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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2026
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| Accès en ligne: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.08359 |
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| _version_ | 1866917474747809792 |
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| author | Arakcheev, Alexey Barkai, Niv Vasilyev, Alexandr Schwartz, Osip |
| author_facet | Arakcheev, Alexey Barkai, Niv Vasilyev, Alexandr Schwartz, Osip |
| contents | In classical electrodynamics, light waves propagating in vacuum do not interact. In quantum physics, however, photon-photon interactions are mediated by virtual particles, giving rise to the electromagnetic nonlinearity of vacuum (EMNV). A direct measurement of EMNV would test a long-standing prediction of quantum electrodynamics and constrain new physics models. Despite its fundamental significance and extensive efforts to detect it, free-space EMNV has not yet been directly measured in the laboratory. Here, we propose a tabletop all-optical measurement of EMNV based on resonantly enhanced four-wave mixing in focusing optical resonators with a circulating power of a few megawatts. As a key experimental step toward this measurement, we demonstrate a resonator reaching a circulating power of 2.5 MW, approaching the parameter range needed to detect EMNV at the level predicted by quantum electrodynamics. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_08359 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Probing the electromagnetic nonlinearity of vacuum with continuous-wave lasers Arakcheev, Alexey Barkai, Niv Vasilyev, Alexandr Schwartz, Osip Optics In classical electrodynamics, light waves propagating in vacuum do not interact. In quantum physics, however, photon-photon interactions are mediated by virtual particles, giving rise to the electromagnetic nonlinearity of vacuum (EMNV). A direct measurement of EMNV would test a long-standing prediction of quantum electrodynamics and constrain new physics models. Despite its fundamental significance and extensive efforts to detect it, free-space EMNV has not yet been directly measured in the laboratory. Here, we propose a tabletop all-optical measurement of EMNV based on resonantly enhanced four-wave mixing in focusing optical resonators with a circulating power of a few megawatts. As a key experimental step toward this measurement, we demonstrate a resonator reaching a circulating power of 2.5 MW, approaching the parameter range needed to detect EMNV at the level predicted by quantum electrodynamics. |
| title | Probing the electromagnetic nonlinearity of vacuum with continuous-wave lasers |
| topic | Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.08359 |