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Nature Photonics doi:10.1038/nphoton.2014.95.
O. J. Pike, F. Mackenroth, E. G. Hill & S. J. Rose.
Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK &
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
ABSTRACT
The ability to create matter from light is amongst the most striking predictions of quantum electrodynamics. Experimental signatures of this have been reported in the scattering of ultra-relativistic electron beams with laser beams, intense laser–plasma interactions and laser-driven solid target scattering. However, all such routes involve massive particles. The simplest mechanism by which pure light can be transformed into matter, Breit–Wheeler pair production (γγ′ 
e+e−), has never been observed in the laboratory. Here, we present the design of a new class of photon–photon collider in which a gamma-ray beam is fired into the high-temperature radiation field of a laser-heated hohlraum. Matching experimental parameters to current-generation facilities, Monte Carlo simulations suggest that this scheme is capable of producing of the order of 105 Breit–Wheeler pairs in a single shot. This would provide the first realization of a pure photon–photon collider, representing the advent of a new type of high-energy physics experiment.
