$e^+e^-$ Pair Production from 10 GeV to 10 ZeV

TL;DR

This paper reviews pair production processes at extremely high energies, highlighting how different environments and interactions influence the cross sections and the underlying physics across a vast energy spectrum.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of pair production mechanisms from 10 GeV to 10 ZeV across various regimes and environments, emphasizing the effects of coherence and interference.

Findings

Interference reduces pair production cross section below Bethe-Heitler predictions.

Photonuclear interactions may dominate at ultra-high energies.

Crystals can significantly enhance pair production cross sections.

Abstract

At very high energies, pair production ($\gamma\to e^+e^-$) exhibits many interesting features. The momentum transfer from the target is very small, so the reaction probes the macroscopic properties of the target, rather than individual nuclei. Interference between interactions with different atoms reduces the pair production cross section considerably below the Bethe-Heitler values. At very high energies, photonuclear interactions may outnumber pair production. In contrast, in crystals, the interaction amplitudes may add coherently, greatly increasing the cross sections. Pair production in matter-free magnetic fields is also possible. The highest energy pair production occurs at high energy particle colliders. This article will compare pair production in these very different regimes.