- Room 203, 2-5 Kirkby Place, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
- +44 1752 586877
- thomas.heinzl@plymouth.ac.uk
Profiles
Dr Tom Heinzl
Associate Professor in Theoretical Physics
School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Dr Tom Heinzl can be contacted through arrangement with our Press Office, to speak to the media on these areas of expertise.
- Physics
- Particle physics
- High power lasers
Email publicrelations@plymouth.ac.uk to enquire.
Biography
Biography
CV Outline:
- 1988-1998 Diploma, PhD and Postdoc (Habilitation) at Regensburg University (Germany)
- 1998-2004 Senior Research Fellow at Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena (Germany)
- since 2004 Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer at UoP
Roles:
- Programme Manager MSc Mathematics (2006-2008)
- Member of Maths and Stats Coordination Team (2014-22)
- Member of Maths and Stats Workload Allocation Team (2014-22)
- Exams Coordinator (since 2006)
Qualifications
Qualifications
- Diploma in Theoretical Physics (1988)
- PhD in Theoretical Physics (1992)
- Habilitation (DSc) in Theoretical Physics (1998)
- American Physical Society (APS): Outstanding Referee (2011)
- Physics Letters B: Most Valued Reviewer (2013)
- Editor-in-Chief Choice Award 2016 for article: Measuring vacuum polarization with high-power lasers, High Power Laser Science and Engineering 4, e5 (2016) (with Ben King).
- APS journals - editor's choice articles:
- Exact classical and quantum dynamics in background electromagnetic fields, Physical Review Letters 118, 113202 (2017) (with A. Ilderton).
- Mode truncations and scattering in strong fields, Physical Review D 98, 016002 (2018) (with A. Ilderton and D. Seipt)
Professional membership
German Physical Society
Roles on external bodies
- Member of User Forum, Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)
- Member of Vulcan 20 Petawatt Project (theory)
- Member of HIBEF user consortium (Helmholtz International Beamline for Extreme Fields)
- Member of planned LUXE experiment (DESY, Hamburg)
- Peer reviewer for many international Physics journals:
- Annalen der Physik
- Annals of Physics
- European Physical Journal C
- Europhysics Letters
- Few Body Systems
- High Power Laser Science and Engineering
- JHEP
- Journal of Physics A, B, G
- Journal of Plasma Physics
- Nature - Scientific Reports
- Nature Physics
- New Journal of Physics
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A
- Optics Letters
- Physical Review A, D, E, X
- Physical Review Letters
- Physica Scripta
- Physics Letters A, B
- Referee for Research Councils and Funding Bodies:
- Austrian Foundation for the Promotion of Science
- Czech Science Foundation
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
- French National Research Agency (ANR)
- German Research Foundation (DFG)
- Humboldt Foundation, Germany
- Helmholtz Society, Germany
- National Research Foundation, South Africa
- The Royal Society, UK
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching interests
- Theoretical Physics
- Applied Mathematics for mathematicians, engineers and scientists
- Statistical Methods
Postgraduate:
- Quantum Field Theory
- Strong-Field Quantum Electrodynamics
Research
Research
Research interests
- Laser Particle Physics
- Relativistic Laser Matter Interactions
- Physics of Strong Interactions
- (Light Cone) Quantum Field Theory
- Gauge Theories
Research degrees awarded to supervised students
- 10 physics diploma students (co-supervision, Germany)
- 5 PhD students (co-supervision, Germany and France)
- 3 PhD students, UoP, 2010, 2013, 2019
Grants & contracts
- Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant (2016-18) for Dr Anton Ilderton (Awarded £ 131 k)
- Leverhulme grant (2019-22) with Dr Anton Ilderton (Awarded £ 122 k)
Publications
Publications
Key publications
For an updated list of my publications please follow the link to Google Scholar. Alternatively, check INSPIRE, the high energy physics information system. Publications since 1992 may be downloaded via these sites.
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Articles
(2023) 'Strong field vacuum birefringence in plane wave pulses' The European Physical Journal C 83, (10) , DOI Open access
(2023) 'Strong-field vacuum polarisation with high energy lasers' New Journal of Physics 25, (9) , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Conceptual design report for the LUXE experiment' European Physical Journal: Special Topics 230, (11) 2445-2560 , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Reduction of order, resummation, and radiation reaction' Physical Review D 104, (3) , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Classical Resummation and Breakdown of Strong-Field QED' Physical Review Letters 127, (6) , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Exact solutions in radiation reaction and the radiation-free direction' New Journal of Physics 23, (5) 055001-055001 , DOI Open access
(2020) 'Locally monochromatic approximation to QED in intense laser fields' Physical Review A: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics 102, (6) , DOI Open access
(2020) 'Luxe: combining high energy and intensity to spark the vacuum' Europhysics News 51, (4) 14-17 , DOI Open access
(2018) 'Superintegrable relativistic systems in scalar background fields' Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical Open access
(2018) 'Mode truncations and scattering in strong fields' Physical Review D 98, (1) , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Superintegrable relativistic systems in spacetime-dependent background
fields' Journal of Physcis A: Mathematical and Theoretical , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Exact Classical and Quantum Dynamics in Background Electromagnetic Fields' Physical Review Letters 118, (11) 0-0 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Detecting vacuum birefringence with x-ray free electron lasers and high-power optical lasers: a feasibility study' Physica Scripta 91, (2) 023010-023010 , DOI
(2016) 'Classical and quantum particle dynamics in univariate background fields' Physical Review D 94, 065039-065039 Open access
(2016) 'Measuring vacuum polarization with high-power lasers' High Power Laser Science and Engineering 4, 0-0 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'Detecting radiation reaction at moderate laser intensities' Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 91, (2) , DOI Open access
(2014) 'Light-front quantum chromodynamics' Nuclear Physics B - Proceedings Supplements 251-252, 165-174 , DOI Open access
(2014) 'Photon polarization in light-by-light scattering: Finite size effects' PHYSICAL REVIEW D 90, (4) , DOI Open access
(2014) 'Vacuum refractive indices and helicity flip in strong-field QED' PHYSICAL REVIEW D 89, (12) , DOI Open access
(2012) 'Intensity-Dependent Electron Mass Shift in a Laser Field: Existence, Universality, and Detection' PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 109, (10) , DOI Open access
(2012) 'STRONG-FIELD QED AND HIGH-POWER LASERS' INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MODERN PHYSICS A 27, (15) , DOI Open access
(2012) 'STRONG-FIELD QED AND HIGH POWER LASERS' International Journal of Modern Physics: Conference Series 14, 127-140 , DOI
(2011) 'Symmetry breaking from radiation reaction in ultra-intense laser fields' PHYSICAL REVIEW D 84, (11) , DOI Open access
(2011) 'Covariant worldline numerics for charge motion with radiation reaction' PHYSICAL REVIEW D 83, (7) , DOI
(2010) 'Pair production in laser fields: finite size effects' PoS LC 2010,
(2010) 'Finite size effects in stimulated laser pair production' Physics Letters B 692, (4) 250-256 Publisher Site , DOI
(2009) 'Beam-Shape Effects in Nonlinear Compton and Thomson Scattering' Phys.Rev.A 81, Publisher Site
(2009) 'Joint IPPP Durham/Cockcroft Institute/ICFA Workshop on Advanced QED methods for Future Accelerators' Journal of Physics: Conference Series 198, 011001-011001 , DOI
(2008) 'Solution of the Gribov problem from gauge invariance' PoS Confinement 8, 047-047 Open access
(2008) 'Ice-limit of Coulomb gauge Yang-Mills theory' Physical Review D 78, (7) Publisher Site , DOI Open access
(2008) 'Extreme field physics and QED'
(2008) 'Inverse Monte-Carlo and Demon Methods for Effective Polyakov Loop Models
of SU(N)-YM' PoS LATTICE 2008,
(2008) 'Is the ground state of Yang-Mills theory Coulombic?' Phys.Rev.D 78, Publisher Site Open access
(2008) 'A Lorentz and gauge invariant measure of laser intensity' Opt.Commun. 282, 1879-1883 Publisher Site
(2007) 'Z3 Polyakov Loop Models and Inverse Monte-Carlo Methods' PoSLAT2007:341,2007
(2007) 'Alternative approach to light-front perturbation theory' Physical Review D 75, (2)
(2007) 'Coulomb gauge Gribov copies and the confining potential' Physical Review D 76, (11)
(2007) 'Inverse Monte Carlo determination of effective lattice models for SU(3) Yang-Mills theory at finite temperature' Physical Review D 76, (8)
(2007) 'Noncommutativity from spectral flow' Journal of Physics A-Mathematical and Theoretical 40, (30) 9097-9123
(2006) 'Large orders in strong-field QED' Journal of Physics A-Mathematical and General 39, (37) 11623-11645
(2006) 'Phase structure of Z(3)-Polyakov-loop models' Physical Review D 74, (11)
(2005) 'Effective Lattice Actions for Finite-Temperature Yang-Mills Theory'
(2005) 'Effective actions for the SU(2) confinement-deconfinement phase transition' Physical Review D 72, (6)
(2004) 'Effective lattice theories for Polyakov loops' Journal of High Energy Physics (6)
(2003) 'Light-cone zero modes revisited'
(2002) 'The Light-Cone Effective Potential'
(2002) 'A lattice study of the Faddeev-Niemi effective action' Nuclear Physics B-Proceedings Supplements 106, 649-651
(2002) 'Effective theories of confinement' Nuclear Physics B-Proceedings Supplements 108, 63-67
(2002) 'Effective sigma models and lattice Ward identities' Journal of High Energy Physics (12)
(2001) 'Magnetic monopoles vs. Hopf defects in the Laplacian (Abelian) gauge' Nuclear Physics B 593, (3) 545-561
(2000) 'Light-Cone Quantization: Foundations and Applications' Lect.Notes Phys. 572, 55-142
(2000) 'Instantons and Gribov Copies in the Maximally Abelian Gauge' Nucl.Phys. B 584, 589-614 Publisher Site
(1999) 'Loss of Causality in Discretized Light-Cone Quantisation'
(1998) 'Light-Cone Dynamics of Particles and Fields'
(1998) 'The Configuration Space of Low-dimensional Yang-Mills Theories' Nucl.Phys. B 524, 695-741 Publisher Site
(1998) 'Light-cone wave functions and chiral symmetry - Discussions' NUCLEAR PHYSICS B-PROCEEDINGS SUPPLEMENTS 64, 295-295
(1997) 'Variational Mass Perturbation Theory for Light-Front Bound-State
Equations' Phys.Rev. D 57, 2460-2474 Publisher Site
(1996) 'Fermion Condensates and the Trivial Vacuum of Light-Cone Quantum Field
Theory' Phys.Lett. B 388, 129-136 Publisher Site
(1996) 'Hamiltonian Formulations of Yang-Mills Quantum Theory and the Gribov
Problem'
(1996) 'The vacuum structure of light-front phi(1+1)(4)-theory' ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PHYSIK C-PARTICLES AND FIELDS 72, (2) 353-364 , DOI
(1995) 'The Vacuum Structure of Light-Front phi^4-Theory' Z.Phys. C72 (1996) 353-364 Publisher Site , DOI
(1993) 'Light-Front Quantisation as an Initial-Boundary Value Problem' Z.Phys. C 62, 521-532 Publisher Site
(1992) 'NONPERTURBATIVE LIGHT-CONE QUANTUM-FIELD THEORY BEYOND THE TREE LEVEL' ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PHYSIK C-PARTICLES AND FIELDS 56, (3) 415-420 , DOI
(1992) 'THE FERMIONIC SCHWINGER MODEL IN LIGHT-CONE QUANTIZATION' PHYSICS LETTERS B 275, (3-4) 410-418 , DOI
(1991) 'Nonperturbative vacua in the light-cone quantum field theory' Nuclear Physics B - Proceedings Supplements 23, (2) 182-185 , DOI
(1991) 'SPONTANEOUS SYMMETRY-BREAKING IN LIGHT-CONE QUANTUM-FIELD THEORY' PHYSICS LETTERS B 272, (1-2) 54-60 , DOI
(1991) 'NONTRIVIAL VACUUM-STRUCTURE IN LIGHT-CONE QUANTUM-FIELD THEORY' PHYSICS LETTERS B 256, (1) 55-59 , DOI
(1989) 'LIGHT-CONE QUANTIZATION AND MANIFESTATION OF NON-PERTURBATIVE VACUUM PROPERTIES FOR SCALAR FIELD-THEORY' ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PHYSIK A-HADRONS AND NUCLEI 334, (4) 443-449 , DOI
(1989) 'THE FERMION CONDENSATE OF THE NAMBU-JONA-LASINIO MODEL IN LIGHT-CONE QUANTIZATION' ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PHYSIK A-HADRONS AND NUCLEI 334, (2) 215-220 , DOI
Reviews
(2009) 'Architecture and Mathematics in Ancient Egypt' JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE 36, (6) 1286-1287 , DOI
Chapters
(2001) 'Light-Cone Quantization: Foundations and Applications' Methods of Quantization Springer Berlin Heidelberg 55-142 , DOI
(1998) 'Chiral Symmetry and Light-Cone Wave Functions' New Non-Perturbative Methods and Quantization on the Light Cone Springer Berlin Heidelberg 277-283 , DOI
Conference Papers
(2010) 'First results from the Daresbury Compton backscattering x-ray source (COBALD)' SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications SPIE , DOI
(2010) 'Infra-red problems and a response' International Workshop on QCD Green’s Functions, Confinement and Phenomenology 9-/-0/2009Sissa Medialab , DOI
(2009) 'Inverse Monte-Carlo and Demon Methods for Effective Polyakov Loop Models of SU(N)-YM' The XXVI International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory 7-/-0/2008Sissa Medialab , DOI
(2008) 'Solution of the Gribov problem from gauge invariance'
(2007) 'Laser-accelerated rays and radiation sources at the FZD' 17-44
(2007) 'ZZ<inf>3</inf> Polyakov loop models and inverse Monte-Carlo methods'
(2002) 'An effective theory for the SU(2) mass gap?' 83-90
(2000) 'The light-cone wavefunction of the pion' 231-234
(1999) 'Causality in light-cone field theory' 246-251
(1991) 'NONTRIVIAL VACUUM-STRUCTURE IN LIGHT-CONE QUANTUM-FIELD THEORY' C429-C434
Reports
Personal
Personal
Reports & invited lectures
- 39th Schladming Winter School "Methods of Quantization", Lectures on "Light-Cone Quantisation: Foundations and Applications", Schladming, Styria, 2000. Published as Springer Lecture Notes, Vol. 572.
- Workshop on Lasers and Accelerators, STIAS, Stellenbosch, South Africa, January 2009, Lectures on "Strong-Field QED".
- 25th Chris Engelbrecht Summer School on "Nonlinear Phenomena in Quantum Field Theory", Stellenbosch, South Africa, January 2014, Lectures on Nonlinear QED.
- Central Laser Facility, Christmas Meeting 2021, Invited Tutorial Lecture on "QED and Lasers".
Conferences organised
- UKXFEL Town Hall Meeting, Plymouth, UK, January 2024
- Physics in Intense Fields (PIF22), Plymouth, UK, September 2022
- Physics in Intense Fields (PIF2013), DESY, Hamburg, July 2013.
- Workshop on Ultra-High Power Laser Nuclear and Particle Physics, Trento, Italy, June 2008.
- 4th Workshop on Gauge Fields and Strings, Jena, Germany, 2003.
- 3rd Workshop on Nonperturbative Aspects of Gauge Fields and Strings, Jena, Germany, 2001.
- Workshop on Nonperturbative Aspects of Gauge Fields and Strings, Jena, Germany, 2000.
- Workshop on Strongly Coupled Gauge Theories, Jena, Germany, 1998.
- 5th Meeting on Light-Front QCD and Nonperturbative Dynamics, Regensburg, Germany, 1995.