High-energy photon hologram of a photon gas

Abstract

The photon hologram of a one-particle density matrix of a photon gas is derived including the case where the energy of a probe photon is above the electron-positron pair creation threshold. The explicit expressions for the holograms of a photon gas with one-particle density matrix in the form of a single Gaussian and of coherent and incoherent lattices of Gaussians are obtained. The conditions for resonant cones of coherent scattering by coherent and incoherent lattices are found. These conditions turn out to be different. The explicit expression for the dielectric susceptibility tensor of a photon gas and of a single photon prepared in arbitrary quantum states are derived on the probe photon mass-shell. It is established that a photon gas and a single photon behave in coherent photon scattering as a medium with linear and circular birefringence. This medium is transparent below the electron-positron creation threshold and is absorbing otherwise. In the high-energy limit, $\sqrt{s}\gg 2m$, it has the dielectric susceptibility tensor of a birefringent plasma except for a slow logarithmic scaling. It is shown that, for the probe photon energies of order $1$ GeV and higher, the energies of target photons of order $1$ eV and higher, and the photon gas density such that the classical intensity parameter is of order unity, the hologram of the photon gas can be measured with existing experimental facilities.