Enhanced creation of high energy particles in colliding laser beams

TL;DR

This paper explores how colliding laser beams can produce high-energy particles, including gamma rays and muons, by enhancing pair creation and recollision processes in strong laser fields.

Contribution

It demonstrates that laser-induced electron-positron pairs can recollide at high energies, significantly increasing the probability of creating heavy particles like muons.

Findings

Enhanced electron-positron recollision leading to high-energy particle creation

Muon pair production rate exceeds direct Schwinger mechanism predictions

Photon emission rate surpasses fermion oscillation emission

Abstract

The creation of particles by two colliding strong laser beams is considered. It is found that the electron-positron pairs created in the laser field via the Schwinger mechanism may recollide after one or several oscillations in the field. Their collision can take place at high energy, which the pair gains from the field. As a result, high energy gamma quanta can be created by inelastic scattering or annihilation of the pair. Moreover, heavy particles such as muon pairs may also be created via the annihilation $e^+ + e^-\rightarrow \mu^+ + \mu^- $. The probability of $e^-e^+$ collision is greatly enhanced due to a strong alignment of the electron and positron momenta with the electric field. The found muon creation rate exponentially exceeds the rate predicted by the direct Schwinger mechanism for muons, while the photon creation rate exponentially exceeds photon emission due to the fermion oscillation.