Physics in Intense Fields 2026 (PIF26)

Physics in intense, or strong, background fields has a rich history, captivating researchers since the early days of QFT. Modern advances in high-intensity lasers have prompted a renewed interest in the area of strong-field QED (SFQED), where non-perturbative methods have been necessitated by increased laser field strength. “Physics in Intense Fields” aims to explore SFQED, high-intensity laser physics, and related themes, by bringing together researchers from theory, experiment, and simulation.

PIF26 is hosted by the University of Rochester, and is preceded by earlier Physics in Intense Fields conferences:

• PIF24 (virtual), hosted by University of Plymouth and University of Edinburgh,
• PIF22 (virtual) hosted by the University of Plymouth,
• PIF2013 in DESY, Germany in 2013,
• PIF2010 in KEK, Japan in 2010.

Confirmed Invited Speakers:

• Paul Campbell, University of Michigan, USA

• Sebastien Corde, École Polytechnique, France

• Martin Formanek, ELI-Beamlines, Czech Republic
• Marta Galbiati, LULI, France

• Mickael Grech, LULI, France

• Elizabeth Hill, LLE, USA
• Vojtěch Horný, ELI-NP, Romania

• Felix Karbstein, Helmholtz Institute Jena, Germany

• Kyung Taec Kim, CoReLS, South Korea

• Sonja Klisch, Perimeter Institute, Canada

• Eva Los, University of Oxford, UK

• Brandon Russell, Princeton University, USA
• Yuan Shi, Colorado University, USA
• Matteo Tamburini, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Germany

• Hidetoshi Taya, Keio University, Japan

• Henri Vincenti, CEA, France

• Lily Zhang, Oxford University, UK

Organizers:

Local Organizing Committee

• Antonino Di Piazza, University of Rochester, USA
• Jonathan Zuegel, University of Rochester, USA
• Velynda Bertomen, University of Rochester, USA
• Ashley Thrash, University of Rochester, USA

International Advisory Committee

• Domenico Doria, ELI-NP, Romania

• Gerald Dunne, University of Connecticut, USA

• Thomas Heinzl, University of Plymouth, UK

• Christoph Keitel, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Germany

• Carsten Müller, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany

• David Reis, SLAC, USA

• Caterina Riconda, Sorbonne University, France

• Gianluca Sarri, Queen’s University Belfast, UK

• Luis Silva, Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal

• Alexander Thomas, University of Michigan, USA

• Stefan Weber, ELI-Beamlines, Czech Republic

Steering Committee

• Stepan Bulanov, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
• James P. Edwards, University of Plymouth, UK
• Anton Ilderton, University of Edinburgh, UK
• Masaki Kando, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Japan
• Ben King, University of Plymouth, UK
• Katarzyna Krajewska, University of Warsaw, Poland

Advances in high-intensity laser technology continue to motivate research in strong-field QED (SFQED), in which the presence of intense electromagnetic fields induces nonlinear and non-perturbative physical effects.

In turn, interest in observing these novel phenomena continues to generate proposals for experiments to be performed at current, and future, laser facilities.

An essential link between theory and experiment is provided by numerical methods, which translate theoretical results into widely applicable models amenable to PIC and Monte-Carlo simulation schemes.

The focus of PIF 2026 will be on these three areas of SFQED — theory, simulation and experiment. The conference will begin with a tutorial talk on each of these topics. Each conference session (outlined below) will begin with an overview talk.

Theory

Laser-particle interactions
Non-perturbative phenomena
Higher loop and higher multiplicity results

Simulation

PIC and Monte-Carlo schemes
Bench-marking simulations
Toward higher fidelity

Experiment

New experimental results
Facilities overviews
Future experiment proposals

• Caleb Redshaw
• Geoffrey Pomraning
• Deepak Sah
• Zixin Zhang
• Rohan Mahnot
• Carlos Javier Servin Tomas
• Elizabeth Hill
• Kyungtaec Kim

Monday, July 20, 2026

TBD

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

TBD

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

TBD

Thursday, July 23, 2026

TBD

Friday, July 24, 2026

TBD

Register here!

You will find details regarding accommodations at the registration link.

To attend the tour and dinner at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, please fill out the linked visitor form within 45 days of the visit: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/aa4eb792fcd642cbb9531f30180448bb.

On the registration form, please use the information below:
Host name: Velynda Bertomen
Host email address: vber@lle.rochester.edu
Purpose of the visit: LLE tour as part of PIF26 Conference