We consider electron dynamics in strong electromagnetic fields, such as those expected from the next generation of high-intensity laser facilities. Beginning with a review of constant classical fields, we demonstrate that the electron motion (as given by the Lorentz force equation) can be divided into one of four Lorentz invariant cases. Parameterising the field tensor in terms of a null tetrad, we calculate the radiative energy spectrum for an electron in crossed fields. Progressing to an infinite plane wave, we demonstrate how the electron orbit in the average rest frame changes from figure-of-eight to circular as the polarisation changes from linear to circular. To move beyond a plane wave one must resort to numerics. We therefore present a novel numerical formulation for solving the Lorentz equation. Our scheme is manifestly covariant and valid for arbitrary electromagnetic field configurations. Finally, we reconsider the case of an infinite plane wave from a strong field QED perspective. At high intensities we predict a substantial redshift of the usual kinematic Compton edge of the photon emission spectrum, caused by the large, intensity dependent effective mass of the electrons inside the laser beam. In addition, we find that the notion of a centre-of-mass frame for a given harmonic becomes intensity dependent.

The thesis analyses the process of pair annihilation into one photon in a laser pulse. The theory of how to include pulse shapes in Strong Field QED and the resulting cross section is presented. The cross section is calculated and estimated for lasers of ELI and XFEL facilites. It is found that the effect may be experimentally verifiable at high frequency XFEL facilities for very finely tuned particle kinematics, but negligible at high intensity optical laser facilities such as ELI.

Moderne Lasereinrichtungen stellen hochintensives Licht mit sehr kurzer zeitlicher Struktur zur Verfügung. Damit bringen diese Einrichtungen die Phänomene in die Laboratorien, welche normalerweise nur in der Nähe von stark strahlenden Sternen im Weltall zu finden sind. Bezüglich der Streuprozesse von Teilchen innerhalb dieser extremen Lichtquellen gibt es eine Vielzahl an theoretischen Untersuchungen. Vorwiegend geschehen diese unter der Verwendung der Starkfeld-Quantenelektrodynamik, einer Theorie zur quanten- theoretischen Beschreibung von elektromagnetischen Wechselwirkungen innerhalb eines kohärenten hochintensiven Feldes, welches als semi-klassisches Hintergrundfeld beschrieben wird. Zum Beispiel zeigte die theoretische Behandlung des Compton-Prozesses (die inelastis- che Elektron-Photon-Streuung) oder des Breit-Wheeler-Prozesses (der Paarproduktion in der Kollision von zwei Photonen) innerhalb der Starkfeld-Quantenelektrodynamik eine große Menge an neuen nicht-linearen Effekten und Phänomen, welche stellenweise in zukun- ftsweisenden Experimenten nachgewiesen werden konnten. Von großem Interesse und auch zentrales Untersuchungsobjekt der vorliegenden Arbeit ist ebenso der Trident-Prozess: ein Prozess zweiter Ordnung in der (Starkfeld-) Quan- tenelektrodynamik, bei dem ein Elektron-Positron-Paar innerhalb der Kollision eines Photonstrahls (z.B. erzeugt von einem Laser) und eines gegenläufigen Elektronenstrahls entsteht. Allerdings ist der Trident-Prozess im Zusammenhang mit hochintensiven Feldern nicht ausschließlich das Produkt seiner Teile, den erwähnten Compton- und Breit-Wheeler- Prozessen, vielmehr erzeugt das Vorhandensein des intermediären Photons durch seine virtuellen und reellen Beträge überaus komplizierte Strukturen. In den letzten Jahren gab es daher eine große Menge an theoretischen Beiträgen zur nicht-linearen Behandlung des Trident-Prozesses bezüglich eines weiten Bereichs an Eigenschaften der verwendeten Lichtquelle. Jedoch ist der nicht-lineare Trident-Prozess wegen seiner anspruchsvollen mathematischen Natur bisher nicht als völlig verstanden anzusehen. In der vorliegen- den Arbeit liegt der Fokus auf der Abhängigkeit des Trident-Prozesses von den kurzen zeitlichen Strukturen der verwendeten Lichtquellen bei hohen Energien. Grob gesprochen bedeutet dies, dass die kurz gepulsten Strukturen der modernen Lichtquellen zu breiten Spektren der Photonstrahlen führen, welche sich dann auch in den betrachteten Prozessen widerspiegeln. Demfolgend wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit eine neue Approximation an die Starkfeld-Quantenelektrodynamik erarbeitet, welche in der Lage ist, die spektralen Abhängigkeiten in den Prozessen zu beschreiben, die in Laser-Elektron-Kollisionen bei hohen Energien vorzufinden sind. Diese neue Approximation wird dann auf den Trident- Prozess angewendet und es werden die neuen Strukturen herausgearbeitet, welche durch das breite Spektrum der betrachteten Lichtquelle entstehen. Ferner werden bestehende oder geplante extreme Lichtquellen dahingehend untersucht, in welcher Weise diese, kombiniert mit einem passendem Elektronenstrahl, sensitiv für die vorgestellten spektralen Effekte im Trident-Prozess sind. Abschließend werden weitere mögliche Anwendungsbereiche der neuen Approximation diskutiert.:1 Introduction 1 2 Strong-field quantum electrodynamics 11 2.1 Description of the laser field 12 2.2 Background field approximation 18 2.3 Momentum space rules of strong-field QED 25 2.4 Ward identity and gauge invariance 34 2.5 Strong-field trident process 36 3 Pulsed-perturbative quantum electrodynamics 43 3.1 Approaches and approximations to strong-field QED 43 3.2 Momentum space rules in pulsed-perturbative QED 46 3.3 Spectrum of the background field 52 4 Pulsed-perturbative trident process 57 4.1 Matrixelement and cross section 57 4.2 Total cross section 72 4.3 Inclusive positron distributions 75 4.4 Exclusive electron distributions 81 4.5 Experimental capability 93 5 Summary and Outlook 97 Appendix 101 A Relativistic Kinematics 103 A.1 Preliminary remarks 103 A.2 Coordinate systems 104 A.3 Frames of reference 109 A.4 Kinematics of 2→3 processes 111 B Feynman rules of QED 121 C Perturbative trident pair production 125 C.1 Matrixelement and cross section 125 C.2 Numerical implementation and comparison to literature 129 C.3 Differential cross sections in transverse coordinates 132 C.4 Darkphotons 134 D Useful mathematical statements 139 Bibliography 153 / Modern laser facilities provide highly intense light with a very short temporal structure, which brings the phenomena originally found near the strong radiating stars in the universe into the laboratory. Accordingly, there are, among others, wide theoretical investigations w.r.t. scattering processes of particles impinging this extreme light sources. This has been done by applying the strong-field quantum electrodynamics, which is a theory of electromagnetic interactions within coherent highly intense light treated as a semi-classical background field. For instance, the treatment of the Compton process (inelastic electron- photon scattering) and the Breit-Wheeler process (pair production of a collision of two photons) with strong-field quantum electrodynamics revealed a vast amount of novel non-linear structures and phenomena, which were to some extent experimentally verified. Of particular interest and the central object of investigation within this thesis is also the trident process: a second order process in (strong-field) quantum electrodynamics producing an electron-positron pair within the collision of a photon beam (e.g. produced by a laser) with a counter-propagating electron. However, in the context of highly intense fields, the trident process is more than the product of its parts, the mentioned Compton and Breit-Wheeler process, since the intermediate photon yields both virtual and real contributions producing exceedingly complicated structures. Over the last years, there are several theoretical contributions to the non-linear treatment of the trident process w.r.t. a wide range of laser properties, but the trident process has not yet been fully understood due to its demanding mathematical nature. Within the present thesis, we focus on the dependence of the trident process to the short temporal structures of the involved light source at high energies. Loosely speaking, this means the short pulsed structure of modern light sources provide a wide energy spectrum of the respective photons, which is imprinted on the considered scattering processes. Accordingly, we elaborate a new approximation to strong-field quantum electrodynamics capable to describe the spectral dependence of processes within laser-electron collisions at high energies. Then we apply this new approximation to the trident process and reveal the novel structures generated by the spectrum of the light source. Therefore, we provide an analysis of the spectral impact to the trident process involving the total cross section as well as several inclusive and exclusive distributions of its final particles. Consequently, we examine in principle the experimental capabilities of present or planed extreme light sources by combining them with a suitable electron beam, whether they are sensitive to the encountered spectral effects of the trident process and discuss further applications of the newly introduced approximation.:1 Introduction 1 2 Strong-field quantum electrodynamics 11 2.1 Description of the laser field 12 2.2 Background field approximation 18 2.3 Momentum space rules of strong-field QED 25 2.4 Ward identity and gauge invariance 34 2.5 Strong-field trident process 36 3 Pulsed-perturbative quantum electrodynamics 43 3.1 Approaches and approximations to strong-field QED 43 3.2 Momentum space rules in pulsed-perturbative QED 46 3.3 Spectrum of the background field 52 4 Pulsed-perturbative trident process 57 4.1 Matrixelement and cross section 57 4.2 Total cross section 72 4.3 Inclusive positron distributions 75 4.4 Exclusive electron distributions 81 4.5 Experimental capability 93 5 Summary and Outlook 97 Appendix 101 A Relativistic Kinematics 103 A.1 Preliminary remarks 103 A.2 Coordinate systems 104 A.3 Frames of reference 109 A.4 Kinematics of 2→3 processes 111 B Feynman rules of QED 121 C Perturbative trident pair production 125 C.1 Matrixelement and cross section 125 C.2 Numerical implementation and comparison to literature 129 C.3 Differential cross sections in transverse coordinates 132 C.4 Darkphotons 134 D Useful mathematical statements 139 Bibliography 153

Dominated by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, vacuum is not quantum mechanically an empty void, i.e. virtual pairs of particles appear and disappear persistently. This nonlinearity subsequently provokes a number of phenomena which can only be practically observed by going to a high-intensity regime. Pair production beyond the so-called Sauter-Schwinger limit, which is roughly the field intensity threshold for pairs to show up copiously, is such a nonlinear vacuum phenomenon. From the viewpoint of Dirac's front form of Hamiltonian dynamics, however, vacuum turns out to be trivial. This triviality would suggest that Schwinger pair production is not possible. Of course, this is only up to zero modes. While the instant form of relativistic dynamics has already been at least theoretically well-played out, the way is still open for investigating the front form. The aim of this thesis is to explore the properties of such a contradictory aspect of quantum vacuum in two different forms of relativistic dynamics and hence to investigate the possibility of finding a way to resolve this ambiguity. This exercise is largely based on the application of field quantization to light-front dynamics. In this regard, some concepts within strong field theory and light-front quantization which are fundamental to our survey have been introduced, the order of magnitude of a few important quantum electrodynamical quantities have been fixed and the basic information on a small number of nonlinear vacuum phenomena has been identified. Light-front quantization of simple bosonic and fermionic systems, in particular, the light-front quantization of a fermion in a background electromagnetic field in (1+1) dimensions is given. The light-front vacuum appears to be trivial also in this particular case. Amongst all suggested methods to resolve the aforementioned ambiguity, the discrete light-cone quantization (DLCQ) method is applied to the Dirac equation in (1+1) dimensions. Furthermore, the Tomaras-Tsamis-Woodard (TTW) solution, which expresses a method to resolve the zero-mode issue, is also revisited. Finally, the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics is discussed and, as an alternative to TTW solution, it is proposed that the worldline approach in the light-front framework may shed light on different aspects of the TTW solution and give a clearer picture of the light-front vacuum and the pair production phenomenon on the light-front.

The purpose of this thesis is to advance the understanding of strong-field QED processes in short laser pulses. The processes of non-linear one-photon and two-photon Compton scattering are studied, that is the scattering of photons in the interaction of relativistic electrons with ultra-short high-intensity laser pulses. These investigations are done in view of the present and next generation of ultra-high intensity optical lasers which are supposed to achieve unprecedented intensities of the order of 10^24 W/cm^2 and beyond, with pulse lengths in the order of some femtoseconds. The ultra-high laser intensity requires a non-perturbative description of the interaction of charged particles with the laser field to allow for multi-photon interactions, which is beyond the usual perturbative expansion of QED organized in powers of the fine structure constant. This is achieved in strong-field QED by employing the Furry picture and non-perturbative solutions of the Dirac equation in the presence of a background laser field as initial and final state wave functions, as well as the laser dressed Dirac-Volkov propagator. The primary objective is a realistic description of scattering processes with regard to the finite laser pulse duration beyond the common approximation of infinite plane waves, which is made necessary by the ultra-short pulse length of modern high-intensity lasers. Non-linear finite size effects are identified, which are a result of the interplay between the ultra-high intensity and the ultra-short pulse length. In particular, the frequency spectra and azimuthal photon emission spectra are studied emphasizing the differences between pulsed and infinite laser fields. The proper description of the finite temporal duration of the laser pulse leads to a regularization of unphysical infinities (due to the infinite plane-wave description) of the laser-dressed Dirac-Volkov propagator and in the second-order strong-field process of two-photon Compton scattering. An enhancement of the two-photon process is found in strong laser pulses as compared to the corresponding weak-field process in perturbative QED.

The purpose of this thesis is to advance the understanding of strong-field QED processes in short laser pulses. The processes of non-linear one-photon and two-photon Compton scattering are studied, that is the scattering of photons in the interaction of relativistic electrons with ultra-short high-intensity laser pulses. These investigations are done in view of the present and next generation of ultra-high intensity optical lasers which are supposed to achieve unprecedented intensities of the order of 10^24 W/cm^2 and beyond, with pulse lengths in the order of some femtoseconds. The ultra-high laser intensity requires a non-perturbative description of the interaction of charged particles with the laser field to allow for multi-photon interactions, which is beyond the usual perturbative expansion of QED organized in powers of the fine structure constant. This is achieved in strong-field QED by employing the Furry picture and non-perturbative solutions of the Dirac equation in the presence of a background laser field as initial and final state wave functions, as well as the laser dressed Dirac-Volkov propagator. The primary objective is a realistic description of scattering processes with regard to the finite laser pulse duration beyond the common approximation of infinite plane waves, which is made necessary by the ultra-short pulse length of modern high-intensity lasers. Non-linear finite size effects are identified, which are a result of the interplay between the ultra-high intensity and the ultra-short pulse length. In particular, the frequency spectra and azimuthal photon emission spectra are studied emphasizing the differences between pulsed and infinite laser fields. The proper description of the finite temporal duration of the laser pulse leads to a regularization of unphysical infinities (due to the infinite plane-wave description) of the laser-dressed Dirac-Volkov propagator and in the second-order strong-field process of two-photon Compton scattering. An enhancement of the two-photon process is found in strong laser pulses as compared to the corresponding weak-field process in perturbative QED.