Simulations of spin/polarization-resolved laser–plasma interactions in the nonlinear QED regime

Abstract

Strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SF-QED) plays a crucial role in ultraintense laser–matter interactions and demands sophisticated techniques to understand the related physics with new degrees of freedom, including spin angular momentum. To investigate the impact of SF-QED processes, we have introduced spin/polarization-resolved nonlinear Compton scattering, nonlinear Breit–Wheeler, and vacuum birefringence processes into our particle-in-cell (PIC) code. In this article, we provide details of the implementation of these SF-QED modules and share known results that demonstrate exact agreement with existing single-particle codes. By coupling normal PIC simulations with spin/polarization-resolved SF-QED processes, we create a new theoretical platform to study strong-field physics in currently running or planned petawatt or multi-petawatt laser facilities.