Progress in Matter and Radiation at Extremes in China

Do you awake in the morning considering the fate of the universe and the incredible variety of physical phenomena occurring throughout the universe? Maybe you should: that is the big picture for physicists. High Energy Density Science (HEDS) deals with phenomena that do not occur naturally on Earth and this broad endeavor is essential to insights into that big picture. Magnetic fields of 1012 Gauss are not natural on Earth but do occur in space and drive phenomena like exotic particle and light production that are evident in astrophysical observations; see the paper of Xu, et al in this special issue. Also production of polarized, high energy, brilliant gamma rays in space and phenomena they drive can now be duplicated on Earth; see Li, et al.

China is a fast changing culture and HEDS shows an example of that in science. The review of low-coherent, broadband laser development shows how the many efforts world-wide are incorporated and extended at Shanghai. Laser drivers for inertial fusion with sufficiently broadband light to manage laser-plasma interactions will be achieved. Laser Wakefield accelerators will also extend the value of lasers in achieving new capabilities like computed tomography; see Yue Ma, et al. These are examples of advancements of laser applications on the leading edge of science are happening now in China.

HEDS and advancements in China provide important details for big picture of interest to physicists.