Probing vacuum structures deformed by high intense fields is of great interest in general. In the context of quantum electrodynamics (QED), the vacuum exposed by a linearly polarized high-intensity laser field is expected to show birefringence. We consider the combination of a 10 PW laser system to pump the vacuum and 1 GeV photons to probe the birefringent effect. The vacuum birefringence can be measured via the polarization flip of the probe $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-rays which can also be interpreted as phase retardation of probe photons. We provide theoretically how to extract phase retardation of GeV probe photons via pairwise topology of the Bethe-Heitler process in a polarimeter and then evaluate the measurability of the vacuum birefringence via phase retardation given a concrete polarimeter design with a realistic set of laser parameters and achievable pulse statistics.

Probing vacuum birefringence under a high-intensity laser field with gamma-ray polarimetry at the GeV scale

The interaction of an unpolarized electron beam with a counterpropagating ultraintense linearly polarized laser pulse is investigated in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. We employ a semiclassical Monte Carlo method to describe spin-resolved electron dynamics, photon emissions and polarization, and pair production. Abundant high-energy linearly polarized gamma photons are generated intermediately during this interaction via nonlinear Compton scattering, with an average polarization degree of more than 50%, which further interacting with the laser fields produce electron-positron pairs due to nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process. The photon polarization is shown to significantly affect the pair yield by a factor beyond 10%. The considered signature of the photon polarization in the pair's yield can be experimentally identified in a prospective two-stage setup. Moreover, the signature can serve also for the polarimetry of high-energy high-flux gamma photons with a resolution well below 1% with currently achievable laser facilities.

pdf/high-energy-gamma-photon-polarization-in-nonlinear-breit-51myj4pjv0.pdf

High-energy gamma-photon polarization in nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production and gamma-polarimetry

High-energy astrophysics has yet to exploit the unique and important information that polarimetry could provide, largely due to the limited sensitivity of previously available polarimeters. In recent years, numerous efforts have been initiated to develop instruments with the sensitivity required for astronomical polarimetry over the 100 eV to 10 GeV band. Time projection chambers (TPCs), with their high-resolution event imaging capability, are an integral part of some of these efforts. After a brief overview of current astronomical polarimeter development efforts, the role of TPCs will be described in more detail. These include TPCs as photoelectric X-ray polarimeters and TPCs as components of polarizationsensitive Compton and pair-production telescopes.

TPCs in high-energy astronomical polarimetry

A high-energy photon polarimeter for astrophysics studies in the energy range from 10 MeV to 800 MeV is considered. The proposed concept uses a stack of silicon micro-strip detectors where they play the roles of both a converter and a tracker. The purpose of this paper is to outline the parameters of such a polarimeter and to estimate the productivity of measurements. Our study supported by a Monte Carlo simulation shows that with a one-year observation period the polarimeter will provide 6% accuracy of the polarization degree for photon energies above 100 MeV, which would be a significant advance relative to the currently explored energy range of a few MeV. The proposed polarimeter design could easily be adjusted to the specific photon energy range to maximize efficiency if needed.

High energy photon polarimeter for astrophysics

Over the past few decades impressive progress has been made in the field of photon polarimetry, especially in the hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray energy regime. Measurements of the linear degree of polarization for some of the most energetic astrophysical sources, such as Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) or Blazars, is now possible, at energies below the pair creation threshold. As such, a new window has been opened into understanding exact nature of the non-thermal emission mechanisms responsible for some of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. There are still many open questions, and active debates, such as the discrimination between leptonic vs. hadronic models of emission for Blazars or ordered vs random field models for GRBs. Since the competing models predict different levels of linear photon polarization at energies above 1 MeV, gamma-ray polarimetry in that energy band could provide additional crucial insights. However, no polarimeter for gamma-rays with energies above 1MeV has been flown into space, as the sensitivity is severely limited by a quick degradation of the angular resolution and by multiple Coulomb scatterings in the detector. Over the past few years a series of proposals and demonstrator instruments that aim to overcome those inherent difficulties have been put forth, and the prospects look promising.

Gamma Ray polarimetry; a new window for the non-thermal Universe

Electron-positron pair production, the main process for high energy photon interaction with matter, has a large analyzing power for linear polarized photons. Our calculations show that in the GeV energy range a compact polarimeter based on silicon micro-strip detectors is feasible. We calculated the cross section as a function of the angle between the polarization plane and the line between positron and electron positions in the detector. For a thin radiator and equal energies of the positron and electron, the ratio sigma{parallel}/sigma{perpendicular} is about 1.6. At a beam intensity of 10{sup 6} photons per second a polarization measurement with a 1% statistical accuracy will require less than one hour of data taking.

https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc739164/m2/1/high_res_d/803299.pdf

A Pair Polarimeter for Linearly Polarized High Energy Photons

Electron–positron pair production, the main process for high-energy photon interaction with matter, has a large analyzing power for linear polarized photons. Our calculations show that in the GeV energy range a compact polarimeter based on silicon micro-strip detectors is feasible. We calculated the cross-section as a function of the angle between the polarization plane and the line between positron and electron positions in the detector. For a thin radiator and equal energies of the positron and electron the ratio σ ∥ / σ ⊥ is about 1.6. At a beam intensity of 10 6 photons per second, a polarization measurement with a 1% statistical accuracy will require less than 1 h of data taking.

/pdf/a-pair-polarimeter-for-linearly-polarized-high-energy-2015gxj62d.pdf

A pair polarimeter for linearly polarized high-energy photons

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A Pair Polarimeter for Linearly Polarized High Energy Photons

A pair polarimeter for linearly polarized high-energy photons