Polarized γ-photon beams produced by collision of two ultrarelativistic electron beams

Many studies have shown that high-energy $\gamma$-photon beams can be efficiently generated via nonlinear Compton scattering driven by laser pulses with intensities greater than ${10}^{22}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ recently available in laboratories. Here we propose a laserless scheme to efficiently generate high-energy polarized $\gamma$-photon beams by collision of two ultrarelativistic electron beams. The self-generated field of a dense driving electron beam provides a strong deflection field for the other ultrarelativistic seeding electron beam. A QED Monte Carlo code based on the locally constant field approximation is employed to simulate the collision process, and the polarization properties of the $\gamma$ photons produced are investigated. The simulation results and theoretical analysis indicate that the photon polarization, including both linear and circular polarizations, can be tuned by changing the initial polarization of the seeding beam. If an unpolarized seeding beam is used, linearly polarized photons with an average polarization of 55% can be obtained. If the seeding beam is transversely (longitudinally) polarized, the linear (circular) polarization of photons above 3 GeV can reach 90% (67%), which is favorable for highly polarized, high-energy $\gamma$-photon sources.