Hannover 2010 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 30: Quantum Effects: QED II / Interference and Correlations III

Q 30.4: Talk

Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 14:45–15:00, A 320

A matterless double-slit — •Ben King, Antonino Di Piazza, and Christoph H. Keitel — Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg

Quantum electrodynamics predicts that photons can interact with one another non-linearly in vacuum. When the intensity of the corresponding electromagnetic fields is sufficiently large, the macroscopic effect of this miniscule cross-section becomes measurable [1]. We demonstrate how a scenario, in which photons from a probe laser are scattered by two, strongly-focused, ultra-intense laser beams, can be regarded as a novel double-slit experiment, devoid of material constituents. It is shown that with the next generation of strong lasers, one can in principle measure the corresponding diffraction pattern [2].

[1] V. B. Berestetskii, L. P. Pitaevskii, E.M. Lifshitz, Quantum Electrodynamics, (Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996)

[2] B. King, A. Di Piazza, C. H. Keitel, Nature Photonics (in press).