Performance of a Sagnac interferometer to observe vacuum optical nonlinearity

In quantum electrodynamics, vacuum becomes a nonlinear optical medium: its optical index should be modified in the presence of intense external electromagnetic fields. The DeLLight project (Deflection of Light by Light) aims to observe this effect using intense focused femtosecond laser pulses delivered by LASERIX. The principle is to measure with a Sagnac interferometer the deflection of a low-intensity focused pulse (probe) crossing the vacuum index gradient induced by a high-intensity pulse (pump). A Sagnac interferometer working with femtosecond laser pulses has been developed for the DeLLight project. Compared to previous prototypes, the interferometer now includes the focusing of the probe beam in the interaction area. In this article, we measure and characterize the critical experimental parameters limiting the sensitivity of the interferometer, namely, the extinction factor, the spatial resolution, and the waist at focus of the probe pulse. We discuss future improvements.