Pair production seeded by electrons in noble gases as a method for the laser intensity diagnostics

Abstract

In this study we explore the possibility of using the process of electron-positron pair creation in strong laser fields as a tool for measuring the intensity of the corresponding laser radiation. In the initial state we consider either free electron gas or gas of neutral xenon, the electrons of which get ionized. Once these seed electrons gain sufficient energy in the external laser field, they can emit high-energy photons which subsequently decay producing electron-positron pairs via the Breit-Wheeler mechanism. By detecting the resulting positrons, one can recover the value of the laser intensity by means of the one-to-one correspondences deduced in the present investigation. We analyze two different configurations of the external field: the setup involving an individual focused laser pulse and the combination of two counterpropagating laser pulses. Performing numerical calculations and analyzing their accuracy, we demonstrate that based on our estimates, the laser intensity can be determined within the range $10^{23}$-$10^{26}~\text{W}/\text{cm}^2$ with a relative uncertainty of $10$-$50 \%$.