  The quantum electrodynamical vacuum polarization effects arising in the
collision of a high-energy proton beam and a strong, linearly polarized laser
field are investigated. The probability that laser photons merge into one
photon by interacting with the proton`s electromagnetic field is calculated
taking into account the laser field exactly. Asymptotics of the probability are
then derived according to different experimental setups suitable for detecting
perturbative and nonperturbative vacuum polarization effects. The
experimentally most feasible setup involves the use of a strong optical laser
field. It is shown that in this case measurements of the polarization of the
outgoing photon and and of its angular distribution provide promising tools to
detect these effects for the first time.
