Role of vacuum polarization for the annihilation channel in a strong laser field

Abstract: We consider vacuum polarization effects in the one-photon annihilation channel within a kinetic description of the e+ e- plasma produced from the vacuum in the focal spot of counter-propagating laser beams. This entails essential changes in the structure of the photon kinetic equation. We investigate the domain of large adiabaticity parameters gamma >> 1 where the photon radiation turns out to be very small. A more thorough examination of the domain gamma < 1 needs separate investigation. However, an exploratory study has shown that the one-photon annihilation channel can lead for some domains of laser field parameters (e.g., for the XFEL) to contributions accessible for observation.