title: Generation of neutral and high-density electron-positron pair plasmas in the laboratory.
abstract: Electron-positron pair plasmas represent a unique state of matter, whereby there exists an intrinsic and complete symmetry between negatively charged (matter) and positively charged (antimatter) particles. These plasmas play a fundamental role in the dynamics of ultra-massive astrophysical objects and are believed to be associated with the emission of ultra-bright gamma-ray bursts. Despite extensive theoretical modelling, our knowledge of this state of matter is still speculative, owing to the extreme difficulty in recreating neutral matter-antimatter plasmas in the laboratory. Here we show that, by using a compact laser-driven setup, ion-free electron-positron plasmas with unique characteristics can be produced. Their charge neutrality (same amount of matter and antimatter), high-density and small divergence finally open up the possibility of studying electron-positron plasmas in controlled laboratory experiments.
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarri
authors.affiliation: The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poder
authors.affiliation: The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.identifier: 0000000181866372
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schumaker
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Piazza
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reville
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dzelzainis
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doria
authors.affiliation: 1] Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 56124 Pisa, Italy [2] INFN, Sez. Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo, 3-56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Gizzi
authors.affiliation: 1] Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 56124 Pisa, Italy [2] INFN, Sez. Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo, 3-56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.identifier: 000000034394854X
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grittani
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kar
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Keitel
authors.affiliation: Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krushelnick
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Institute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuschel
authors.affiliation: The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK.
authors.forename: S P D
authors.identifier: 0000000324434201
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Mangles
authors.affiliation: The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, UK.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Najmudin
authors.affiliation: GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.affiliation: GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: L O
authors.identifier: 000000032906924X
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Symes
authors.affiliation: Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA.
authors.forename: A G R
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: J
authors.identifier: 0000000255153624
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK [2] Helmholtz Institute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zepf