A channel for very high density matter-antimatter pair-jet production by intense laser-pulses

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a new, highly efficient laser-driven process combining nonlinear Compton scattering and Bethe-Heitler mechanisms to produce extremely dense relativistic electron-positron pair jets, enabling advanced plasma studies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel physics channel for laser-induced pair-jet production that surpasses previous density limits by over three orders of magnitude.

Findings

Relativistic pair-jet density exceeds previous limits by over 1000 times.

The process efficiently produces heavier particle pairs.

Jets enable new studies of collective relativistic plasma phenomena.

Abstract

The mechanism of laser-driven relativistic pair-jet production qualitatively changes as laser intensity exceeds $I\gtrsim5\times10^{22}$ W/cm$^{2}$ because of the appearance of laser-induced strong-field QED processes. Here, we show that by exceeding this intensity additional physics operates and opens a new and efficient channel to convert laser photons into dense pair-jets -- the combination of nonlinear Compton scattering and the Bethe-Heitler process. This channel generates relativistic electron-positron jets more than three orders of magnitude denser than has so far been possible. We find that the process is so efficient that it leads to the prolific production of heavier pairs as well. The jets produced by this new channel will enable the study of collective processes in relativistic electron-positron plasmas.