Abstract
We report results of new pair creation experiments using ~100 Joule pulses of the Texas Petawatt Laser to irradiate solid gold and platinum targets, with intensities up to ~1.9 × 10(21) W.cm(-2) and pulse durations as short as ~130 fs. Positron to electron (e+/e-) ratios >15% were observed for many thick disk and rod targets, with the highest e+/e- ratio reaching ~50% for a Pt rod. The inferred pair yield was ~ few ×10(10) with emerging pair density reaching ~10(15)/cm(3) so that the pair skin depth becomes < pair jet transverse size. These results represent major milestones towards the goal of creating a significant quantity of dense pair-dominated plasmas with e+/e- approaching 100% and pair skin depth ≪ pair plasma size, which will have wide-ranging applications to astrophysics and fundamental physics.