A photon–photon collider based on synchrotron <i>γ</i> rays in hollow plasma channels

Liu Yi-Nuo; Hu Zhang-Hu; Lan Jie-Jie; Li Hao-Yuan; Xu Wang-Wen; Wang You-Nian

doi:10.1063/5.0278292

Volume 10 Issue 5

Sep. 2025

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Liu Yi-Nuo, Hu Zhang-Hu, Lan Jie-Jie, Li Hao-Yuan, Xu Wang-Wen, Wang You-Nian. A photon–photon collider based on synchrotron γ rays in hollow plasma channels[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2025, 10(5): 057205. doi: 10.1063/5.0278292

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Liu Yi-Nuo, Hu Zhang-Hu, Lan Jie-Jie, Li Hao-Yuan, Xu Wang-Wen, Wang You-Nian. A photon–photon collider based on synchrotron γ rays in hollow plasma channels[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2025, 10(5): 057205. doi: 10.1063/5.0278292

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A photon–photon collider based on synchrotron γ rays in hollow plasma channels

doi: 10.1063/5.0278292

School of Physics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China

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Corresponding author: a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: zhanghu@dlut.edu.cn
Received Date: 2025-04-29
Accepted Date: 2025-08-03

Available Online: 2025-11-28

Publish Date: 2025-09-01

Abstract

Abstract

We propose a photon–photon collider based on synchrotron gamma sources driven by relativistic electron beams in hollow plasma channels. The collimated (with a divergence angle of ∼1 mrad) and ultrabrilliant (>1028 photons s⁻¹⋅mrad⁻²⋅mm⁻² per 0.1% bandwidth at 0.6 MeV) photon beams are generated by strong electromagnetic fields induced by current filamentation instability, and up to ∼106 Breit–Wheeler (BW) pairs can be created per shot. Notably, the usage of hollow plasma channels not only enhances synchrotron radiation, but also allows flexible control of the produced photon beams, ensuring the alignment of the two colliding beams and maximizing the two-photon BW process. This setup has the advantage of a clean background by eliminating the yield from the nonlinear BW process, and the signal-to-noise ratio is higher than 10².

Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
Author Contributions
Y. N. Liu and Z. H. Hu developed the theoretical work. Y. N. Liu and H. Y. Li conducted the simulations. Y. N. Liu, Z. H. Hu, J. J. Lan, and W. W. Xu analyzed the data and produced the figures. Z. H. Hu, J. J. Lan, W. W. Xu, and H. Y. Li helped review and interpret the data. Y. N. Liu and Z. H. Hu wrote the Article. Z. H. Hu, and Y. N. Wang supervised the work. All authors have reviewed, discussed, and agreed to the complete statement.
Yi-Nuo Liu: Conceptualization (equal); Investigation (equal); Validation (equal); Writing – original draft (lead); Writing – review & editing (equal). Zhang-Hu Hu: Conceptualization (equal); Validation (equal); Writing – original draft (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal). Jie-Jie Lan: Writing – review & editing (equal). Hao-Yuan Li: Writing – review & editing (equal). Wang-Wen Xu: Writing – review & editing (equal). You-Nian Wang: Writing – review & editing (equal).
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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References(32)

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