Electron-laser vacuum breakdown in head-on collision of relativistic electrons with intense laser pulse

The phenomenon of electron-laser vacuum breakdown is the multiple cascade production of electron-positron pairs in head-on collision of a beam of relativistic electrons with an intense laser pulse. This effect was first predicted by the author in 1996 [1] and further developed in [2]. In the present paper, an analytical expression for the total number of produced particles is obtained using the generalized Heitler model. The model results are shown to be in good agreement with the estimates of the pioneering works. An analysis of modern laser facilities (ELI, XCELS, European XFEL, Russian projects) is carried out and estimates of the expected effects are given. At ELI and XCELS class facilities, the quantum nonlinearity parameter can reach 60--150, corresponding to the deeply nonlinear QED regime with multiplicity up to 100 particles per seed electron. Experimental confirmation of the effect is expected in the coming years.