Abstract
The process of the photon splitting, γ → γγ , is investigated in the presence of strongly magnetized charge-asymmetric cold plasma. The dispersion properties of photons and the new polarization selection rules are obtained in such plasma. The absorption rate of the leading photon splitting channel are calculated with taking account of the photon dispersion and wave function renormalization. In addition, a comparison of the photon splitting and the Compton scattering processes is performed.
Highlights
The process of photon splitting into two photons is a prominent example of the external active medium influence on the reactions with elementary particles
Because the photon splitting has no threshold, high-energy photons propagating at very small angles to the magnetic field in the neutron star magnetospheres may split before reaching the threshold of the pair production
It is connected with the appearance of the plasma frequency in the presence of the real electrons which can be defined from the equation ω2pl − κ(2)(ωpl, k → 0) = 0. These facts lead to new polarization selection rules: in the region q2 > 0, a new photon splitting channel γ2 → γ1γ1 forbidden in the magnetic field without plasma, is possible, while the splitting channels γ1 → γ2γ2 and γ1 → γ1γ2 allowed in the pure magnetic field, are forbidden
Summary
The process of photon splitting into two photons is a prominent example of the external active medium influence on the reactions with elementary particles. Because the photon splitting has no threshold, high-energy photons propagating at very small angles to the magnetic field in the neutron star magnetospheres may split before reaching the threshold of the pair production This process could change the production efficiency of electron-positron pairs, required for a detectable radio emission [10,11,12,13]. Using the expansion of the electron propagator over the magnetic field strength, the amplitude and the absorption coefficient of the photon splitting were calculated in the high energy limit. The self-consistent investigation of the photon splitting/merging and the Compton scattering including modifications of both dispersion relations and the process amplitude in magnetized plasma is provided in the recent paper [8]. From the point of of possible astrophysical applications, such situation is, in our opinion, more realistic, and it is realized, for example, in the surface layer of a neutron star, where the process γ → γγ can play an important role in forming an emission spectrum in this region (see, for example, Ref. [21])
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