Experimental Determination of Gamma-Ray Polarization in Strong-Field Nonlinear Compton Scattering

Experimental Determination of Gamma-Ray Polarization in Strong-Field Nonlinear Compton Scattering | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Experimental Determination of Gamma-Ray Polarization in Strong-Field Nonlinear Compton Scattering Yan-Fei Li, Pengpei Xie, Mingyang Zhu, Xichen Hu, Yifei Li, Tianbing Wang, and 11 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9276128/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The polarization of gamma rays produced in strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED) is a fundamental and long-standing prediction, the verification of which has remained elusive, limiting both foundational tests and applications. Here, we report the first experimental measurement of gamma-ray polarization generated via all-optical nonlinear Compton scattering. Colliding a laser-wakefield-accelerated electron beam with an intense counter-propagating laser pulse reflected from a plasma mirror, we produce bright gamma rays in the strong-field regime (a 0 > 1). For gamma rays with a 0 ≈ 3, a linear polarization degree of ≈ 50% is measured via the azimuthal asymmetry of photoneutrons from a deuterium target, and independently verified by a Compton polarimeter. The results show excellent agreement with SFQED calculations employing the locally monochromatic approximation, while diverging from predictions based on the locally constant field approximation, highlighting the importance of quantum interference effects in this regime. Our work provides experimental evidence for polarization dynamics in SFQED, supports a key prediction of nonperturbative QED, and paves the way for compact, laser-driven sources of polarized gamma rays. Physical sciences/Physics/Plasma physics/Laser-produced plasmas Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files supplementary.pdf Supplemental Material : Experimental Determination of Gamma-Ray Polarization from Strong-Field Nonlinear Compton Scattering Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9276128","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":628055704,"identity":"8f0cb348-0308-4a61-9659-ec33c1dbb7ed","order_by":0,"name":"Yan-Fei Li","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPmYQacPAw8/AkABiMjYQ0sIG1pLGwCPZwJDYQJwWBogWBoMDENVEaGHnMfxckGAjY3wj4fljHgYb2Q0HmJ89wO8wHmPpGQlpPGZnDiQ28zCkGW84wGZuQECLgTTvj8M8ZscbQFoOJ244wMMmQciW3zwJ/3mMmxlAWv4TpcVMmifhAI8BO9iWA8RoYSuz5klI5pEA+mXmHINk45mH2czwauHnP7z5Nk+CnT3/jJyED28q7GT7jjc/w6uFgYEDFjw8CcDYAdLM+NUDAfsDGOMAQbWjYBSMglEwMgEAmHI/JAyAgO0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2832-275X","institution":"Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yan-Fei","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":628055705,"identity":"3810ed3a-a398-444f-a48e-3fc87beac396","order_by":1,"name":"Pengpei Xie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi’an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pengpei","middleName":"","lastName":"Xie","suffix":""},{"id":628055706,"identity":"bcba030f-2645-4e05-b52c-5b593c73026e","order_by":2,"name":"Mingyang Zhu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mingyang","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhu","suffix":""},{"id":628055707,"identity":"ac3d69b3-f714-4f3a-946e-ef20d512d9e6","order_by":3,"name":"Xichen Hu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5801-9430","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xichen","middleName":"","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":628055708,"identity":"e64fbd19-a58a-4dd0-91ae-18391c295530","order_by":4,"name":"Yifei Li","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9503-3467","institution":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yifei","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":628055709,"identity":"bdb5ca4f-3938-407e-830f-52804365026c","order_by":5,"name":"Tianbing Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi’an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tianbing","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":628055710,"identity":"f65130e0-9d4e-44e6-9093-7e1940034536","order_by":6,"name":"Bingjun Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi’an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bingjun","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":628055711,"identity":"bba1c169-550a-4f3c-971b-22e76c85dc3e","order_by":7,"name":"Huitong Zhai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Huitong","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhai","suffix":""},{"id":628055712,"identity":"394fb5fb-94ab-4c8f-9642-90437a2b6614","order_by":8,"name":"Bing-Zhan Shi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bing-Zhan","middleName":"","lastName":"Shi","suffix":""},{"id":628055713,"identity":"ae3d91b0-67e7-4891-8290-bd7818d4b39e","order_by":9,"name":"Zewei Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi’an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zewei","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":628055714,"identity":"5dc96379-3e60-4804-8e9d-1774be669282","order_by":10,"name":"Ruiqi Qin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi’an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ruiqi","middleName":"","lastName":"Qin","suffix":""},{"id":628055715,"identity":"a26d4551-e145-45c3-9920-c87b7a06058c","order_by":11,"name":"Zhengyang Zuo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi’an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhengyang","middleName":"","lastName":"Zuo","suffix":""},{"id":628055716,"identity":"fe3266d6-e9a9-497e-836d-3cd28b503aee","order_by":12,"name":"Jie Feng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jie","middleName":"","lastName":"Feng","suffix":""},{"id":628055717,"identity":"80e2f28d-4254-46d7-8d0a-7ab8be653d4e","order_by":13,"name":"Jinguang Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jinguang","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":628055718,"identity":"093762a3-63c0-402b-af90-ec01971d914c","order_by":14,"name":"Xin Lu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Laboratory of Optical Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xin","middleName":"","lastName":"Lu","suffix":""},{"id":628055719,"identity":"230050a9-de48-48f7-a490-4a98005defb0","order_by":15,"name":"Liming Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liming","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":628055720,"identity":"79a44310-2dab-46c6-9466-fc6d7bcdf0a9","order_by":16,"name":"Yutong Li","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8653-6698","institution":"Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yutong","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-31 07:37:01","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9276128/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9276128/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109067335,"identity":"6d6b61d3-4ba0-43ca-9653-b7b8603cf894","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-12 09:36:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1829223,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9276128/v1_covered_8ff4981a-8c11-4e49-9bcd-a2ff1dd95016.pdf"},{"id":107860924,"identity":"1bb401e9-d481-4567-bc32-7a4cdf2d34ea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-27 05:25:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":4543444,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplemental Material : Experimental Determination of Gamma-Ray Polarization from Strong-Field Nonlinear Compton Scattering","description":"","filename":"supplementary.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9276128/v1/6a14d23a048a17e8d4a1891b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Experimental Determination of Gamma-Ray Polarization in Strong-Field Nonlinear Compton Scattering","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9276128/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9276128/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The polarization of gamma rays produced in strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED) is a fundamental and long-standing prediction, the verification of which has remained elusive, limiting both foundational tests and applications. Here, we report the first experimental measurement of gamma-ray polarization generated via all-optical nonlinear Compton scattering. Colliding a laser-wakefield-accelerated electron beam with an intense counter-propagating laser pulse reflected from a plasma mirror, we produce bright gamma rays in the strong-field regime (a\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e \u003e 1). For gamma rays with a\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e ≈ 3, a linear polarization degree of ≈ 50% is measured via the azimuthal asymmetry of photoneutrons from a deuterium target, and independently verified by a Compton polarimeter. The results show excellent agreement with SFQED calculations employing the locally monochromatic approximation, while diverging from predictions based on the locally constant field approximation, highlighting the importance of quantum interference effects in this regime. Our work provides experimental evidence for polarization dynamics in SFQED, supports a key prediction of nonperturbative QED, and paves the way for compact, laser-driven sources of polarized gamma rays.","manuscriptTitle":"Experimental Determination of Gamma-Ray Polarization in Strong-Field Nonlinear Compton Scattering","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-27 05:24:47","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9276128/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-photonics","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nphoton","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Photonics](https://www.nature.com/nphoton/)","snPcode":"41566","submissionUrl":"https://mts-nphot.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex","title":"Nature Photonics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Research","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f15b2995-afdb-4763-adfd-90309433fec1","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 27th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2026-05-07T13:02:29+00:00","index":3,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2026-05-06T15:35:21+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":"This content is not available."}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":66848789,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Plasma physics/Laser-produced plasmas"},{"id":66848790,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-27T05:24:47+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-27 05:24:47","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9276128","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9276128","identity":"rs-9276128","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}