Towards a direct measurement of the quantum vacuum Lagrangian coupling coefficients using two counter propagating super-intense laser pulses

TL;DR

This paper explores the feasibility of using ultraintense laser pulses to directly measure quantum vacuum effects, specifically the Lagrangian coupling coefficients in QED, through photon-photon scattering experiments.

Contribution

It proposes a detailed experimental scenario with counterpropagating lasers to detect optical photon scattering, analyzing optimal conditions and noise discrimination methods.

Findings

Feasibility of measurement at 10^{23} W/cm^2 is limited.

Measurement becomes promising at 10^{24} W/cm^2.

Highlights importance of pulse parameters and noise control.

Abstract

In this paper we will show that photon-photon collision experiments using extreme lasers can provide measurable effects giving fundamental information about the essence of QED, its Lagrangian. A possible scenario with two counterpropagating ultraintense lasers for an experiment to detect scattering between optical photons is analyzed. We discuss the importance of the pulse widths and waists, the best scenario for overlapping the beams and signal detection, as well as ways to distinguish the signal from the noise. This would need a high-precision measurement, with control of temporal jitter and noise. We conclude that such experiment is barely feasible at 10^{23} W/cm^2 and very promising at 10^{24} W/cm^2