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Abstract
In high-intensity (> 10^21W/cm^2) laser-matter interactions gamma-ray photon emission
by the electrons can strongly aff?ect the electron's dynamics and copious numbers
of electron-positron pairs can be produced by the emitted photons. We show how these
processes can be included in simulations by coupling a Monte-Carlo algorithm describing
the emission to a particle-in-cell code. The Monte-Carlo algorithm includes quantum
corrections to the photon emission, which we show must be included if the pair production
rate is to be correctly determined. The accuracy, convergence and energy conservation
properties of the Monte-Carlo algorithm are analysed in simple test problems.