Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Pair creation by a γ ray in a high-intensity electromagnetic field (the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process) is sensitive to the γ -ray polarization. Here we study the stability required in order to measure this polarization dependence in a head-on collision between a high-power linearly polarized laser and a relativistic electron beam, where the γ rays produced via nonlinear Compton scattering are highly polarized. We find that the laser strength parameter a 0 has to be known to within a few percent and that the alignment of the laser and electron beam cannot fluctuate by more than half the spot size in order to attribute the reduction in positron yield to polarization effects. These collision parameters are difficult to achieve, but may be realized in future precision experiments that focus on beam stability.
Source: Physical Review A
Authors: Mathias Samuelsson, Thomas G. Blackburn
Institution: University of Gothenburg
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,675
Funder: Vetenskapsrådet
Award: NAISS
OpenAlex ID: W4410155971