Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray Pulsar

The process of resonant high-energy electron–positron pair production by an ultrarelativistic electron colliding with the field of an X-ray pulsar is theoretically investigated. Resonant kinematics of the process is studied in detail. Under the resonance condition, the intermediate virtual photon in...

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Main Authors: Georgii K. Sizykh, Sergei P. Roshchupkin, Victor V. Dubov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
Series:Universe
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/6/9/132
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author Georgii K. Sizykh
Sergei P. Roshchupkin
Victor V. Dubov
author_facet Georgii K. Sizykh
Sergei P. Roshchupkin
Victor V. Dubov
author_sort Georgii K. Sizykh
collection DOAJ
description The process of resonant high-energy electron–positron pair production by an ultrarelativistic electron colliding with the field of an X-ray pulsar is theoretically investigated. Resonant kinematics of the process is studied in detail. Under the resonance condition, the intermediate virtual photon in the X-ray pulsar field becomes a real particle. As a result, the initial process of the second order in the fine structure constant effectively reduces into two successive processes of the first order: X-ray-stimulated Compton effect and X-ray-stimulated Breit–Wheeler process. For a high-energy initial electron all the final ultrarelativistic particles propagate in a narrow cone along the direction of the initial electron momentum. The presence of threshold energy for the initial electron which is of order of 100 MeV for 1-KeV-frequency field is shown. At the same time, the energy spectrum of the final particles (two electrons and a positron) highly depends on their exit angles and on the initial electron energy. This result significantly distinguishes the resonant process from the non-resonant one. It is shown that the resonant differential probability significantly exceeds the non-resonant one.
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spelling doaj.art-f08ff99c315c4603a9776e7481b465a22023-11-20T11:00:39ZengMDPI AGUniverse2218-19972020-08-016913210.3390/universe6090132Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray PulsarGeorgii K. Sizykh0Sergei P. Roshchupkin1Victor V. Dubov2Department of Theoretical Physics, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Polytechnicheskaya 29, 195251 Saint Petersburg, RussiaDepartment of Theoretical Physics, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Polytechnicheskaya 29, 195251 Saint Petersburg, RussiaDepartment of Theoretical Physics, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Polytechnicheskaya 29, 195251 Saint Petersburg, RussiaThe process of resonant high-energy electron–positron pair production by an ultrarelativistic electron colliding with the field of an X-ray pulsar is theoretically investigated. Resonant kinematics of the process is studied in detail. Under the resonance condition, the intermediate virtual photon in the X-ray pulsar field becomes a real particle. As a result, the initial process of the second order in the fine structure constant effectively reduces into two successive processes of the first order: X-ray-stimulated Compton effect and X-ray-stimulated Breit–Wheeler process. For a high-energy initial electron all the final ultrarelativistic particles propagate in a narrow cone along the direction of the initial electron momentum. The presence of threshold energy for the initial electron which is of order of 100 MeV for 1-KeV-frequency field is shown. At the same time, the energy spectrum of the final particles (two electrons and a positron) highly depends on their exit angles and on the initial electron energy. This result significantly distinguishes the resonant process from the non-resonant one. It is shown that the resonant differential probability significantly exceeds the non-resonant one.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/6/9/132external field QEDX-ray pulsarshigh-energy particlesresonancetrident pair productionpositrons
spellingShingle Georgii K. Sizykh
Sergei P. Roshchupkin
Victor V. Dubov
Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray Pulsar
Universe
external field QED
X-ray pulsars
high-energy particles
resonance
trident pair production
positrons
title Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray Pulsar
title_full Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray Pulsar
title_fullStr Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray Pulsar
title_full_unstemmed Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray Pulsar
title_short Resonant Ultrarelativistic Electron–Positron Pair Production by High-Energy Electrons in the Field of an X-ray Pulsar
title_sort resonant ultrarelativistic electron positron pair production by high energy electrons in the field of an x ray pulsar
topic external field QED
X-ray pulsars
high-energy particles
resonance
trident pair production
positrons
url https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/6/9/132
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AT victorvdubov resonantultrarelativisticelectronpositronpairproductionbyhighenergyelectronsinthefieldofanxraypulsar