High-energy γ-photon polarization in nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production and γ polarimetry

Autor: Feng Wan, Yu Wang, Ren-Tong Guo, Yue-Yue Chen, Rashid Shaisultanov, Zhong-Feng Xu, Karen Z. Hatsagortsyan, Christoph H. Keitel, Jian-Xing Li
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Physical Review Research, Vol 2, Iss 3, p 032049 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2643-1564
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.032049
Popis: The interaction of an unpolarized electron beam with a counterpropagating ultraintense linearly polarized laser pulse is investigated in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. We employ a semiclassical Monte Carlo method to describe spin-resolved electron dynamics, photon emissions and polarization, and pair production. Abundant high-energy linearly polarized γ photons are generated intermediately during this interaction via nonlinear Compton scattering, with an average polarization degree of more than 50%, further interacting with the laser fields to produce electron-positron pairs due to the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process. The photon polarization is shown to significantly affect the pair yield by a factor of more than 10%. The considered signature of the photon polarization in the pair's yield can be experimentally identified in a prospective two-stage setup. Moreover, with currently achievable laser facilities the signature can serve also for the polarimetry of high-energy high-flux γ photons.
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