Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system
The linear Breit–Wheeler (LBW) process—the production of an electron–positron pair through the collision of two high-energy photons—can emerge as the dominant pair production mechanism in the ultraintense laser-plasma interaction for laser intensities below 10 ^23 W cm ^−2 . Here, we explore the ro...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ade61c |
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| author | Huai-Hang Song Zheng-Ming Sheng |
| author_facet | Huai-Hang Song Zheng-Ming Sheng |
| author_sort | Huai-Hang Song |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The linear Breit–Wheeler (LBW) process—the production of an electron–positron pair through the collision of two high-energy photons—can emerge as the dominant pair production mechanism in the ultraintense laser-plasma interaction for laser intensities below 10 ^23 W cm ^−2 . Here, we explore the role of γ photon polarization in LBW pair production for a 10 PW-class, linearly polarized laser interacting with a solid-density plasma. The motivation for this investigation lies in two main aspects: γ photons emitted via nonlinear Compton scattering are inherently linearly polarized, and the LBW process exhibits a distinct sensitivity to γ photon polarization. By leveraging particle-in-cell simulations that self-consistently incorporate photon-polarization-resolved LBW pair production, our results reveal that γ photon polarization leads to a 5% to 10% reduction in the total LBW positron yield. This suppression arises because the polarization directions of the colliding γ photons are primarily parallel, reducing the LBW cross section compared to the unpolarized case. The influence of γ photon polarization weakens as the laser intensity increases or the scale length of preplasmas at the front of the target increases. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-95e7bc8cabc64bf2b6e14189af471361 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1367-2630 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Journal of Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-95e7bc8cabc64bf2b6e14189af4713612025-08-20T02:41:33ZengIOP PublishingNew Journal of Physics1367-26302025-01-0127707430110.1088/1367-2630/ade61cPhoton-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma systemHuai-Hang Song0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2587-4658Zheng-Ming Sheng1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-9993Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE) and School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China; Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 201210, People’s Republic of ChinaThe linear Breit–Wheeler (LBW) process—the production of an electron–positron pair through the collision of two high-energy photons—can emerge as the dominant pair production mechanism in the ultraintense laser-plasma interaction for laser intensities below 10 ^23 W cm ^−2 . Here, we explore the role of γ photon polarization in LBW pair production for a 10 PW-class, linearly polarized laser interacting with a solid-density plasma. The motivation for this investigation lies in two main aspects: γ photons emitted via nonlinear Compton scattering are inherently linearly polarized, and the LBW process exhibits a distinct sensitivity to γ photon polarization. By leveraging particle-in-cell simulations that self-consistently incorporate photon-polarization-resolved LBW pair production, our results reveal that γ photon polarization leads to a 5% to 10% reduction in the total LBW positron yield. This suppression arises because the polarization directions of the colliding γ photons are primarily parallel, reducing the LBW cross section compared to the unpolarized case. The influence of γ photon polarization weakens as the laser intensity increases or the scale length of preplasmas at the front of the target increases.https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ade61claser-plasma interactionlinear Breit–Wheeler pair productionphoton polarizationparticle-in-cell simulation |
| spellingShingle | Huai-Hang Song Zheng-Ming Sheng Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system New Journal of Physics laser-plasma interaction linear Breit–Wheeler pair production photon polarization particle-in-cell simulation |
| title | Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system |
| title_full | Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system |
| title_fullStr | Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system |
| title_full_unstemmed | Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system |
| title_short | Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit–Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system |
| title_sort | photon polarization resolved linear breit wheeler pair production in a laser plasma system |
| topic | laser-plasma interaction linear Breit–Wheeler pair production photon polarization particle-in-cell simulation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ade61c |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT huaihangsong photonpolarizationresolvedlinearbreitwheelerpairproductioninalaserplasmasystem AT zhengmingsheng photonpolarizationresolvedlinearbreitwheelerpairproductioninalaserplasmasystem |