Absorption of gamma-ray photons in a vacuum neutron star magnetosphere: I. Electron-positron pair production

The production of electron-positron pairs in a vacuum neutron star magnetosphere is investigated for both low (compared to the Schwinger one) and high magnetic fields. The case of a strong longitudinal electric field where the produced electrons and positrons acquire a stationary Lorentz factor in a short time is considered. The source of electron-positron pairs has been calculated with allowance made for the pair production by curvature and synchrotron photons. Synchrotron photons are shown to make a major contribution to the total pair production rate in a weak magnetic field. At the same time, the contribution from bremsstrahlung photons may be neglected. The existence of a time delay due to the finiteness of the electron and positron acceleration time leads to a great reduction in the electron-positron plasma generation rate compared to the case of a zero time delay. The effective local source of electron-positron pairs has been constructed. It can be used in the hydrodynamic equations that describe the development of a cascade after the absorption of a photon from the cosmic gamma-ray background in a neutron star magnetosphere.     

On Electron–Positron Pair Production by a Spatially Inhomogeneous Electric Field

A detailed analysis of electron–positron pair creation induced by a spatially non-uniform and static electric field from vacuum is presented. A typical example is provided by the Sauter potential. For this potential, we derive the analytic expressions for vacuum decay and pair production rate accounted for the entire range of spatial variations. In the limit of a sharp step, we recover the divergent result due to the singular electric field at the origin. The limit of a constant field reproduces the classical result of Euler, Heisenberg and Schwinger, if the latter is properly averaged over the width of a spatial variation. The pair production by the Sauter potential is described for different regimes from weak to strong fields. For all these regimes, the locally constant-field rate is shown to be the upper limit.     

Entanglement generation by electric field background

The quantum vacuum is unstable under the influence of an external electric field and decays into pairs of charged particles, a process which is known as the Schwinger pair production. We propose and demonstrate that this electric field can generate entanglement. Using the Schwinger pair production for constant and pulsed electric fields, we study entanglement for scalar particles with zero spins and Dirac fermions. One can observe the variation of the entanglement produced for bosonic and fermionic modes with respect to different parameters.     

Schwinger mechanism of electron-positron pair production by the field of optical and X-ray lasers in vacuum

The probability W of e ⁺ e ^?-pair production in vacuum by an intense time-varying electric field created by optical or X-ray laser is calculated. Two characteristic regions γ?1 and γ?1 of adiabaticity parameter γ are considered. With an increase in γ and on passing from monochromatic radiation to a finite laser pulse, the probability W increases sharply (for the same field intensity). The dependence of the probability W and the electron and positron momentum spectrum on the pulse shape is discussed (the dynamic Schwinger effect).     

Laser Driven Electron‐Positron Pair Creation–Kinetic Theory Versus Analytical Approximations

The dynamical Schwinger effect of vacuum pair creation driven by an intense external laser pulse is studied on the basis of quantum kinetic theory. The numerical solutions of these kinetic equations exhibit a complex time dependence which makes an analysis of the physical processes difficult. In particular, the question of secondary effects, such as creation of secondary annihilation photons from the focus spot of the colliding laser beams, remains an important open problem. In the present work we, therefore, develop a perturbation theory which is able to capture the dominant time dependence of the produced electron‐positron pair density. The theory shows excellent agreement with the exact kinetic results during the laser pulse, but fails to reproduce the residual pair density remaining in the system after termination of the pulse. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Momentum spectra for dynamically assisted Schwinger pair production

Recently the dynamically assisted Schwinger mechanism, i.e., electron–positron pair production from vacuum by a combination of laser pulses with different time scales has been proposed. The corresponding results, which suggest that the rate of produced pairs is significantly enhanced by dynamical effects, are verified. Employing the framework of quantum kinetic theory intrinsically enables us to additionally provide momentum space information on the generated positron spectrum.     

Particle creation by charged black holes

A simple derivation is given for the leading term (n=1) in the Schwinger formula for the pair creation by a constant electric field. The same approach is applied then to the charged particle production by a charged black hole. In this case, as distinct from that of a constant electric field, the probability of the charged particle production depends essentially on the particle energy. The production rate by black holes is found in the nonrelativistic and ultrarelativistic limits. The range of values for the mass and charge of a black hole is indicated where the discussed mechanism of radiation dominates the Hawking one.     

Quantum electrodynamics with anisotropic scaling: Heisenberg-Euler action and Schwinger pair production in the bilayer graphene

We discuss quantum electrodynamics emerging in the vacua with anisotropic scaling. Systems with anisotropic scaling were suggested by Hořava in relation to the quantum theory of gravity. In such vacua, the space and time are not equivalent, and moreover they obey different scaling laws, called the anisotropic scaling. Such anisotropic scaling takes place for fermions in bilayer graphene, where if one neglects the trigonal warping effects the massless Dirac fermions have quadratic dispersion. This results in the anisotropic quantum electrodynamics, in which electric and magnetic fields obey different scaling laws. Here we discuss the Heisenberg-Euler action and Schwinger pair production in such anisotropic QED.     

Laser acceleration in novel media

With newly available compact laser technology [1] we are capable of producing 100?PW-class laser pulses with a single-cycle duration on the femtosecond timescale. With this fs intense laser we can produce a coherent X-ray pulse that is also compressed, well into the hard X-ray regime (～10?keV) and with a power up to as much as 10 Exawatts. We suggest utilizing these coherent X-rays to drive the acceleration of particles. Such X-rays are focusable far beyond the diffraction limit of the original laser wavelength and when injected into a crystal it forms a metallic-density electron plasma ideally suited for laser wakefield acceleration. If the X-ray field is limited by the Schwinger field at the focal size of ～100?nm, the achievable energy is 1?PeV over 50?m. (If the X-rays are focused further, much higher energies beyond this are possible). These processes are not limited to only electron acceleration, and if ions are pre-accelerated to beyond GeV they are capable of being further accelerated using a LWFA scheme [2] to similar energies as electrons over the same distance-scales. Such high energy proton (and ion) beams can induce copious neutrons, which can also give rise to intense compact muon beams and neutrino beams that may be portable. High-energy gamma rays can also be efficiently emitted with a bril- liance many orders of magnitude above the brightest X-ray sources by this accelerating process, from both the betatron radiation as well as the dominant radiative-damping dynamics. With the exceptional conditions enabled by this technology we envision a whole scope of new physical phenomena, including: the possibility of laser self-focus in the vacuum, neutron manipulation by the beat of such lasers, zeptosecond spectroscopy of nuclei, etc. Further, we now introduce along with the idea of vacuum as a nonlinear medium, the Schwinger Fiber Accelerator. This is a self-organized vacuum fiber acceleration concept, in which the repeated process of self-focusing and defocusing for the X-ray pulse in vacuum forms a modulated fiber that guides the intense X-rays.     

Dynamically assisted Schwinger mechanism

We study electron-positron pair creation from the Dirac vacuum induced by a strong and slowly varying electric field (Schwinger effect) which is superimposed by a weak and rapidly changing electromagnetic field (dynamical pair creation). In the subcritical regime where both mechanisms separately are strongly suppressed, their combined impact yields a pair creation rate which is dramatically enhanced. Intuitively speaking, the strong electric field lowers the threshold for dynamical particle creation--or, alternatively, the fast electromagnetic field generates additional seeds for the Schwinger mechanism. These findings could be relevant for planned ultrahigh intensity lasers.     

Effect of polarization on the structure of electromagnetic field and spatiotemporal distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>+</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>–</Superscript> pairs generated by colliding laser pulses

We have studied the production of electron–positron pairs due to polarization of vacuum in the presence of the strong electromagnetic field of two counterpropagating laser pulses. The structure of the electromagnetic field with the circular polarization has been determined using the 3D model of focused laser pulses, which was proposed by Narozhny and Fofanov. Analytic calculations have shown that the electric and magnetic fields are almost parallel to each other in the focal region when the laser pulses are completely transverse in the electric (E-wave) or magnetic (H-wave) field. On the other hand, the electric and magnetic fields are almost orthogonal when laser pulses consist of a mixture of E- and H-waves of the same amplitude. It has been found that although the latter configuration of colliding laser pulses has a much higher pair production threshold, it can generate much shorter electron–positron pulses as compared to the former configuration. The dependence of the production efficiency of pairs and their spatiotemporal distribution on the polarization of laser pulses has been analyzed using the structure of the electromagnetic field in the focal plane.     

Investigation of quark–antiquark interaction properties using leading particle measurements in ee annihilation

Measurements of heavy quark production in electron–positron collisions are used to analyse the strong interactions between quarks and antiquarks. A scaling behaviour is observed in distributions of the rapidity change of D^*, B^*, and B mesons. From these distributions information is obtained on the hadron formation time, effective quark masses, and the potential between quark–antiquark pairs. Predictions for fragmentation functions are presented.     

Electron-Positron Pair Production in a Strong Laser Field Enhanced by an Assisted High Frequency Weak Field

Electron-positron pair production in a strong laser field enhanced by an assisted high frequency weak field is investigated by solving the quantum Vlasov equation.The average and residual pair number densities are obtained for sinusoid electric field and it is found that the high frequency assisted weak field will enhance pair production significantly.There exists an optimal frequency of assisted field that makes the pair production number density get a maximum one,which is a few orders of higher than that without assisted field.We also discuss the other possible assisted fields.     

Effect of symmetrical frequency chirp on pair production

By using Dirac–Heisenberg–Wigner formalism we study electron–positron pair production for linear, elliptic, nearly circular, and circular polarizations of electric fields with symmetrical frequency chirp, and we obtain momentum spectra and pair yield. The difference of results among polarized fields is obvious for the small chirp. When the chirp parameter increases, the momentum spectra tend to exhibit the multiphoton pair generation that is characterized by the multi-concentric ring structure. The increase of the number density is also remarkable compared to the case of asymmetrical frequency chirp. Note that the dynamically assisted Schwinger mechanism plays an important role for the enhanced pair production in the symmetrical frequency chirp.     

Nonthermal radiation from black holes

We consider particle production by charged and rotating black holes. A simple derivation is presented for the leading term (n=1) in the Schwinger formula for pair creation by a constant electric field. The same approach is then applied to charged-particle production by a charged black hole. The effect is due to the tunneling of created particles through an effective Dirac gap. Nonthermal radiation from a rotating black hole can also be explained in an analogous way. In the leading semiclassical approximation, this approach is applicable to bosons as well.     

Controlling the divergence of high harmonics from solid targets: a route toward coherent harmonic focusing

Harmonic generation from relativistically oscillating plasma surfaces formed during the interaction of high contrast lasers with solid-density targets has been shown to be an efficient source of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray radiation. Recent work has demonstrated that the exceptional coherence properties of the driving laser can be mirrored in the emitted radiation, permitting diffraction limited performance and attosecond phase locking of the harmonic radiation. These unique properties may allow the coherent harmonic focusing (CHF) of high harmonics generated from solid density targets to intensities on the order of the Schwinger limit of 10²⁹ W cm^-2 with laser systems available in the near future [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 115002 (2004)] and thus pave the way for unique experiments exploring the nonlinear properties of vacuum on ultra-fast timescales. In this paper we investigate experimentally as well as numerically the prospect of focusing high harmonics under realistic experimental conditions and demonstrate, using particle in cell (PIC) simulations, that precise control of the wavefronts and thus the focusability of the generated harmonics is possible with pre-shaped targets.     

强激光场中真空极化效应

 通过求解狄拉克方程,对强激光场下真空极化问题进行了研究。理论计算结果表明：在仅随时间变化的电场下,要激发狄拉克海中负能级的电子,需要两个阈值条件,即激光场的电场强度大于等于10¹⁶ V/cm和激光场的持续时间大于等于10^-21 s。前者主要保证负能态电子有足够的能量跃迁到正能态,后者主要是保证电子在跃迁过程中动量亏损得以补偿。     

Non-Abelian gauge potentials for ultracold atoms with degenerate dark states

We show that the adiabatic motion of ultracold, multilevel atoms in spatially varying laser fields can give rise to effective non-Abelian gauge fields if degenerate adiabatic eigenstates of the atom-laser interaction exist. A pair of such degenerate dark states emerges, e.g., if laser fields couple three internal states of an atom to a fourth common one under pairwise two-photon-resonance conditions. For this so-called tripod scheme we derive general conditions for truly non-Abelian gauge potentials and discuss special examples. In particular we show that using orthogonal laser beams with orbital angular momentum an effective magnetic field can be generated that has a monopole component.     

Influence of silver doping on the photocatalytic activity of titania films

By means of X-ray diffraction, BET nitrogen adsorption, UV-Vis-NIR transmission spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photodegradation of methylene blue, effects of Ag doping on the microstructure and photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ films prepared by sol–gel method were studied. It is found that with a suitable amount (2–4 mol%), the Ag dopant increases the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ films. The mechanism can be attributed to that (1) anatase grain sizes decrease with Ag doping and the specific surface areas of doped TiO₂ films increase, the charge transfer in TiO₂ films is promoted; (2) by enhancing the electron–hole pairs separation and inhibiting their recombination, the Ag dopant enhances the charge pair separation efficiency for doped TiO₂ films.     

Quantum effects with an x-ray free-electron laser

A quantum kinetic equation coupled with Maxwell's equation is used to estimate the laser power required at an x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facility to expose intrinsically quantum effects in the process of QED vacuum decay via spontaneous pair production. A 9 -TW-peak XFEL laser with photon energy of 8.3 keV could be sufficient to initiate particle accumulation and the consequent formation of a plasma of spontaneously produced pairs. The evolution of the particle number in the plasma will exhibit non-Markovian aspects of the strong-field pair production process, and the plasma's internal currents will generate an electric field whose interference with that of the laser leads to plasma oscillations.