The positronsthe antiparticle of the electroncould then be accelerated by the lasers electric field to produce a positron beam.
Their results arepublishedin Physical Review Letters.
The experimental set-up is possible, the release added, at laser intensities that currently exist.
An artist’s impression of a pulsar—a rapidly spinning neutron star.Illustration:Olena Shmahalo for NANOGrav
The researchers used simulations to test potential experimental set-ups and found a compelling one.
The photon-photon collider uses the Breit-Wheeler process to produce matter, meaning it annihilates gamma-rays to produce electron-positron pairs.
Spinning neutron stars are called pulsars, and their high-energy environment is where matter may be generated from light.
An animation of a pulsar, a rapidly spinning neutron star.Gif:NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Pulsars are also useful tools for measuring gravitational waves in space.
Though it is difficult to observe the ins-and-outs of pulsars from afar, physicists can attempt to simulate them.
The future possibilities at todays and tomorrows high-power laser facilities just became even more intriguing.
But for that to happen, an experiment will actually need to be built.
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