“Boiling the vacuum”: in silico plasmas under extreme conditions in the laboratory and in astrophysics

Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon

Abstract

Laser technology has progressed tremendously since Theodore Maiman first demonstrated the laser in 1960. One of the most striking examples of this progress is the focused intensity of lasers. Present day lasers in the near infrared frequency range can deliver intensities in excess of 10²³ W/cm². Imagine that you have a very large and powerful lens that captures the light of the sun hitting the upper atmosphere of the Earth and focus it down to a region with the cross section of a human hair. The corresponding intensity is in the range of the most intense lasers now available.