Vacuum birefringence in high-energy laser-electron collisions

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to measure vacuum birefringence caused by photon-photon scattering using high-energy laser-electron collisions, demonstrating its feasibility with near-future experimental parameters.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental scenario combining multi-MeV photons and laser pulses to detect vacuum birefringence, supported by calculations and simulations.

Findings

Vacuum birefringence should be measurable with upcoming experiments.

High-energy laser-electron collisions can generate detectable birefringence signals.

The proposed method is feasible with current or near-future technology.

Abstract

Real photon-photon scattering is a long-predicted phenomenon that is being searched for in experiment in the form of a birefringent vacuum at optical and X-ray frequencies. We present results of calculations and numerical simulations for a scenario to measure this effect using multi-MeV photons generated in the collision of electrons with a laser pulse. We find that the birefringence of the vacuum should be measurable using experimental parameters attainable in the near future.