Abstract
We study the effect of laser photon merging, or equivalently high harmonic generation, in the quantum vacuum subject to inhomogeneous electromagnetic fields. Such a process is facilitated by the effective nonlinear couplings arising from charged particle-antiparticle fluctuations in the quantum vacuum subject to strong electromagnetic fields. We derive explicit results for general kinematic and polarization configurations involving optical photons. Concentrating on merged photons in reflected channels which are preferable in experiments for reasons of noise suppression, we demonstrate that photon merging is typically dominated by the competing nonlinear process of quantum reflection, though appropriate polarization and signal filtering could specifically search for the merging process. As a byproduct, we devise a novel systematic expansion of the photon polarization tensor in plane wave fields.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 033007 |
Journal | Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 12 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics