A recent article in Communications Physics by a team of Oxford and GoLP details the development of a novel 3D semi-classical solver designed to simulate quantum vacuum effects. This is a critical step for the design and exploration of experiments that aim to access the quantum vacuum, resorting to the most recent intense laser systems now being developed worldwide.

This work builds on and generalizes the work of GoLP alumnus Rui T and Pedro C and was carried out with the team of Prof. Peter Norreys at Oxford Physics, involving Rui T, Thomas G, and Luis OS from GoLP. The new solver, based on the Heisenberg-Euler Lagrangian, represents a significant step forward by enabling real-time simulations of phenomena such as vacuum birefringence and four-wave mixing. Benchmarked against existing analytical models, the solver demonstrates excellent agreement while providing new insights into the temporal dynamics and spatial characteristics of these interactions. The capacity to simulate complex laser setups and extract detailed information from the near-focal region opens doors for optimizing experimental designs and interpreting results. This tool will be valuable as researchers push the boundaries of high-field physics and seek to probe the fundamental properties of the quantum vacuum directly.

See also newspiece at the Oxford Physics website.

Video by Lily Zhang (Oxford).