Self-organized positron reorienting and pinching mechanism for the experimental detection of the linear Breit-Wheeler process
Abstract
The linear Breit-Wheeler (LBW) process (γ+γ→ e−+e+) is a fundamental prediction of quantum electrodynamics, but yet to be observed under laboratory conditions using real photons. In recent years, a few experimental schemes utilizing high-intense (∼1022W/cm2) laser-plasma interactions to observe the LBW process have been proposed. However, a high level of signal-to-noise-ratio are expected in these schemes, hindering the first-ever experimental detection of the LBW process by real photons. In this paper, we present a simple experimental setup which could enhance the expected positron signals by 2-3 orders of magnitude compared to previously proposed schemes, reaching the level of 106MeV−1str−1. Moreover, such high positron signal is achieve in the direction opposite to the laser propagation, where a significantly quieter background is expected compared to the previously focused direction of laser propagation. The key to achieve this result is a newly discovered self-organized positron reorienting and pinching mechanism, enabled by the in-situ strong plasma fields from the laser-plasma interaction.
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BibTeX
@misc{he2026selforganized,
title = {{Self-organized positron reorienting and pinching mechanism for the experimental detection of the linear Breit-Wheeler process}},
author = {Yutong He and Alexey Arefiev and Mario Manuel and Hui Chen and Christopher Ridgers},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.07584},
eprint = {2609.07584},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.07584},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Self-organized positron reorienting and pinching mechanism for the experimental detection of the linear Breit-Wheeler process
AU - Yutong He
AU - Alexey Arefiev
AU - Mario Manuel
AU - Hui Chen
AU - Christopher Ridgers
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/07
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.07584
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.07584
AB - The linear Breit-Wheeler (LBW) process (γ+γ→ e^−+e^+) is a fundamental prediction of quantum electrodynamics, but yet to be observed under laboratory conditions using real photons. In recent years, a few experimental schemes utilizing high-intense (∼10^22W/cm^2) laser-plasma interactions to observe the LBW process have been proposed. However, a high level of signal-to-noise-ratio are expected in these schemes, hindering the first-ever experimental detection of the LBW process by real photons. In this paper, we present a simple experimental setup which could enhance the expected positron signals by 2-3 orders of magnitude compared to previously proposed schemes, reaching the level of 10^6MeV^−1str^−1. Moreover, such high positron signal is achieve in the direction opposite to the laser propagation, where a significantly quieter background is expected compared to the previously focused direction of laser propagation. The key to achieve this result is a newly discovered self-organized positron reorienting and pinching mechanism, enabled by the in-situ strong plasma fields from the laser-plasma interaction.
ER -