Relativistic High-Energy-Density Systems

Abstract

In this chapter we address the low-density and high-temperature regime of high-energy-density physics identified in Chap. 1. While phenomena produced in this regime often connect with those discussed in the previous chapters, there are real differences in the underlying physics. A high-energy-density, thermal, relativistic plasma would have a minimum temperature of 511 keV and a density exceeding 10¹⁸ cm^–3. At the turn of the century, such plasmas did not exist in the laboratory. Producing them can be taken as a challenge for the early 21st century.