title: Nonlinear phase shift from photon-photon scattering in vacuum.
abstract: We show that QED nonlinear effects imply a phase correction to the linear evolution of electromagnetic waves in vacuum. We provide explicit solutions of the modified Maxwell equations for the propagation of a superposition of two plane waves and calculate analytically and numerically the corresponding phase shift. This provides a new framework for the search of all-optical signatures of photon-photon scattering in vacuum. In particular, we propose an experiment for measuring the phase shift in projected high-power laser facilities.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Modeling Group, InterTech. Departament d'Optica, Universitat de València, E-46100 Burjassot (València), Spain.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrando
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Michinel
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seco
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tommasini