Neutrino pair emission off electrons in a strong electromagnetic wave field

Abstract

The emission of $ν\barν$ pairs off electrons in a polarized ultra-intense electromagnetic (e.g.\ laser) wave field is analyzed. We elaborate on the significance of non-linear electrodynamics effects (i.e., multi-photon processes) and the peculiarities of neutrino production. Special attention is devoted to the convergence of the reaction probabilities as a function of the number of absorbed photons. Expressions for large field intensities are provided. The asymmetry between the probabilities of electron and $μ+τ$ neutrino production depends on initial conditions such as energy of the wave field photons and the field intensity. These findings differ from the lowest order perturbative calculation of the reaction $γ+ e \to e' + ν\bar ν$.

24 pages, 16 figures