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Optical physics

Antimatter creation in an X-ray bath

Laser systems designed for fusion research are able to produce a high density of X-ray photons in a metal cavity. Scientists have now proposed that this environment could be used to create matter from light and test a fundamental prediction of quantum electrodynamics.

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Figure 1: A gamma ray enters a cavity filled with X-rays.

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Correspondence to Alexander Thomas.

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Thomas, A. Antimatter creation in an X-ray bath. Nature Photon 8, 429–431 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2014.118

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