Strong field vacuum birefringence in plane wave pulses
Abstract By combining an adiabatic approach based on a ‘locally monochromatic’ approximation with a local Hilbert transform, it is demonstrated how vacuum birefringence in the strong field regime can be calculated using a rate approach suitable for Monte Carlo simulation codes. Results for the flipp...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2023-10-01
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| Series: | European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-12074-w |
| Summary: | Abstract By combining an adiabatic approach based on a ‘locally monochromatic’ approximation with a local Hilbert transform, it is demonstrated how vacuum birefringence in the strong field regime can be calculated using a rate approach suitable for Monte Carlo simulation codes. Results for the flipping of the photon’s polarisation (helicity) are benchmarked with evaluation of exact expressions in a circularly (linearly) polarised plane wave of finite extent. For the circularly polarised case, the Heisenberg–Euler approach predicts a null result; an approximation similar to the ‘locally constant’ form is presented, which recovers the correct low-energy scaling. Example probabilities are given for typical experimental parameters. |
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| ISSN: | 1434-6052 |