Precision Measurement of Trident Production in Strong Electromagnetic Fields
Christian F. Nielsen, R. Holtzapple, Mads Middelhede Lund, Jeppe H. Surrow, Allan Sørensen, Marc B. Sørensen, E. Uggerhøj, CERN NA63
Abstract
We demonstrate experimentally that the trident process e^{-}→e^{-}e^{+}e^{-} in a strong external field, with a spatial extension comparable to the effective radiation length, is well understood theoretically. The experiment, conducted at CERN, probes values for the strong field parameter χ up to 2.4. Experimental data and theoretical expectations using the local constant field approximation show remarkable agreement over almost 3 orders of magnitude in yield.
Topics & Concepts
TridentElectromagnetic fieldPhysicsProduction (economics)Nuclear physicsQuantum electrodynamicsQuantum mechanicsEconomicsArchaeologyMacroeconomicsHistoryLaser-Plasma Interactions and DiagnosticsCrystallography and Radiation PhenomenaParticle Accelerators and Free-Electron Lasers