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HK: Fachverband Hadronen und Kerne
HK 67: Poster Session
HK 67.70: Poster
Donnerstag, 19. März 2009, 14:00–16:00, Audi-Max
Studying the Unruh Effect using high-power, short-pulse lasers* — •C. Lang1, P.G. Thirolf1, D. Habs1, A. Henig1, D. Jung1, D. Kiefer1, J. Schreiber1,2, and R. Schuetzhold3 — 1LMU München — 2Imperial College, London/UK — 3Univ. Duisburg-Essen
Understanding the quantum vacuum is one of the key challenges of fundamental physics. Electrons accelerated in the strong fields of high intensity lasers will experience a large acceleration granting access to the Unruh effect, where an accelerated electron will create entangled pairs of Unruh photons via non-inertial scattering of virtual photons from vacuum fluctuations. Using laser accelerated low-energy electrons (≈ 1 MeV) and counter-propagating brilliant X-rays (≈ 20 keV) acting as an undulator will accelerate the electrons such that entangled Unruh photon pairs of ca. 160 keV each will be created. The X-rays will be produced via Compton backscattering of optical photons off dense electron sheets, acting as relativistic mirrors [1]. About 103 Unruh photons/s are expected with a ratio between Unruh photon pairs and background from classical Larmor radiation of ≈ 0.004 [2]. Detection of the Unruh photons will be performed via Compton polarimetry using a 2D segmented planar Ge detector (20 mm thick) and a segmentation of 64 x 64 strips (width 1 mm). Unruh photons will be identified according to their specific energy, polarization and angular characteristics.
*Supported by the DFG Cluster of Excellence MAP (Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics).
[1] D. Habs et al., Appl. Phys. B 93, 349 (2008).
[2] P.G. Thirolf et al., subm. to Eur. Phys. Journ. D (2008).