Photon-polarization-resolved linear Breit-Wheeler pair production in a laser-plasma system

Abstract

The linear Breit-Wheeler (LBW) process, mediated by photon-photon collisions, can emerge as the dominant pair production mechanism in the ultraintense laser-plasma interaction for laser intensities below $10^{23}W/c{\mathrm{m}}^2$. Here, we explore the role of 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: photons emitted via nonlinear Compton scattering are inherently linearly polarized, and the LBW process exhibits a distinct sensitivity to photon polarization. By leveraging particle-in-cell simulations that self-consistently incorporate photon-polarization-resolved LBW pair production, our results reveal that 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 photons are primarily parallel to each other, resulting in a diminished LBW cross section compared to the unpolarized case. The influence of photon polarization weakens as the laser intensity increases.

arXiv comment19 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (20)

• Dense Electron-Positron Plasmas and Ultra-Intense Bursts of Gamma-Rays from Laser-Irradiated Solids
• Experimental evidence of radiation reaction in the collision of a high-intensity laser pulse with a laser-wakefield accelerated electron beam
• Experimental signatures of the quantum nature of radiation reaction in the field of an ultra-intense laser
• Highly-efficient source of collimated multi-MeV photons driven by radiation reaction of an electron beam in a self-generated magnetic field
• Measurement of $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ Momentum and Angular Distributions from Linearly Polarized Photon Collisions
• Radiation reaction in electron-beam interactions with high-intensity lasers
• Nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production in a tightly focused laser beam
• Polarized ultrashort brilliant multi-GeV $\gamma$-rays via single-shot laser-electron interaction
• Pair creation in collision of $\gamma$--ray beams produced with high intensity lasers
• Scaling laws for positron production in laser--electron-beam collisions
• Matter creation via gamma-gamma collider driving by 10 PW laser pulses
• Collimated Ultra-Bright Gamma-Rays from a PW-Laser-Driven Wire Wiggler
• Dense Polarized Positrons from Laser-Irradiated Foil Targets in the QED Regime
• Spin and polarization effects on the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production in laser-plasma interaction
• Angle-dependent pair production in the polarized two-photon Breit-Wheeler process
• Deciphering in situ electron dynamics of ultrarelativistic plasma via polarization pattern of emitted gamma photons
• Are we ready to transfer optical light to gamma-rays?
• The Polarization Dependence of Gamma-Gamma Absorption - Implications for Gamma-Ray Bursts and Blazars
• From linear to nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production in laser-solid interactions
• Detecting Linear Breit-Wheeler Signals with a Laser-Foil Setup