Nonlinear quantum electrodynamic and electroweak processes in strong laser fields

Abstract

Various nonlinear electrodynamic and electroweak processes in strong plane-wave laser fields are considered with an emphasis on short-pulse effects. In particular, the momentum distribution of photoproduced electron-positron pairs is calculated numerically and a semiclassical interpretation of its characteristic features is established. By proving the optical theorem, compact double-integral expressions for the total pair-creation probability are obtained and numerically evaluated. The exponential decay of the photon wave function in a plane wave is included by solving the Schwinger-Dyson equations to leading-order in the quasistatic approximation. In this respect, the polarization operator in a plane wave is investigated and its Ward-Takahashi identity verified. A classical analysis indicates that a photoproduced electron-positron pair recollides for certain initial conditions. The contributions of such recollision processes to the polarization operator are identified and calculated both analytically and numerically. Furthermore, the existence of nontrivial electron-spin dynamics induced by quantum fluctuations is verified for ultra-short laser pulses. Finally, the exchange of weak gauge bosons is considered, which is essential for neutrino-photon interactions. In particular, the axial-vector--vector coupling tensor is calculated and the so-called Adler-Bell-Jackiw (ABJ) anomaly investigated.