breit-Wheeler pair production process during the interaction of an ultrarelativistic electron beam with a counterpropagating elliptically polarized laser pulse. We showed that the polarization of e^-e^+ pairs is degraded by 35\%, when the polarization of the intermediate photon is resolved, accompanied with an approximately 13\% decrease of the pair yield. Moreover, the polarization direction of energetic positrons in small angle region is reversed, which originates from the pair production of hard photons with polarization parallel with electric field.

Generation of circularly polarized (CP) and linearly polarized (LP) $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays via the single-shot interaction of an ultraintense laser pulse with a spin-polarized counterpropagating ultrarelativistic electron beam has been investigated in nonlinear Compton scattering in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. For the process simulation, a Monte Carlo method is developed which employs the electron-spin-resolved probabilities for polarized photon emissions. We show efficient ways for the transfer of the electron polarization to the high-energy photon polarization. In particular, multi-GeV CP (LP) $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays with polarization of up to about 95% can be generated by a longitudinally (transversely) spin-polarized electron beam, with a photon flux meeting the requirements of recent proposals for the vacuum birefringence measurement in ultrastrong laser fields. Such high-energy, high-brilliance, high-polarization $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays are also beneficial for other applications in high-energy physics, and laboratory astrophysics.

Stochasticity effects in the spin (de)polarization of an ultrarelativistic electron beam during photon emissions in a counterpropoagating ultrastrong focused laser pulse in the quantum radiation reaction regime are investigated. We employ a Monte Carlo method to describe the electron dynamics semiclassically, and photon emissions as well as the electron radiative polarization quantum mechanically. While in the latter the photon emission is inherently stochastic, we were able to identify its imprints in comparison with the new developed semiclassical stochasticity-free method of radiative polarization applicable in the quantum regime. With an initially spin-polarized electron beam, the stochastic spin effects are seen in the dependence of the depolarization degree on the electron scattering angle and the electron final energy (spin stochastic diffusion). With an initially unpolarized electron beam, the spin stochasticity is exhibited in enhancing the known effect of splitting of the electron beam along the propagation direction into two oppositely polarized parts by an elliptically polarized laser pulse. The considered stochasticity effects for the spin are observable with currently achievable laser and electron beam parameters.

Relativistic spin-polarized positron beams are indispensable for future electron-positron colliders to test modern high-energy physics theory with high precision. However, present techniques require very large scale facilities for those experiments. We put forward a novel efficient method for generating ultrarelativistic polarized positron beams employing currently available laser fields. For this purpose, the generation of polarized positrons via multiphoton Breit-Wheeler pair production and the associated spin dynamics in single-shot interaction of an ultraintense laser pulse with an ultrarelativistic electron beam is investigated in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. The pair production spin asymmetry in strong fields, significantly exceeding the asymmetry of the radiative polarization, produces locally highly polarized particles, which are split by a specifically tailored small ellipticity of the laser field into two oppositely polarized beams along the minor axis of laser polarization. In spite of radiative de-polarization, a dense positron beam with up to about 90% polarization can be generated in tens of femtoseconds. The method may eventually usher high-energy physics studies into smaller-scale laser laboratories. Keywords: Strong field QED, Polarized positrons, Multiphoton Breit-Wheeler pair production, Nonlinear Compton scattering

For vacuum electron acceleration by a Gaussian beam, the energy gain of the electron is sensitively influenced by the initial parameters of the electron and the laser beam. It is necessary to find a group of optimized initial parameters to achieve the highest energy gain. The relationships between the initial parameters and the energy gains are investigated comprehensively by the global optimization method, and the global maximum as well as the local maxima is obtained. Via employing the global optimization of the initial parameters, more efficient electron acceleration has been achieved. Keywords: Electron acceleration, Gaussian beam, Global optimization

The impact of the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of a long relativistic tightly focused laser pulse on the dynamics of a counterpropagating electron beam has been investigated theoretically in the, so-called, electron reflection regime. Our semiclassical Monte Carlo simulations show that the electrons are reflected at the rising edge of the laser pulse due to the ponderomotive force of the focused laser beam, and an asymmetric electron-momentum distribution emerges along the laser polarization direction, which sensitively depends on the CEP of the driving laser pulse for weak radiative stochasticity effects. The CEP signatures can be determined in the electron-momentum distribution at laser intensities of the order or larger than ${10}^{19}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ and for the pulse lengths up to 10 cycles. The CEP detection resolution is proportional to the electron beam density and can achieve approximately $0.{1}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ at an electron density of about ${10}^{15}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. The method is applicable for currently available ultraintense laser facilities with the laser peak power ranging from tens of terawatt to multipetawatt.

The impact of stochasticity effects (SEs) in photon emissions on the proton energy spectra during laser-plasma interaction is theoretically investigated in the quantum radiation-dominated regime, which may facilitate SEs experimental observation. We calculate the photon emissions quantum mechanically and the plasma dynamics semiclassically via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. An ultrarelativistic plasma generated and driven by an ultraintense laser pulse head-on collides with another strong laser pulse, which decelerates the electrons due to radiation-reaction effect and results in a significant compression of the proton energy spectra because of the charge separation force. In the considered regime the SEs are demonstrated in the shift of the mean energy of the protons up to hundreds of MeV. This effect is robust with respect to the laser and target parameters and measurable in soon available strong laser facilities.

Dynamics of an electron beam head-on colliding with an ultraintense focused ultrashort circularly polarized laser pulse are investigated in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. Generally, the ponderomotive force of the laser fields may deflect the electrons transversely, to form a ring structure in the cross section of the electron beam. However, we find that when the Lorentz factor of the electron $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ is approximately one order of magnitude larger than the invariant laser field parameter $\ensuremath{\xi}$, the stochastic nature of the photon emission leads to electron aggregation abnormally inwards to the propagation axis of the laser pulse. Consequently, the electron angular distribution after the interaction exhibits a peak structure in the beam propagation direction, which is noticeably distinguished from the ``ring'' structure of the distribution in the classical regime and, therefore, can be recognized as a proof of the fundamental quantum stochastic nature of radiation. The stochasticity signature is robust with respect to the laser and electron parameters and observable with current experimental techniques.

The generation of highly polarized high-energy brilliant γ-rays via laser–plasma interaction is investigated in the quantum radiation-reaction regime. We employ a quantum electrodynamics particle-in-cell code to describe spin-resolved electron dynamics semiclassically and photon emission and polarization quantum mechanically in the local constant field approximation. As an ultrastrong linearly polarized (LP) laser pulse irradiates a near-critical-density (NCD) plasma followed by an ultrathin planar aluminum target, the electrons in the NCD plasma are first accelerated by the driving laser to ultrarelativistic energies and then collide head-on with the laser pulse reflected by the aluminum target, emitting brilliant LP γ-rays via nonlinear Compton scattering with an average polarization of about 70% and energy up to hundreds of MeV. Such γ-rays can be produced with currently achievable laser facilities and will find various applications in high-energy physics and laboratory astrophysics.

Generation of high-flux vortex γ -ray pulses is investigated in the interaction of ultraintense Bessel–Bessel laser bullets colliding head-on with ultrarelativistic electron bunches in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. In the simulations, a semiclassical Monte–Carlo method is used, based on the radiation probabilities in the local constant field approximation, to describe the electron motion and emission of radiation. Characteristics of the driving laser pulse (orbital angular momentum and nondiffracting spatial and temporal structures) are transferred to the emitted γ rays by nonlinear Compton scattering.

Gamma-ray beams with a large angular momentum may affect astrophysical phenomena, which calls for appropriate earth-based experimental investigations. For this purpose, we investigate the generation of well-collimated γ-ray beams with a very large orbital angular momentum using nonlinear Compton scattering of a strong laser pulse of twisted photons at ultrarelativistic electrons. Angular momentum conservation among absorbed laser photons, quantum radiation, and electrons is numerically demonstrated in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. We point out that the angular momentum of the absorbed laser photons is not solely transferred to the emitted γ photons, but due to radiation reaction shared between the γ photons and interacting electrons. The efficiency of the angular momentum transfer is optimized with respect to the laser and electron beam parameters. The accompanying process of electron-positron pair production is furthermore shown to enhance the orbital angular momentum gained by the γ-ray beam.

Signatures of stochastic effects in the radiation of a relativistic electron beam interacting with a counterpropagating superstrong short focused laser pulse are investigated in a quantum regime when the electron’s radiation dominates its dynamics. We consider the electron-laser interaction at near-reflection conditions when pronounced high-energy gamma-ray bursts arise in the backward-emission direction with respect to the initial motion of the electrons. The quantum stochastic nature of the gamma-photon emission is exhibited in the angular distributions of the radiation and explained in an intuitive picture. Although, the visibility of the stochasticity signatures depends on the laser and electron beam parameters, the signatures are of a qualitative nature and robust. The stochasticity, a fundamental quantum property of photon emission, should thus be measurable rather straightforwardly with laser technology available in near future.

We demonstrate the feasibility of generation of bright ultrashort gamma-ray pulses and the signatures of stochastic photon emission via the interaction of a relativistic electron bunch with a counterpropagating tightly-focused superstrong laser beam in the quantum-radiation-dominated regime. We consider the electron-laser interaction at near-reflection conditions when pronounced high-energy gamma-ray bursts arise in the backward-emission direction with respect to the initial motion of the electrons. The Compton scattering spectra of gamma-radiation are investigated using a semiclassical description for the electron dynamics in the laser field and a quantum electrodynamical description for the photon emission. We demonstrate the feasibility of ultrashort gamma-ray bursts of hundreds of attoseconds and of dozens of megaelectronvolt photon energies in the near-backwards direction of the initial electron motion. The tightly focused laser field structure and radiation reaction are shown to be responsible for such short gamma-ray bursts, which are independent of the durations of the electron bunch and of the laser pulse. Moreover, the quantum stochastic nature of the gamma-photon emission is exhibited in the angular distributions of the radiation and explained in an intuitive picture. Although, the visibility of the stochasticity signatures depends on the laser and electron beam parameters, the signatures are of a qualitative nature and robust. The stochasticity, a fundamental quantum property of photon emission, should thus be measurable rather straightforwardly with laser technology available in near future.

A vacuum auto-resonance accelerator scheme for electrons, which employs terahertz radiation and currently available magnetic fields, is suggested. Based on numerical simulations, parameter values, which could make the scheme experimentally feasible, are identified and discussed.

Using numerical simulation, we have studied in detail vacuum electron acceleration induced by an Airy beam. The phase of the field varies slowly, and the intensity of the field is independent of the decaying parameter of the beam in the asymmetric field channel [(AFC) Opt. Express 18, 7300 (2010)] formed by the Airy beam. Results show that an electron entering into the AFC may be captured and gain high energy. Meanwhile, the decaying parameter, injection energy, and injection angle of the electron play important roles in the electron energy gain.

The possibility of enhancing the energy gain in vacuum electron acceleration by Airy beams is examined. The characteristics of transverse acceleration and non-diffraction of Airy beam can lead to the formation of a long “asymmetric field channel” along the propagation axis, where the intense asymmetric field can accelerate the injected electron to higher energy. Meanwhile, the injection energy of electron plays an important role in determining the final energy gain.

The recent proposal to use Weinger transformation field (WTF) [Opt. Express 17, 4959-4969 (2009)] for describing tightly focused laser beams is investigated here in detail. In order to validate the accuracy of WTF, we derive the numerical field (NF) from the plane wave spectrum method. WTF is compared with NF and Lax series field (LSF). Results show that LSF is accurate close to the beam axis and divergent far from the beam axis, and WTF is always accurate. Moreover, electron dynamics in a tightly focused intense laser beam are simulated by LSF, WTF and NF, respectively. The results obtained by WTF are shown to be accurate.

Electron acceleration in vacuum driven by a tightly focused radially polarized Gaussian beam has been studied in detail. Weniger transformation method is used to eliminate the divergence of the radially polarized electromagnetic field derived from the Lax series approach. And, electron dynamics in an intense radially polarized Gaussian beam is analyzed by using the Weniger transformation field. The roles of the initial phase of the electromagnetic field and the injection angle, position and energy of electron in energy gain of electron have been studied in detail.

Using numerical simulation, we have studied in detail vacuum electron acceleration driven by two crossed Airy beams with identical characteristics except for opposite accelerating directions. An electron injected along the longitudinal central axis is only affected by the combined longitudinal electric field. In addition, a suitable crossed Airy beams scheme is more beneficial to the energy gain of an electron than the single Airy beam acceleration scheme [Opt. Lett.35, 3258 (2010)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.35.003258]. Meanwhile, the cross angle, the injection energy of the electron, and the initial phase of the Airy beams play significant roles in the energy gain of the electron.

For an electron accelerated by a tightly focused Gaussian laser beam, its dynamics are usually simulated through the field obtained by Lax approach [Phys. Rev. A 11, 1365 (1975)]. However, as Lax series field (LSF) is not always convergent, the obtained results are usually inaccurate and even illogical. Here we report that the divergence of LSF can be eliminated by using Weniger transformation, and the electron dynamics simulated by this new field are logical and accurate.