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arXiv · 2209.12908

Using nonlinear Breit-Wheeler to test nonlinear vacuum birefringence

O. Borysov·B. Heinemann·A. Ilderton·B. King·A. Potylitsyn
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Abstract

Quantum electrodynamics predicts that the quantum vacuum is birefringent, but due to the very small cross-section this is yet to be confirmed by experiment. Vacuum birefringence arises as the elastic part of photon-photon scattering; the inelastic part is Breit-Wheeler pair-production. We outline how measurements of the photon-polarised nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process can be used to infer a measurement of nonlinear vacuum birefringence. As an example scenario, we calculate the accuracy of such a measurement for parameters anticipated at upcoming laser-particle experiments.

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O. Borysov, B. Heinemann, A. Ilderton, B. King, A. Potylitsyn. 2022-09-26. Using nonlinear Breit-Wheeler to test nonlinear vacuum birefringence. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.106.116015

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