Muon pair creation from positronium in a linearly polarized laser field

TL;DR

This paper investigates the creation of muon pairs from positronium under intense linearly polarized laser fields, providing theoretical rate calculations and proposing an experimental setup with counterpropagating lasers.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum electrodynamics framework for muon production from positronium in intense laser fields and suggests an optimal experimental configuration.

Findings

Muon pairs can be produced at laser intensities around 10^22 W/cm^2.

Muons are emitted with ultrarelativistic energies along the laser axis.

Counterpropagating lasers enhance the production process.

Abstract

Positronium decay into a muon-antimuon pair by virtue of the interaction with a superintense laser field of linear polarization is considered. The minimum laser intensity required amounts to a few 10^22 W/cm^2 in the near-infrared frequency range. Within the framework of laser-dressed quantum electrodynamics, the total reaction rate is calculated and related to the cross section for field-free electron-positron annihilation into muons. The muons are created with ultrarelativistic energies and emitted under narrow angles along the laser propagation direction. The dynamical properties of the muons are interpreted in terms of a classical simple man's model for the production process. We show that the most promising setup for an experimental investigation of the process employs two counterpropagating laser beams impinging on a positronium target, where the advantage of the coherent electron-positron collisions becomes evident.