Production and magnetic self-confinement of e<sup>−</sup>e<sup>+</sup> plasma by an extremely intense laser pulse incident on a structured solid target

Samsonov Alexander; Pukhov Alexander

doi:10.1063/5.0260941

Volume 10 Issue 5

Sep. 2025

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Samsonov Alexander, Pukhov Alexander. Production and magnetic self-confinement of e−e+ plasma by an extremely intense laser pulse incident on a structured solid target[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2025, 10(5): 057202. doi: 10.1063/5.0260941

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Samsonov Alexander, Pukhov Alexander. Production and magnetic self-confinement of e⁻e⁺ plasma by an extremely intense laser pulse incident on a structured solid target[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2025, 10(5): 057202. doi: 10.1063/5.0260941

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Production and magnetic self-confinement of e⁻e⁺ plasma by an extremely intense laser pulse incident on a structured solid target

doi: 10.1063/5.0260941

Samsonov Alexander^{,
,},
Pukhov Alexander

Institute for Theoretical Physics I, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

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Corresponding author: a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: aleksandr.samsonov@hhu.de
Received Date: 2025-01-28
Accepted Date: 2025-07-17

Available Online: 2025-11-28

Publish Date: 2025-09-01

Abstract

Abstract

We propose an all-optical, single-laser-pulse scheme for generating a dense relativistic strongly magnetized electron–positron pair plasma. The scheme involves the interaction of an extremely intense (I ≳ 10²⁴ W/cm²) circularly polarized laser pulse with a solid-density target containing a conical cavity. Through full-scale three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that account for quantum electrodynamic effects, it is shown that this interaction results in two significant outcomes: first, the generation of quasi-static magnetic fields reaching tens of gigagauss, and, second, the production of large quantities of electron–positron pairs (up to 10¹³) via the Breit–Wheeler process. The e⁻e⁺ plasma becomes trapped in the magnetic field and remains confined in a small volume for hundreds of femtoseconds, far exceeding the laser timescale. The dependence of pair plasma parameters, as well as the efficiency of plasma production and confinement, is discussed in relation to the properties of the laser pulse and the target. Realizing this scheme experimentally would enable the investigation of physical processes relevant to extreme astrophysical environments.

Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
Author Contributions
Alexander Samsonov: Conceptualization (equal); Investigation (equal); Visualization (lead); Writing – original draft (lead); Writing – review & editing (equal). Alexander Pukhov: Conceptualization (equal); Investigation (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal).
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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References(74)

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