Project Details
Projekt
Coordination Funds
Applicant
Professor Dr. Holger Gies
Subject Area
Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
Term
since 2019
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 392856280
The quantum vacuum represents the ground state of Nature as it is described by quantum field theory, being the basic theory concept for all known matter and its particle-physics interactions.The interaction of light with the quantum vacuum gives rise to some of the most fundamental and exotic processes in modern physics, which remain largely untested in the laboratory to date. Tests of these iconic predictions of quantum electrodynamics (QED), the field theory of light and matter, are becoming possible just now. Seizing this opportunity is the goal of this DFG Research Unit FOR 2783. The advent of ultra-intense lasers with up to 10 petawatt (PW) peak power now provides a golden opportunity to advance our knowledge at the high-intensity frontier.Together with the current development of theoretical methods to describe fluctuation-induced quantum processes, the nonlinear regime of the QED vacuum is becoming accessible both experimentally and theoretically. The ambitious program of the Research Unit FOR 2783 in the 2nd funding period relies on firm theory predictions for quantum vacuum processes and aims at their experimental investigation combining the most advanced ultra-intense laser technology with novel high-purity detection schemes.FOR 2783 thus aims at a first experimental discovery of nonlinear quantum vacuum phenomena such as vacuum birefringence, general scattering phenomena of light such as quantum reflection and quantum-vacuum refraction, and lepton pair production in vacuum.
DFG Programme
Research Units
International Connection
Poland, Russia
Cooperation Partners
Professorin Dr. Katarzyna Krajewska; Professorin Dr. Elena Mosman
