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An antiferromagnetic order breaking simultaneously the time-reversal and space-inversion symmetries in topological insulators might give rise to dynamical axion-like fields in the form of longitudinal spin waves. The consequences of the associated axion-polariton state on the thermal radiation are investigated. Planck's radiation law is shown to exhibit remarkable anisotropic behavior as a result of the strong refraction caused by the heat-matter interaction. A crossover scenario at low temperature is identified and an associated regime in which the system's internal energy does not scale with the traditional fourth power of the temperature is revealed. We show that the polarization purity of the heat radiation and its angular distribution can be controlled via the magnetic field, paving the way toward a directional-tunable mechanism for thermal quanta manipulation and storage., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures

We present the motivation, experience and learnings from a data challenge conducted at a large pharmaceutical corporation on the topic of subgroup identification. The data challenge aimed at exploring approaches to subgroup identification for future clinical trials. To mimic a realistic setting, participants had access to 4 Phase III clinical trials to derive a subgroup and predict its treatment effect on a future study not accessible to challenge participants. 30 teams registered for the challenge with around 100 participants, primarily from Biostatistics organisation. We outline the motivation for running the challenge, the challenge rules and logistics. Finally, we present the results of the challenge, the participant feedback as well as the learnings, and how these learnings can be translated into statistical practice.

Interband transitions of electrons in a gapped graphene monolayer are highly stimulated near the Fermi surface when a high-frequency electric wave of weak intensity and a strong constant electric field are superposed in the plane of the flake. We consider this phenomenon equivalent to the Franz-Keldysh effect, paying particular attention to the regime where the photon energy linked to the fast-oscillating field is just below the graphene gap, so that the quantum transitions still occur through tunneling effects while being facilitated by the one-photon absorption channel. In the considered parameter regime the photo-catalyzed current linked to the described setup is shown to exceed the one driven by the strong field solely by several orders of magnitude. Conditions to relieve the impact of the field's finite extension are discussed, and a formula for the residual current density is derived. The robustness of our assessment supports the viability of detecting this phenomenon in graphene, thus providing a simulation of the dynamically-assisted Schwinger mechanism in QED., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, to appear in PRD

The overcritical regime of axion-electrodynamics (AED) is investigated. For magnetic fields larger than the characteristic scale linked to AED, quantum vacuum fluctuations due to axion-like fields can dominate over those associated with the electron-positron fields. This hypothetical regime of the dominance of AED over QED is predicted to induce strong birefringence and screening effects. We show that, if the magnetic field lines are curved, extraordinary photons could be canalized along the field direction. It is also shown that the running QED coupling depends on the magnetic field strength, and for certain energy regimes, it could be screened almost to zero, making the QED building blocks very weakly interacting between each other. The impact of this phenomenon on the radiation mechanism of pulsars is discussed., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

Experimental efforts toward the detection of the nonperturbative strong-field regime of the Breit-Wheeler pair creation process plan to combine incoherent sources of GeV $\gamma$ quanta and the coherent fields of tightly focussed optical laser pulses. This endeavour calls for a theoretical understanding of how the pair yields depend on the applied laser field profile. We provide estimates for the number of produced pairs in a setup where the high-energy radiation is generated via bremsstrahlung. Attention is paid to the role of the transversal and longitudinal focussing of the laser field, along with the incorporation of a Gaussian pulse envelope. We compare our corresponding results with predictions from plane-wave models and determine the parameters of focused laser pulses which maximize the pair yield at fixed pulse energy. Besides, the impact of various super-Gaussian profiles for the laser pulse envelope and its transverse shape is discussed., Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures

The Breit-Wheeler pair production process in $2+1$ dimensional spacetime is investigated. In the perturbative regime, non-vanishing rates at the energy threshold are found when odd numbers of photons take part on the reaction. This behaviour is understood as a direct consequence of the reduced dimensionality and resembles a corresponding prediction made in gapped graphene monolayers. In the non-perturbative strong field regime the effect of the dimensionality manifests itself in a different rate dependence on the quantum non-linearity parameter. The consequence of this deviation is discussed briefly in line with the applicability of perturbation theory. We argue that, in addition to large values of the quantum non-linearity parameter, the superrenormalisable character of quantum electrodynamics in $2+1$ dimensional spacetime might give rise to a breakdown of perturbation theory within certain energy scales., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

A possible setup for the experimental verification of linear Breit-Wheeler pair creation of electrons and positrons in photon-photon collisions is studied theoretically. It combines highly energetic bremsstrahlung photons, which are assumed to be generated by an incident beam of GeV electrons penetrating through a high-$Z$ target, with keV photons from an X-ray laser field, which is described as a focused Gaussian pulse. We discuss the dependencies of the pair yields on the incident electron energy, target thickness, laser parameters, and collision geometry. It is shown that, for suitable conditions which are nowadays in reach at X-ray laser facilities, the resulting number of created particles seems to be well accessible for enabling the first experimental observation of the linear Breit-Wheeler process $\gamma\gamma\to e^+e^-$., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

The spontaneous production of electron-positron pairs from the vacuum--in a field configuration composed of a high-frequency electric mode of weak intensity and a strong constant electric field--is investigated. Asymptotic expressions for the single-particle distribution function ruling this nonperturbative process are established by considering the low-density approximation in the Boltzmann-Vlasov equation. An analytical formula for the density rate of yielded particles is established which is shown to manifest a nonperturbative dependence on both the strong and weak electric fields and to interpolate between the tunneling and multi-photon regimes. It is shown that--under appropriate circumstances--the produced plasma of electrons and positrons might reach densities for which their recombinations into high-energy photons occurs copiously. On the basis of this feature, an experimental setup for observing the dynamically-assisted Schwinger effect is put forward., Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures

In a vicinity of the Fermi surface, graphene layers with bandgaps allow for closely simulating the vacuum of quantum electrodynamics and, thus, its yet unverified strong-field phenomenology with accessible field strengths. This striking feature is exploited to investigate a plausible materialization of dynamically assisted pair production through the analog production of light but massive pairs of Dirac quasiparticles. The process is considered in a field configuration combining a weak high-frequency electric mode and a strong low-frequency electric field oscillating in time. Its theoretical study is carried out from a quantum kinetic approach, similar to the one governing the spontaneous production of pairs in QED. We show that the presence of the weak assisting mode can strongly increase the number of produced massive Dirac pairs as compared with a setup driven by the strong field only. The efficiency of the process is contrasted, moreover, with the case of gapless graphene to highlight the role played by the quasiparticle mass., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

In a constant and homogeneous magnetic background, quantum vacuum fluctuations due to axion-like fields can dominate over those associated with the electron-positron fields. Considering the framework of axion-electrodynamics, the self-energy operator for the electromagnetic field is determined with an accuracy to second-order in the axion-diphoton coupling. This outcome is utilized for establishing modifications to the propagation characteristics of photons and to the Coulomb potential of a static pointlike charge. Notably, in the magnetosphere of a neutron star, the effect of photon capture by the magnetic field, known in QED as relating to gamma-quanta, is extended in axion electrodynamics to include X-ray photons with the result that a specially polarized part of the heat radiation from the surface is canalized along the magnetic field. Besides, for field strengths larger than the critical scale associated with this theory, the modified Coulomb potential is of Yukawa-type in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field at distances much smaller than the Compton wavelength of an axion, while along the field it follows approximately the Coulomb law at any length scale. We find that at unlimitedly large magnetic fields the longstanding problem -- overcome in QED -- that the ground-state energy of a hydrogen atom is unbounded from below, is reinstated. However, in axion-electrodynamics this unboundedness is cut off because the largest magnetic field treatable within this theory is limited by the unitarity of the associated scattering matrix., Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures

A consistent renormalization of a quantum theory of axion-electrodynamics requires terms beyond the minimal coupling of two photons to a neutral pseudoscalar field. This procedure is used to determine the self-energy operators of the electromagnetic and the axion fields with an accuracy of second-order in the axion-diphoton coupling. The resulting polarization tensor is utilized for establishing the axion-modified Coulomb potential of a static pointlike charge. In connection, the plausible distortion of the Lamb-shift in hydrogenlike atoms is established and the scopes for searching axionlike particles in high-precision atomic spectroscopy and in experiments of Cavendish-type are investigated. Particularly, we show that these hypothetical degrees of freedom are ruled out as plausible candidates for explaining the proton radius anomaly in muonic hydrogen. A certain loophole remains, though, which is linked to the nonrenormalizable nature of axion-electrodynamics., Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures

Spin-dependent Kapitza-Dirac scattering of electron beams from counterpropagating bichromatic laser waves in various polarization geometries is studied. The corresponding scattering probabilities are obtained by analytical and numerical solutions of the time-dependent Dirac equation, assuming a field frequency ratio of 2. When the fundamental field mode is circular-polarized, we show that spin dynamics are generally suppressed at low intensities, but can become distinct at high intensities. Conversely, when a linearly or elliptically polarized fundamental mode is combined with a second harmonic of circular polarization, strong spin effects arise already at low field intensities. In particular, a polarization configuration is identified which acts as a spin filter for free electrons., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures

Hypothetical oscillations of probe photons into axion-like particles might be revealed by exploiting the strong fields of high-intensity laser pulses. Considering an arbitrary plane-wave background, we determine the polarization tensor induced by the quantum fluctuations of the axion field and use it to calculate how the polarimetric properties of an initially linear-polarized probe beam are modified. We find that various experimental setups based on contemporary facilities and instrumentation might lead to new exclusion bounds on the parameter space of these particle candidates. The impact of the pulse shape on the discovery potential is studied via a comparison between the cases in which the wave is modulated by a Gaussian envelope and a $\sin^2$ profile. This analysis shows that the upper limits resulting from the ellipticity are relatively insensitive to this change, whereas those arising from the rotation of the polarization plane turn out to be more dependent on the field shape., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Photoproduction of electron-positron pairs by the strong-field Breit-Wheeler process in an intense laser field is studied. The laser field is assumed to consist of two consecutive short pulses, with a variable time delay in between. By numerical calculations within the framework of scalar quantum electrodynamics, we demonstrate that the time delay exerts a strong impact on the pair-creation probability. For the case when both pulses are identical, the effect is traced back to the relative quantum phase of the interfering S-matrix amplitudes and explained within a simplified analytical model. Conversely, when the two laser pulses differ from each other, the pair-creation probability depends not only on the time delay but, in general, also on the temporal order of the pulses., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

Laser-based searches of the yet unobserved vacuum birefringence might be sensitive for very light hypothetical particles carrying a tiny fraction of the electron charge. We show that, with the help of contemporary techniques, polarimetric investigations driven by an optical laser pulse of moderate intensity might allow for excluding regions of the parameter space of these particle candidates which have not been discarded so far by laboratory measurement data. Particular attention is paid to the role of a Gaussian wave profile. It is argued that, at energy regimes in which the vacuum becomes dichroic due to these minicharges, the transmission probability of a probe beam through an analyzer set crossed to the initial polarization direction will depend on both the induced ellipticity as well as the rotation of the initial polarization plane. The weak and strong field regimes, relative to the attributes of these minicharged particles, and the relevance of the polarization of the strong field are investigated., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

A spin-polarizing electron beam splitter is described which relies on an arrangement of linearly polarized laser waves of nonrelativistic intensity. An incident electron beam is first coherently scattered off a bichromatic laser field, splitting the beam into two portions, with electron spin and momentum being entangled. Afterwards, the partial beams are coherently superposed in an interferometric setup formed by standing laser waves. As a result, the outgoing electron beam is separated into its spin components along the laser magnetic field, which is shown by both analytical and numerical solutions of Pauli's equation. The proposed laser field configuration thus exerts the same effect on free electrons like an ordinary Stern-Gerlach magnet does on atoms., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Kapitza-Dirac scattering of nonrelativistic electrons from counterpropagating bichromatic laser waves of linear polarization is studied. The focus lies on the electronic spin dynamics in the Bragg regime when the laser fields possess a frequency ratio of two. To this end, the time-dependent Pauli equation is solved numerically, both in coordinate space and momentum space. Our numerical results are corroborated by analytical derivations. We demonstrate that, for certain incident electron momenta, the scattering crucially relies on the electron spin which undergoes characteristic Rabi-like oscillations. A parameter regime is identified where the Rabi oscillations reach maximum amplitude. We also briefly discuss spin-dependent Kapitza-Dirac scattering of protons., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. A (2016)

The production of particle-antiparticle pairs from the quantum field theoretic ground state in the presence of an external electric field is studied. Starting with the quantum kinetic Boltzmann-Vlasov equation in four-dimensional spacetime, we obtain the corresponding equations in lower dimensionalities by way of spatial compactification. Our outcomes in $2+1$-dimensions are applied to bandgap graphene layers, where the charge carriers have the particular property of behaving like light massive Dirac fermions. We calculate the single-particle distribution function for the case of an electric field oscillating in time and show that the creation of particle-hole pairs in this condensed matter system closely resembles electron-positron pair production by the Schwinger effect., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures

The creation of electron-positron pairs by the strong-field Breit-Wheeler process in intense short laser pulses is investigated in the framework of laser-dressed quantum electrodynamics. Regarding laser field parameters in the multiphoton regime, special attention is brought to the energy spectrum of the created particles, which can be reproduced and explained by means of an intuitive model. The model is based on the probabilities of multiphoton events driven by the spectral components of the laser pulse. It allows, in particular, to identify interferences between different pair production channels which exhibit a characteristic dependence on the laser carrier-envelope phase., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

Optical searches assisted by the field of a laser pulse might allow for exploring a variety of not yet detected dark matter candidates such as hidden-photons and scalar minicharged particles. These hypothetical degrees of freedom may be understood as a natural consequence of extensions of the Standard Model incorporating a hidden $\rm U(1)$-gauge sector. In this paper, we study the effects induced by both candidates on the propagation of a probe electromagnetic waves in the vacuum polarized by a long laser pulse of moderate intensity, this way complementing our previous study [JHEP \textbf{06}, $177$ ($2015$)]. We describe how the absence of a spin in the scalar charged carriers modifies the photon-paraphoton oscillations as compared with a fermionic minicharge model. In particular, we find that the regime close to their lowest threshold mass might provide the most stringent upper limit for minicharged scalars. The pure-laser based experiment investigated here could allow 23for excluding a sector in the parameter space of the particles which has not been experimentally ruled out by setups driven by dipole magnets. We explain how the sign of the ellipticity and rotation of the polarization plane acquired by a probe photon--in combination with their dependencies on the pulse parameters--can be exploited to elucidate the quantum statistics of the charge carriers., Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures

Coherent scattering of an electron beam by the Kapitza-Dirac effect from a standing laser wave which comprises two frequency components is studied. To this end, the Schr\"odinger equation is solved numerically with a suitable ponderomotive potential. Besides, an analytical solution for electron diffraction in the asymptotic domain of large field amplitudes is obtained and a mathematical model in reduced dimensionality for the scattering amplitude in the Bragg regime is presented. We demonstrate distinct interference signatures and relative phase effects when the standing wave contains a fundamental frequency and its second harmonic. The influence of the relative field intensities on the Rabi oscillation dynamics is also discussed., Comment: 8 Pages, 7 Figures

Polarimetric experiments driven by the strong field of a circularly polarized laser wave can become a powerful tool to limit the parameter space of not yet detected hidden-photons and minicharged particles associated with extra U(1) gauge symmetries. We show how the absorption and dispersion of probe electromagnetic waves in the vacuum polarized by such a background are modified due to the coupling between the visible U(1)-gauge sector and these hypothetical degrees of freedom. The results of this analysis reveal that the regime close to the two-photon reaction threshold can be a sensititive probe of these hidden particles. Parameters of modern laser systems are used to estimate the constraints on the corresponding coupling constants in regions where experiments driven by dipole magnets are less constricted. The role played by a paraphoton field is analyzed via a comparison with a model in which the existence of minicharges is assumed only. For both scenarios is found that the most stringent exclusion limit occurs at the lowest threshold mass; this one being determined by a certain combination of the field frequencies and dictated by energy momentum balance of the photo-production of a pair of minicharged particles. The dependencies of the observables on the laser attributes as well as on the unknown particle parameters are also analyzed., Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures

Production of electron-positron pairs from the quantum vacuum polarized by the superposition of a strong and a perturbative oscillating electric-field mode is studied. Our outcomes rely on a nonequilibrium quantum field theoretical approach, described by the quantum kinetic Boltzmann-Vlasov equation. By superimposing the perturbative mode, the characteristic resonant effects and Rabi-like frequencies in the single-particle distribution function are modified, as compared to the predictions resulting from the case driven by a strong oscillating field mode only. This is demonstrated in the momentum spectra of the produced pairs. Moreover, the dependence of the total number of pairs on the intensity parameter of each mode is discussed and a strong enhancement found for large values of the relative Keldysh parameter., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

The need for ever higher energies in lepton colliders gives rise to the investigation of new accelerator schemes for elementary particle physics experiments. One perceivable way to increase the collision energy would be to combine conventional lepton acceleration with strong laser fields, making use of the momentum boost a charged particle experiences inside a plane electromagnetic wave. As an example for a process taking place in such a laser-boosted collision, Higgs boson creation is studied in detail. We further discuss other possible particle production processes that could be implemented in such a collider scheme and specify the required technical demands., Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures

The nonperturbative regime of electron-positron pair creation by a relativistic proton beam colliding with a highly intense bichromatic laser field is studied. The laser wave is composed of a strong low-frequency and a weak high-frequency mode, with mutually orthogonal polarization vectors. We show that the presence of the high-frequency field component can strongly enhance the pair-creation rate. Besides, a characteristic influence of the high-frequency mode on the angular and energy distributions of the created particles is demonstrated, both in the nuclear rest frame and the laboratory frame., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

We investigate electron-positron pair creation in the interaction of a nuclear Coulomb field and a highly intense two-mode laser field. For bichromatic laser fields, we examine the differences arising for commensurable and incommensurable frequencies in a continuous variation of the laser frequency ratio and the quantum interference effects, which may occur in the commensurable case. We show that the interference manifests in the angular distributions and the total pair-production rates of the created particles. Additionally, by varying the amplitudes of the two modes we study pair creation in a monochromatic laser wave of arbitrarily elliptical polarization., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, LPHYS'13 Conference Proceedings

Production of particle-antiparticle pairs by a high-energy probe photon propagating through a high-intensity laser field is considered in the nonperturbative interaction regime. The laser field consists of a strong low-frequency and a weak high-frequency component. While for each component alone photoproduction of pairs is strongly suppressed, we show that their combination can largely amplify the pair production probability by facilitating to bridge the energetic barrier of the process. Our predictions can be tested by utilizing presently available high-intensity laser devices., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures