Strong-field control of the $Z$-boson resonance in $e^+e^-$ collisions

Abstract:Resonant $Z$-boson production is a cornerstone of precision electroweak physics, with its vacuum line shape set by the $Z$ mass, width, and collision kinematics. We show that a strong laser field can significantly alter this picture. By treating the field nonperturbatively, we find that laser dressing of the incoming fermions alters the effective collision kinematics and opens laser-photon exchange channels, including multiphoton processes, in $e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions. As a result, the $Z$-resonance profile develops distinct intensity-dependent regimes, evolving from the vacuum limit to saturation at intermediate field strengths and to an approximately quadratic enhancement at higher intensities. Additionally, the polarization composition of the produced $Z$ bosons is redistributed. In particular, at high intensities the laser-induced contribution can compensate the intrinsic chiral asymmetry of the electroweak interaction, leading to nearly parity-balanced $Z$-boson production. Our results identify that strong classical fields can dynamically control electroweak resonance phenomena, opening a bridge between strong-field QED and high-energy collider physics.

arXiv:2606.09394 [hep-ph]

(or arXiv:2606.09394v1 [hep-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2606.09394 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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