“Electron–positron pair plasma—a state of matter with a complete symmetry between negatively and positively charged particles—are found in many astrophysical object. Here, the authors use high-power laser to create an ion-free electron–positron plasma in the laboratory.” This is the “flash summary” that introduces the reader to the paper entitled “Generation of neutral and high-density electron–positron pair plasmas in the laboratory” by G.Sarri et al., just published in Nature Communications (doi:10.1038/ncomms7747). The experiment uses an effective laser-wakefield acceleration scheme to generate a high charge, high energy electron bunch that is then partially converted in positrons via electromagnetic cascade. The outcoming bunch is tuned to be a globally neutral plasma consisting of matter and antimatter, with unique features which are believed to be associated with high energy astrophysical phenomena. The experiment was carried out at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK) by a wide collaboration including the National Institute of Optics and coordinated by the Queen’s University of Belfast.
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