Excimer laser technology has played a commanding role in the study of nonlinear electromagnetic phenomenon. Examined herein is the possibility that the excimer concept could be lifted into the nuclear region for the generation of amplification in the gamma-ray range. There exists a fundamental structural/dynamic analogy that supports this possibility.
The derivation of an elementary figure of merit shows that the attainment of ultrahigh intensities suitable for probing the dynamics of the vacuum state is significantly facilitated by the use of coherent x-ray sources in the kiloelectronvolt regime. For the Xe(L) system at ħω ~ 4.5 keV, estimates indicate that an intensity sufficient for the observation of vacuum harmonic generation (~ 1027 W/cm2) can be reached with pulse energies in the 5 - 50 mJ range. The corresponding pulse energy for the Schwinger/Heisenberg Limit (~ 4.6 × 1029 W/cm2) is ~ 1.5 J. Measurements conducted at intensities in this range are expected to yield information about the cosmological “Dark Energy”, the mysterious centrally important entity that constitutes ~ 73% of the Universe.
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