Simulating Einstein's formula, scientists prove that light can create matter

If proven experimentally, this would be another confirmation of Einstein's famous formula.

Einstein's famous formula, E=mc2 , established the relationship between mass and energy, in which the energy of an object is equal to its mass multiplied by the square of the speed of light. This simple formula has paved the way for humanity to convert many types of matter into new forms of energy never before known.

But if we reverse the problem, can light and energy be transformed into matter as described in Einstein's formula?

A team of scientists at Osaka University and UC San Diego recently simulated the collision of photons of light using lasers . The simulations showed that these collisions would produce pairs of electrons and positrons. The positrons – particles with opposite properties to electrons – would then be accelerated in the electric field of the laser to produce a beam of positrons.

The collisions will create pairs of electrons and positrons. (Illustration).

'We feel our proposal is experimentally feasible, and we are looking to implement it in the real world,' said Alexey Aerfiev, a physicist at UC San Diego and co-author of the study.

According to the study's paper, a real-world experiment is feasible given today's capabilities for deploying high-density lasers. The researchers used simulations to test the possibilities of the experiment and found an appealing solution. A collider that uses the Breit-Wheeler process to produce matter, meaning it can annihilate plasma jets to produce positron-electron pairs.

This also applies to extreme physical phenomena—where stars are born and die, where time stands still—that are common in the far reaches of the universe. In 2021, another group of researchers suggested that the same phenomena could occur in the cores of neutron stars—one of the final stages of a massive star's collapse—which are typically incredibly dense. Here, dark matter particles could be converted into photons of light.

Pulsars are seen as useful tools for measuring gravitational waves. (Illustration).

Neutron stars that spin at extremely fast speeds are called pulsars, and their ultra-high-energy environments are where light can create matter. Pulsars can spin at thousands of times per second, emit gamma rays, and have some of the strongest magnetic fields known, according to NASA.

Pulsars are seen as useful tools for measuring gravitational waves in space. Earlier this year, five different pulsar research teams said they had found what they believed to be the first glimpse of a gravitational wave background—essentially, a constant murmur of gravitational waves that ripples through spacetime at a nearly imperceptible rate.

Although it is difficult to observe the interior and exterior of a pulsar from a distance, physicists think it is possible to simulate them.

"This research demonstrates the potential of exploring the mysteries of the universe in laboratory conditions," said Vyacheslav Lukin, program director at the National Science Foundation. " The future possibilities of current and upcoming high-energy laser facilities will become even more exciting."

If successful, the experiment would also open up a new way to understand the universe, by bringing physical phenomena that occur in faraway places into a laboratory environment. But for that to happen, scientists first need to figure out how to perform the experiment.