AMO Seminar

Dr. Ou Z. Labun, University of Arizona & University of Texas at Austin

"Effective Field Theory for Quantum Processes in High Intensity Lasers"

4:00pm, RLM 11.204

Abstract: We introduce effective field theory methods to describe electron interactions in high-intensity laser fields. Effective field theories organize multi-scale physics processes in order to calculate corrections to dynamics systematically to desired quantitative precision. Effective theories are widely used in particle and nuclear physics, especially when there are contributions from both known and unknown physics, such as the non-perturbative region of quantum chromodynamics or beyond Standard Model particles. In this talk, I will explain how we improve on previous semiclassical methods and calculate observables directly relevant to experiment, focusing on an electron being accelerated in a high intensity laser field and radiating high energy photons or creating pairs. I describe how we calculate quantum corrections to the high energy process and separate classical plasma physics that requires numerical simulation. I will also make a general connection between our effective theory for electron-laser interactions to other effective field theories that describes low-energy radiation in hadron-hadron collisions.