Quantum reflection above the classical radiation-reaction barrier in the quantum electro-dynamics regime

High brightness gamma rays can be generated by colliding an ultra-intense laser pulse with a high energy electron beam. This collision phenomenon also represents a powerful approach to explore new physics in the exotic strong field Quantum Electro-Dynamics (QED) regime. Here we show that in the cross-collision geometry, there exists a barrier induced by the classical radiation-reaction force that prohibits electrons of arbitrarily high energies to pass. However, such classical barrier vanishes in the QED picture, where electrons can be well reflected (transmitted) in the regimes forbidden by classical theory. This effect can be measured in the up-coming 10–100 PW laser facilities for laser intensities at 2 × 1023 W cm−2 and electron energies of ~102 MeV. The results are capable of identifying the boundaries between classical and QED approaches in the strong field regime and confirming the various models describing this fundamental process. The study of electron dynamics in relativistic laser fields is a subject of major interest within the strong field physics community and has inspired several key applications aimed at accelerating charged particles. The authors present a theoretical study, and propose an experimental design, that address the interaction of electrons with intense lasers in the transition regime from classical to quantum and show that stochastic processes in the quantum regime allow electrons to be transmitted/reflected across/by the laser in the parameter region prohibited by classical dynamics.