Abstract
A new process associated with the nonlinear optical properties of the electromagnetic quantum vacuum is described. It corresponds to the superradiant emission of photons, resulting from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with frequency ω0 with a counter-propagating high-harmonic signal with a spectrum of frequencies nω1, for n integer, in the absence of matter. Under certain conditions, photon emission from vacuum will be enhanced by the square of the number of intense spikes associated with the high-harmonic pulse. This occurs when the field created by the successive spikes is coherently emitted, as in typical superradiant processes involving atoms. Subradiant conditions, where the nonlinearity of quantum vacuum is entirely suppressed, can equally be defined.
Highlights
We study the possible existence of a new process, the superradiant photon scattering in quantum vacuum
This can occur when two intense laser pulses collide in the absence of matter, and one of these intense pulses is made of a superposition of high-harmonics with comparable amplitudes
We have studied a new process associated with the nonlinear optical properties of the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, as predicted by QED in the weak field approximation
Summary
All these processes, occurring in quantum vacuum in the presence of electromagnetic fields, are associated with the existence vacuum fluctuations. They are due to the formation and annihilation of virtual electron-positron pairs, creating a kind of virtual plasma where a variety of nonlinear optical phenomena can take place. We study the possible existence of a new process, the superradiant photon scattering in quantum vacuum. This can occur when two intense laser pulses collide in the absence of matter, and one of these intense pulses is made of a superposition of high-harmonics with comparable amplitudes.
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