Eur. Phys. J. D 55, 483-507 (2009)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2009-00138-1

Relativistic laser-matter interaction and relativistic laboratory astrophysics

¹ Advanced Photon Research Center, JAEA, 8-1 Umemidai, Kizugawa, 619-0215, Kyoto, Japan
² A.M. Prokhorov Institute of General Physics, RAS, Vavilov street, 38, 119991 Moscow, Russia
³ Sektion Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁴ Max-Planck-Institut fuer Quantenoptik, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁵ Physics Dept. and CNISM, University of Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy

Corresponding author: ^a bulanov.sergei@jaea.go.jp

Received: 28 November 2008
Published online: 1 May 2009

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the prospects of using the laser radiation interaction with plasmas in the laboratory relativistic astrophysics context. We discuss the dimensionless parameters characterizing the processes in the laser and astrophysical plasmas and emphisize a similarity between the laser and astrophysical plasmas in the ultrarelativistic energy limit. In particular, we address basic mechanisms of the charged particle acceleration, the collisionless shock wave and magnetic reconnection and vortex dynamics properties relevant to the problem of ultrarelativistic particle acceleration.