Photons Collide in the Void: Quantum Simulation Creates Light Out of Nothing

Oxford and Lisbon researchers have created the first real-time 3D simulations of intense laser beams altering the quantum vacuum. These simulations recreate "vacuum four-wave mixing," where three laser pulses generate a fourth beam, potentially probing new physics at extreme intensities. The work comes as ultra-powerful lasers are being developed worldwide, with experiments planned to confirm photon-photon scattering in labs for the first time.