Lepton pair production in high-frequency laser fields

The production of electron-positron and muon-antimuon pairs in high-frequency laser fields via few-photon absorption is considered. It is assumed that an intense X-ray laser beam collides either with a relativistic ion beam or with a second, equally intense laser beam. We study the generation of free e (+) e (-) pairs, free mu(+)mu(-) pairs, and bound-free e (+) e (-) pairs where in the latter case the electron is born in a low-lying atomic orbit of the projectile nucleus. Effects resulting from the finite nuclear size, the laser's polarization state, and its magnetic field component are examined, which are testable experimentally by virtue of upcoming X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) devices.