All-optical nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair production using gamma-flash photons

Modern multi-PW laser technology will allow fundamental strong-field quantum electrodynamics processes to be extensively studied in the lab over the coming years. One of the key effects to be explored is the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler (BW) process: the conversion of high-energy photons into electron-positron pairs through the interaction with a high-power laser. A major challenge to observing the BW effect is first producing large numbers of high-energy gamma photons. In this work we outline a proposal to source these photons through a simple, highly efficient, all-optical setup by irradiating thin solid targets with a high-power laser to produce a so-called "gamma-flash". We consider the collision of these photons with a secondary laser, and systematically discuss the prospects for exploring the BW process at current and next-generation high-power laser facilities.