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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - A laser-plasma platform for photon-photon physics
T2 - The two photon Breit-Wheeler process
AU - Kettle, B.
AU - Hollatz, D.
AU - Gerstmayr, E.
AU - Samarin, G.M.
AU - Alejo, A.
AU - Astbury, S.
AU - Baird, C.
AU - Bohlen, S.
AU - Campbell, M.
AU - Colgan, C.
AU - Dannheim, D.
AU - Gregory, C.
AU - Harsh, H.
AU - Hatfield, P.
AU - Hinojosa, J.
AU - Katzir, Y.
AU - Morton, J.
AU - Murphy, C.D.
AU - Nurnberg, A.
AU - Osterhoff, J.
AU - Pérez-Callejo, G.
AU - Põder, K.
AU - Rajeev, P.P.
AU - Roedel, C.
AU - Roeder, F.
AU - Salgado, F.C.
AU - Sarri, G.
AU - Seidel, A.
AU - Spannagel, S.
AU - Spindloe, C.
AU - Steinke, S.
AU - Streeter, M.J.V.
AU - Thomas, A.G.R.
AU - Underwood, C.
AU - Watt, R.
AU - Zepf, M.
AU - Rose, S.J.
AU - Mangles, S.P.D.
PY - 2021/11/3
Y1 - 2021/11/3
N2 - We describe a laser-plasma platform for photon-photon collision experiments to measure fundamental quantum electrodynamic processes. As an example we describe using this platform to attempt to observe the linear Breit-Wheeler process. The platform has been developed using the Gemini laser facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. A laser Wakefield accelerator and a bremsstrahlung convertor are used to generate a collimated beam of photons with energies of hundreds of MeV, that collide with keV x-ray photons generated by a laser heated plasma target. To detect the pairs generated by the photon-photon collisions, a magnetic transport system has been developed which directs the pairs onto scintillation-based and hybrid silicon pixel single particle detectors (SPDs). We present commissioning results from an experimental campaign using this laser-plasma platform for photon-photon physics, demonstrating successful generation of both photon sources, characterisation of the magnetic transport system and calibration of the SPDs, and discuss the feasibility of this platform for the observation of the Breit-Wheeler process. The design of the platform will also serve as the basis for the investigation of strong-field quantum electrodynamic processes such as the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler and the Trident process, or eventually, photon-photon scattering. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
AB - We describe a laser-plasma platform for photon-photon collision experiments to measure fundamental quantum electrodynamic processes. As an example we describe using this platform to attempt to observe the linear Breit-Wheeler process. The platform has been developed using the Gemini laser facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. A laser Wakefield accelerator and a bremsstrahlung convertor are used to generate a collimated beam of photons with energies of hundreds of MeV, that collide with keV x-ray photons generated by a laser heated plasma target. To detect the pairs generated by the photon-photon collisions, a magnetic transport system has been developed which directs the pairs onto scintillation-based and hybrid silicon pixel single particle detectors (SPDs). We present commissioning results from an experimental campaign using this laser-plasma platform for photon-photon physics, demonstrating successful generation of both photon sources, characterisation of the magnetic transport system and calibration of the SPDs, and discuss the feasibility of this platform for the observation of the Breit-Wheeler process. The design of the platform will also serve as the basis for the investigation of strong-field quantum electrodynamic processes such as the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler and the Trident process, or eventually, photon-photon scattering. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
KW - Breit-Wheeler
KW - Laser-plasma
KW - LWFA
KW - Pair production
KW - Photon-photon
KW - QED
KW - Electrodynamics
KW - Laser beams
KW - Laser produced plasmas
KW - Plasma interactions
KW - Silicon detectors
KW - Breit-wheeler
KW - Laser-plasmas
KW - Magnetic transport
KW - Quantum electrodynamics
KW - Single-particle
KW - Transport systems
KW - Two photon
KW - Photons
U2 - 10.1088/1367-2630/ac3048
DO - 10.1088/1367-2630/ac3048
M3 - Journal article
VL - 23
JO - New Journal of Physics
JF - New Journal of Physics
SN - 1367-2630
IS - 11
M1 - 115006
ER -