paper

HEWES: Heisenberg-Euler Weak-Field Expansion Simulator

arXiv:2202.09680 · doi:10.1016/j.simpa.2023.100481

Abstract

Vacuum polarization, a key prediction of quantum theory, can cause a variety of intriguing phenomena that can be triggered by high-intensity laser pulses. The Heisenberg-Euler theory of the quantum vacuum supplements Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism with nonlinear photon-photon interactions mediated by vacuum fluctuations. This work presents a numerical solver for the leading weak-field Heisenberg-Euler corrections. The present code implementation reaches an accuracy of order thirteen in the numerical scheme and takes into account up to six-photon interactions. Since theoretical approaches are limited to approximations and the experimental requirements for signal detection are high, the need for support from the numerical side is apparent.

arXiv comment7 pages, 6 figures; journal version

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