https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2008-00718-7
Quantum interaction among intense laser beams in vacuum
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Corresponding authors: dipiazza@mpi-k.de k.hatsagortsyan@mpi-k.de
Quantum electrodynamics (QED) predicts that electromagnetic fields interact among each other also in vacuum. We study the possibility of experimentally revealing this interaction by using soon available laser fields with intensities of order of 2. First, a few processes are first reviewed where vacuum polarization effects can be detected, like laser-assisted photon-photon scattering and the light diffraction by a strong standing wave. The possibility of enhancing these effects by using a plasma is also mentioned. Finally, the process of photon splitting in a laser field is discussed in detail together with its possible experimental observation.
© EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag, 2008
