Table-top creation of entangled multi-keV photon pairs via the Unruh effect

Electrons moving in a strong periodic electromagnetic field (e.g., laser or undulator) may convert quantum vacuum fluctuations into pairs of entangled photons, which can be understood as a signature of the Unruh effect. Apart from verifying this striking phenomenon, the considered effect may allow the construction of a table-top source for entangled photons (``photon pair laser'') and the associated quantum-optics applications in the multi-keV regime with near-future facilities. 04.62.+v, 12.20.Fv, 41.60.-m, 42.50.Dv.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Sub-millimeter nuclear medical imaging with high sensitivity in positron emission tomography using beta-gamma coincidences

We present a nuclear medical imaging technique, employing triple-gamma trajectory intersections from beta^+ - gamma coincidences, able to reach sub-millimeter spatial resolution in 3 dimensions with a reduced requirement of reconstructed intersections per voxel compared to a conventional PET reconstruction analysis. This '$\gamma$-PET' technique draws on specific beta^+ - decaying isotopes, simultaneously emitting an additional photon. Exploiting the triple coincidence between the positron annihilation and the third photon, it is possible to separate the reconstructed 'true' events from background. In order to characterize this technique, Monte-Carlo simulations and image reconstructions have been performed. The achievable spatial resolution has been found to reach ca. 0.4 mm (FWHM) in each direction for the visualization of a 22Na point source. Only 40 intersections are sufficient for a reliable sub-millimeter image reconstruction of a point source embedded in a scattering volume of water inside a voxel volume of about 1 mm^3 ('high-resolution mode'). Moreover, starting with an injected activity of 400 MBq for ^76Br, the same number of only about 40 reconstructed intersections are needed in case of a larger voxel volume of 2 x 2 x 3~mm^3 ('high-sensitivity mode'). Requiring such a low number of reconstructed events significantly reduces the required acquisition time for image reconstruction (in the above case to about 140 s) and thus may open up the perspective for a quasi real-time imaging.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figutes, 3 table

Probing the semi-macroscopic vacuum by higher-harmonic generation under focused intense laser fields

The invention of the laser immediately enabled the detection of nonlinear photon-matter interactions, as manifested for example by Franken et al.'s detection of second-harmonic generation. With the recent advancement in high-power, high-energy lasers and the examples of nonlinearity studies of the laser-matter interaction by virtue of properly arranging lasers and detectors, we envision the possibility of probing nonlinearities of the photon interaction in vacuum over substantial space-time scales, compared to the microscopic scale provided by high-energy accelerators. Specifically, we introduce the photon-photon interaction in a quasi-parallel colliding system and the detection of higher harmonics in that system. The method proposed should realize a far greater sensitivity of probing possible low-mass and weakly coupling fields that have been postulated. With the availability of a large number of coherent photons, we suggest a scheme for the detection of higher harmonics via the averaged resonant production and decay of these postulated fields within the uncertainty of the center-of-mass energy between incoming laser photons. The method carves out a substantial swath of new experimental parameter regimes on the coupling of these fields to photons, under appropriate laser technologies, even weaker than that of gravity in the mass range well below 1 eV.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optic

Signatures of the Unruh effect from electrons accelerated by ultra-strong laser fields

We calculate the radiation resulting from the Unruh effect for strongly accelerated electrons and show that the photons are created in pairs whose polarizations are maximally entangled. Apart from the photon statistics, this quantum radiation can further be discriminated from the classical (Larmor) radiation via the different spectral and angular distributions. The signatures of the Unruh effect become significant if the external electromagnetic field accelerating the electrons is not too far below the Schwinger limit and might be observable with future facilities. Finally, the corrections due to the birefringent nature of the QED vacuum at such ultra-high fields are discussed. PACS: 04.62.+v, 12.20.Fv, 41.60.-m, 42.25.Lc.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

On Retardation Effects in Space Charge Calculations Of High Current Electron Beams

Laser-plasma accelerators are expected to deliver electron bunches with high space charge fields. Several recent publications have addressed the impact of space charge effects on such bunches after the extraction into vacuum. Artifacts due to the approximation of retardation effects are addressed, which are typically either neglected or approximated. We discuss a much more appropriate calculation for the case of laser wakefield acceleration with negligible retardation artifacts due to the calculation performed in the mean rest frame. This presented calculation approach also aims at a validation of other simulation approaches