Project description
Challenging the vacuum of empty space in extreme conditions
Maxwell’s classical equations fail when light-matter interactions reach the Schwinger limit – a threshold where light beams can deflect each other and spark matter (electron-positron pairs) directly from vacuum. To observe this phenomenon in a fully non-perturbative regime, the ERC-funded NP-QED project plans to launch laboratory experiments at European multi-petawatt facilities that push field strengths up to 1 000 times past this limit. Researchers will simulate these extreme conditions by colliding ultra-short and relativistic electron beams from laser-plasma accelerators with high-power femtosecond lasers. NP-QED will test long-standing quantum electrodynamics predictions and build entirely new theoretical frameworks where current physics models collapse.
Objective
The NP-QED project aims at testing the predictions of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) – the theory of light matter interactions – in yet unexplored, extreme regimes. The first of these is the strong-field regime of QED, which begins when light amplitude hits the threshold of vacuum breakdown, occurring at the Schwinger field limit ~1018V/m. At this threshold, it is predicted that a light beam can deflect another light beam in a vacuum – violating Maxwell’s equations- and even generate electron positron pairs from the vacuum itself. Due to the huge field strengths required, SF-QED predictions have never been tested in a laboratory. Pushing three orders of magnitude beyond the Schwinger limit, the second regime explored by this project is the fully non-perturbative regime of QED. This is a completely uncharted area where current theoretical approaches are expected to fail, making it an active frontier of discovery for contemporary physics.
Leveraging breakthrough innovations from our teams in areas such as laser intensity boosting using plasma mirrors, compact laser-plasma electron accelerators, particle detection techniques, exascale modelling and SF-QED theory, we will synergistically design, implement, and analyze a whole new class of experiments dedicated to probe the strong field and fully non-perturbative regimes of QED in the laboratory. These experiments will collide an ultra-short and relativistic electron beam generated by a laser-plasma accelerator with a high-power femtosecond laser strongly amplified using a plasma mirror optical component. Conducted at upcoming flagship European multi-Petawatt laser and accelerator facilities, this setup should achieve field strengths up to 1,000 times the Schwinger limit in the electrons’ rest frame. These first-of-their-kind experiments shall both validate long-standing SF-QED predictions and drive the development of new theoretical frameworks as we approach the fully non-perturbative regime.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-SYG - HORIZON ERC Synergy Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-SyG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75015 Paris
France
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