Polarization of recoil photon in non-linear Compton process

Abstract

The polarization of recoil photon (${\gamma }^{\prime }$) in the non-linear Compton process $e+\vec{L}\to {\vec{\gamma }}^{\prime }+e^{\prime }$ in the interaction of a relativistic electron with a linearly polarized laser beam ($\vec{L}$) is studied within the Furry picture in the lowest-order, tree-level S matrix element. In particular, we consider the asymmetry of differential cross sections $\mathcal{A}$ for two independent axes describing the Compton process equal to the intrinsic spin variable ${\xi }_3^f$, that determines the polarization properties of ${\gamma }^{\prime }$. The sign and absolute value of the asymmetry determine the direction and degree of ${\gamma }^{\prime }$ polarization. We have analyzed the process in a wide range of laser intensity that covers existing and future experiments. Our results provide additional knowledge for studying nonlinear multi-photon effects in quantum electrodynamics and can be used in planning experiments at envisaged laser facilities.

Comments: 8 pages, 7 figures