4 ms·

I’d say that the main conclusion is the observation of a statistically significant (> 3 sigma) radiation reaction effect which is pretty consistent with both th

I’d say that the main conclusion is the observation of a statistically significant (> 3 sigma) radiation reaction effect which is pretty consistent with both the classical model and the quantum model. The data “hints” that the quantum one fits the data better, but not at a very significant level (1 sigma). Moving to higher electron energies and/or laser intensities will help make that difference clearer. The paper is not called “first observation of quantum radiation reaction” for a reason.

noobermin 9y ago
Exactly. 10^21 W/cm^2 is actually a little below the threshold of where we expected RR (which is what the second Gemini beam shot at), and hitting 0.5 GeV electrons head-on helped alleviate that restriction. With a host of planned laser systems exceeding 10^22 W/cm^2, we can imagine more statistically significant divergences between QRR and Landau-Lifshitz (the "classical" RR model).