We point out that using the state-of-the-art (or soon-to-be) intense electromagnetic pulse, violent acceleration that may be suitable for testing quantum field theory in curved spacetime can be realized through the interaction of a high intensity laser with an electron. In particular, we demonstrate that the Hawking-Unruh radiation is detectable, in principle, beyond the conventional radiation (most notably the Larmor radiation) background noise, by taking advantage of its specific dependence on the laser power and distinct character in spectral-angular distributions.
This talk will be based on a recent paper that I wrote together with Toshi Tajima, which has been accepted for publication by the Physical Review Letters and is currently in print. In my view, the violent acceleration that has become available in recent years through the advances of high power lasers and FELs, can have applications to fundamental physics such as this topic as well as the more traditional application to high energy physics.