Multiple colliding electromagnetic pulses: a way to lower the threshold of e+e−e^+e^- pair production from vacuum

The scheme of simultaneous multiple pulse focusing on one spot naturally arises from the structural features of projected new laser systems, such as ELI and HiPER. It is shown that the multiple pulse configuration is beneficial for observing $e^+e^-$ pair production from vacuum under the action of sufficiently strong electromagnetic fields. The field of the focused pulses is described using a realistic three-dimensional model based on an exact solution of the Maxwell equations. The $e^+e^-$ pair production threshold in terms of electromagnetic field energy can be substantially lowered if, instead of one or even two colliding pulses, multiple pulses focused on one spot are used. The multiple pulse interaction geometry gives rise to subwavelength field features in the focal region. These features result in the production of extremely short $e^+e^-$ bunches.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Details of the spatial structure and kinematics of the Castor and Ursa Major streams

A list of the Castor stream members is compiled based on the data from various authors. The membership probabilities for some stars are revised based on the individual apex, multiplicity, observational errors, and peculiarity. The apex of the Castor moving group is determined using the apex diagram method. The parameters of the Castor and Ursa Major streams are compared and the positions of the two streams on the apex diagram are found to differ by 225deg, implying that the two groups move in almost opposite directions. Stars of both moving groups are intermixed in space, the Castor stream occupies a smaller volume than the UMa stream and is located inside it. Our results can be useful for understanding the morphology of the Galactic disk in the Sun's vicinity

Optical transparency modes in anisotropic media

The modes of nonlinear propagation of the two-component electromagnetic pulses through optically uniaxial media containing resonant particles are studied. The features of their manifestation in the "dense" media and in the media with expressed positive and negative birefringences are discussed. It is shown that exponentially and rationally decreasing solutions of the system of material and wave equations allow us also to describe the propagation of the self-induced transparency pulses in isotropic media in the case, when the direct electric dipole-dipole interaction between the resonant particles is taken into account.Comment: LaTeX, 11 pages, 4 figures, International Conference on Coherent and Nonlinear Optics (ICONO 2005