Generation of high-energy electron-positron beams in the collision of a laser-accelerated electron beam and a multi-petawatt laser

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates, through 3D particle-in-cell simulations, that high-energy positron beams can be generated by colliding laser-accelerated electrons with ultra-intense laser pulses, paving the way for antimatter production on upcoming laser facilities.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed simulation-based analysis of antimatter generation via the multiphoton Breit-Wheeler process in an all-optical setup with upcoming high-power lasers.

Findings

Positron beams with 0.1-1 nC charge and 100-400 MeV energy are achievable.

Beam divergence can be controlled within 0.01-0.1 rad.

Positron properties depend on laser parameters.

Abstract

Generation of antimatter via the multiphoton Breit-Wheeler process in an all-optical scheme will be made possible on forthcoming high-power laser facilities through the collision of wakefield-accelerated GeV electrons with a counter-propagating laser pulse with $10^{22}$-$10^{23}$ $\mathrm{Wcm}^{-2}$ peak intensity. By means of integrated 3D particle-in-cell simulations, we show that the production of positron beams with 0.1-1 nC total charge, 100-400 MeV mean energy and 0.01-0.1 rad divergence is within the reach of soon-to-be-available laser systems. The variations of the positron beam's properties with respect to the laser parameters are also examined.