ALP Seminar: Particle and plasma dynamics in strong electromagnetic fields

Today's high-power lasers can create electromagnetic fields that are so strong that the interaction between light and matter enters the regime of nonperturbative quantum electrodynamics. With experiments underway to investigate this regime, I will present an overview of why strong EM fields are interesting, where we find them, and what theory and simulation tools we have to describe them. I will discuss high-intensity laser interactions as gamma-ray and positron sources, as well as how theory and simulation will navigate the transition from discovery to precision.