Laser absorption via quantum electrodynamics cascades in counter propagating laser pulses

A model for laser light absorption in electron–positron plasmas self-consistently created via QED cascades is described. The laser energy is mainly absorbed due to hard photon emission via nonlinear Compton scattering. The degree of absorption depends on the laser intensity and the pulse duration. The QED cascades are studied with multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations complemented by a QED module and a macro-particle merging algorithm that allows to handle the exponential growth of the number of particles. Results range from moderate-intensity regimes (∼10 PW) where the laser absorption is negligible to extreme intensities (>100 PW) where the degree of absorption reaches 80%. Our study demonstrates good agreement between the analytical model and simulations. The expected properties of the hard photon emission and the generated pair-plasma are investigated, and the experimental signatures for near-future laser facilities are discussed.