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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

An Experimental Protocol for Femtosecond NIR/UV - XUV Pump-Probe Experiments with Free-Electron Lasers
Published on: October 23, 2018
Pair creation in QED-strong pulsed laser fields interacting with electron beams
Igor V Sokolov1, Natalia M Naumova, John A Nees
1Space Physics Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. igorsok@umich.edu
Abstract:
QED effects are known to occur in a strong laser pulse interaction with a counterpropagating electron beam, among these effects being electron-positron pair creation. We discuss the range of laser pulse intensities of J≥5×10(22) W/cm2 combined with electron beam energies of tens of GeV. In this regime multiple pairs may be generated from a single beam electron, some of the newborn particles being capable of further pair production. Radiation backreaction prevents avalanche development and limits pair creation. The system of integro-differential kinetic equations for electrons, positrons and γ photons is derived and solved numerically.

