Nonlinear Bethe-Heitler pair creation with attosecond laser pulses at the LHC

The creation of lepton pairs (e(+)e(-) and mu(+)mu(-)) via multiphoton absorption in collisions of ultrarelativistic ion beams with ultrashort high-frequency laser pulses is considered. Both the free and the bound-free production channels are addressed, where in the latter case the negatively charged lepton is created in a bound atomic state. It is shown that these nonlinear QED processes are observable when a table-top source of intense xuv or X-ray laser radiation is operated in conjunction with the LHC. We discuss the relative effectiveness of protons versus Pb ions and specify for each pair production channel the most suitable collision system. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.