Next-gen laser facilities look to usher in new era of relativistic plasmas research

(American Institute of Physics) Chirped pulse amplification increases the strength of laser pulses in many of today's highest-powered research lasers, and as next-generation laser facilities look to push beam power, physicists expect a new era for studying plasmas. Researchers have released a study in Physics of Plasmas taking stock of what upcoming high-power laser capabilities are poised to teach us about relativistic plasmas subjected to strong-field quantum electrodynamics processes and intr...