title: Relativistic laser-plasma interactions in the quantum regime.
abstract: We consider nonlinear interactions between a relativistically strong laser beam and a plasma in the quantum regime. The collective behavior of electrons is modeled by a Klein-Gordon equation, which is nonlinearly coupled with the electromagnetic wave through the Maxwell and Poisson equations. This allows us to study nonlinear interactions between arbitrarily large-amplitude electromagnetic waves and a quantum plasma. We have used our system of nonlinear equations to study theoretically the parametric instabilities involving stimulated Raman scattering and modulational instabilities. A model for quasi-steady-state propagating electromagnetic wave packets is also derived, and which shows possibility of localized solitary structures in a quantum plasma. Numerical simulations demonstrate collapse and acceleration of electrons in the nonlinear stage of the modulational instability, as well as possibility of the wake-field acceleration of electrons to relativistic speeds by short laser pulses at nanometer length scales. Our study is relevant for understanding the localization of intense electromagnetic pulses in a quantum plasma with extremely high electron densities and relatively low temperature.
authors: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Fakultät für Physik und Astronomie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors: Bengt
authors: B
authors: Eliasson
authors: P K
authors: PK
authors: Shukla