High Power Laser Science and Engineering, Volume. , Issue , ()
A Bayesian Framework to Investigate Radiation Reaction in Strong Fields [Early Posting]
Recent experiments aiming to measure phenomena predicted by strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED) have done so by colliding relativistic electron beams and high-power lasers. In such experiments, measurements of collision parameters are not always feasible. However, precise knowledge of these parameters is required to accurately test SFQED. Here, we present a novel Bayesian inference procedure which infers collision parameters that could not be measured on-shot. This procedure is applicable to all-optical non-linear Compton scattering experiments investigating radiation reaction. The framework allows multiple diagnostics to be combined self-consistently and facilitates the inclusion of known information pertaining to the collision parameters. Using this Bayesian analysis, the relative validity of the classical, quantum-continuous and quantum-stochastic models of radiation reaction were compared for several test cases, which demonstrate the accuracy and model selection capability of the framework and highlight its robustness if the experimental values of fixed parameters differ from their values in the models.