45 44 Key research Area STRONG FIELD PHYSICS STRONG FIELD PHYSICS Key research Area KEY RESEARCH AREA STRONG FIELD PHYSICS The interaction of matter, ranging from atoms to solids, with laser fields stronger than 1014 W/cm2, has opened new opportunities in atomic, molecular and optical physics. In the early years of nonlinear optics when strong lasers became available, laser-matter interaction could be successfully described by assuming the laser field as a perturbation, where e.g. low order harmonic generation and parametric processes were manifested. With the development of more powerful lasers, experimentation could reveal new phenomena. To explain these results, new theoretical approaches were necessary. Due to the now accessible strong field regime, the laser field strength becomes comparable to the binding field strength in an atom, thus making the perturbative description obsolete. Consequently, our physical intuition concerning optical phenomena built upon perturbative approaches needs to be re-examined. Furthermore, in order to adequately study such phenomena, more powerful lasers, as well as alternative theoretical methods, are necessary. STRONG FIELD PHYSICS is, on its own, very well suited for answering fundamental physical questions. However, STRONG FIELD PHYSICS is also becoming increasingly important for a wide range of applications. These include realizing novel particle accelerators, studying plasma dynamics, paving the way for innovative x-ray sources, and functioning as the basis of attosecond science. ULTRA HIGH PEAK POWER LASERS UNRAVELING REGIMES OF RECORDBREAKING ATTOSECOND AND TERAWATT LASER PULSES. NONLINEAR & RELATIVISTIC LASER PHYSICS EXPLORING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF UNPRECEDENTED LIGHT-MATTER INTERACTION. X-RAY OPTICS GENERATING SOURCES, COMPONENTS AND DEVICES FOR ULTRASHORT WAVELENGTH INSTRUMENTATION. STRONG FIELD PHYSICS STRONG FIELD PHYSICS encompasses efforts of theoretical modeling and high-end experimental setups to explore fundamental effects in the realms of high-power and ultrashort wavelength laser radiation, including nonlinear and relativistic light-matter interaction platforms. In particular, attosecond science is an emerging interdisciplinary research area in strong field physics centered around the study of atomic dynamics within the natural time scale of atoms. Thus, it will, for the first time, allow for the resolving and control of electronic motion in an atom including the tracking of bound electrons or investigating the electron emission process. In all of these new intriguing possibilities, the scientists at the Abbe Center of Photonics are contributing highly significant results in a variety of research fields, including the realization of new optical tools along with their study of strong field light-matter interactions. The branches addressed by ACP‘s key research area STRONG FIELD PHYSICS are the fundamental fields of Ultrahigh Peak Power Lasers, Nonlinear & Relativistic Laser Physics, and X-ray Optics. ULTRAHIGH PEAK POWER LASERS The progress in strong field physics is inherently linked to the availability of high-power laser sources, i.e. Ultrahigh Peak Power Lasers. At ACP, the high-power laser systems JETI and POLARIS are in operation. While JETI is a conventional Titanium:Sapphire laser, the fully diode-pumped system POLARIS has been entirely designed, developed and commissioned by ACP principal scientists and is currently the most powerful, diode-pumped system worldwide. Both systems generate laser pulses reaching peak powers in the range of more than several 10 TW to more than 100 TW. Both JETI and POLARIS are constantly upgraded and further developed at ACP and are co-operated by the Helmholtz-Institute Jena. When focusing these laser pulses onto any kind of matter, relativistic laser-plasmas are generated which allow for stateof-the-art experiments on particle acceleration, the realization of secondary radiation sources, the study of x-ray sciences and other applications. In the field of laser-driven particle acceleration, considerable progress has been made to boost the energy of electrons and ions. Besides increasing the final particle energy, major emphasis has been put on tailoring particle energy distribution using the laser and target parameters. Such well defined energy distributions are indispensable for significant future applications including laser-based particle accelerators for medical radiation therapy. Setup of a new target chamber for the high-power laser system POLARIS. Penultimate power amplifier of the POLARIS laser system.
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