Quantum Electrodynamics Processes Research Articles

Probability of radiation of twisted photons in the infrared domain

The infrared asymptotics of the probability of radiation of twisted photons in an arbitrary scattering process of quantum electrodynamics in vacuum is investigated. This asymptotics is universal and corresponds to the radiation produced by a classical current. Such radiation is known as edge radiation. We represent it in terms of twisted photons, and exact analytical formulas for the average number of radiated twisted photons are derived. We find the average projection of the total angular momentum of the edge radiation and the angular momentum per photon. It is shown that edge radiation can be used as a source of twisted photons with a large angular momentum. Moreover, this radiation can be employed as a superradiant coherent source of twisted photons in the infrared domain, in particular, the THz part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Several general selection rules for the radiation and absorption of twisted photons are proved. In particular, these selection rules allow one to modulate the one-particle radiation probability by means of scattering of charged particles on symmetrically arranged crystals.

Laser-driven plasma pinching in e−e+ cascade

The cascaded production and dynamics of electron-positron plasma in ultimately focused laser fields of extreme intensity are studied by three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations with the account of the relevant processes of quantum electrodynamics (QED). We show that, if the laser facility provides a total power above 20PW, it is possible to trigger not only a QED cascade but also pinching in the produced electron-positron plasma. The plasma self-compression in this case leads to an abrupt rise of the peak density and magnetic (electric) field up to at least 10^{28}cm^{-3} and 1/20 (1/40) of the Schwinger field, respectively. Determining the actual limits and physics of this process might require quantum treatment beyond the used standard semiclassical approach. The proposed setup can thus provide extreme conditions for probing and exploring fundamental physics of the matter and vacuum.

On quantum electrodynamic processes in plasmas interacting with strong lasers

In the realm of laser-plasma interactions, if the laser intensity is strong enough, quantum effects play a significant role. Due to the large separation between the length scale at which quantum electrodynamic processes form and both the typical separation between particles in a plasma and the wavelength of optical lasers, it is possible in many situations of interest to take into account quantum electrodynamic processes in a fairly straightforward way. If one considers plasmas of increasingly large densities, the presence of many particles can render potentially unavoidable a full quantum treatment of the dynamics. Here, two kinds of multi-particle effects are discussed within strong-field Quantum Electrodynamics. First, we show how a correct description of coherence effects in the radiation emitted by a two-electron wave packet in a strong laser field requires a quantum treatment also if the quantum nonlinearity parameter of the system is much smaller than unity. Secondly, we indicate that at solid-state densities the presence of several particles within the formation region of radiation by an electron in a strong electromagnetic field may alter the emission probability itself, such that in general it is not possible to disentangle collective effects from quantum effects.

Nonequilibrium quantum electrodynamics: Entropy production during equilibration

We study nonequilibrium processes of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) with relativistic charged Bose fields. The aim is to describe thermal equilibration, based on the Klein–Gordon equation for background coherent fields and the Kadanoff–Baym (KB) equation including the leading-order (LO) self-energy of the coupling expansion (the Hartree–Fock approximation). We introduce a gauge invariant relativistic kinetic entropy current at the first-order in the gradient expansion of the KB equation and we show the proof of the H-theorem in d + 1 dimensions (d = 1, 2, 3) in the presence of nonzero background coherent fields. Finally, we present numerical simulation in 1 + 1 dimensions and aim to investigate whether decoherence of the system occurs or not. We find that equilibrium states are realized with remaining background coherent charged Bose and photon fields by preparing distributions of incoherent charged particles asymmetrically in frequency mode as initial conditions in the KB equation even if LO self-energy is present.

Interpolating quantum electrodynamics between instant and front forms

The instant form and the front form of relativistic dynamics proposed by Dirac in 1949 can be linked by an interpolation angle parameter $\delta$ spanning between the instant form dynamics (IFD) at $\delta =0$ and the front form dynamics which is now known as the light-front dynamics (LFD) at $\delta =\pi/4$. We present the formal derivation of the interpolating quantum electrodynamics (QED) in the canonical field theory approach and discuss the constraint fermion degree of freedom which appears uniquely in the LFD. The constraint component of the fermion degrees of freedom in LFD results in the instantaneous contribution to the fermion propagator, which is genuinely distinguished from the ordinary equal-time forward and backward propagation of relativistic fermion degrees of freedom. As discussed in our previous work, the helicity of the on-mass-shell fermion spinors in LFD is also distinguished from the ordinary Jacob-Wick helicity in the IFD with respect to whether the helicity depends on the reference frame or not. To exemplify the characteristic difference of the fermion propagator between IFD and LFD, we compute the helicity amplitudes of typical QED processes such as $e^+ e^- \to \gamma \gamma$ and $e \gamma \to e \gamma$ and present the whole landscape of the scattering amplitudes in terms of the frame dependence or the scattering angle dependence with respect to the interpolating angle dependence. Our analysis clarifies any conceivable confusion in the prevailing notion of the equivalence between the infinite momentum frame approach and the LFD.

Fermion Scattering in a CPT-Even Lorentz Violation Quantum Electrodynamics

In this work, we reassess two known processes of Quantum Electrodynamics involving electrons and muons. The photon propagator is modified by a CPT-even Lorentz-violating (LV) tensor, while fermion lines and the vertex interaction are not altered. Using the Feynman rules, the associated cross sections for unpolarized scatterings are evaluated, revealing the usual energy dependence and Lorentz-violating contributions that induce space anisotropy. A possible route to constraining the LV coefficients is presented and the results properly commented.

Effect of the temporal laser pulse asymmetry on pair production processes during intense laser-electron scattering

We investigate the effects of laser pulse shape on strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) processes during the collision between a relativistic electron beam and an intense laser pulse. The interplay between high-energy photon emission and two pair production processes, i.e. nonlinear Breit–Wheeler (BW) and Trident, was investigated using particle-in-cell simulations. We found that the temporal evolution of these two processes could be controlled by using laser pulses with different degrees of asymmetry. The temporal envelope of the laser pulse can significantly affect the number of pairs coming from the Trident process, while the nonlinear BW process is less sensitive to it. This study shows that the two QED processes can be examined with state-of-the-art petawatt lasers and the discrimination of the two pair creation processes is feasible by adjusting the temporal asymmetry of the colliding laser pulse.

QED effects induced harmonics generation in extreme intense laser foil interaction

A new mechanism of harmonics generation (HG) induced by quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects in extreme intense laser foil interaction is found and investigated by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. When two laser pulses with identical intensities of are counter-incident on a thin foil target, harmonics emission is observed in their reflected electromagnetic waves. Such harmonics radiation is excited due to transversely oscillating electric currents coming from the vibration of QED effect generated pairs. The effects of laser intensity and polarization were studied. By distinguishing the cascade depth of generated photons and pairs, the influence of QED cascades on HG was analyzed. Although the current HG is not an efficient way for radiation source applications, it may provide a unique way to detect the QED processes in the near future ultra-relativistic laser solid interactions.

Redundant information encoding in QED during decoherence

Decoherence processes in quantum electrodynamics due to neglecting either the radiation [L. Landau, Z. Phys. 45, 430 (1927)] or the charged matter [N. Bohr and L. Rosenfeld, K. danske vidensk. Selsk, Math.-Fys. Medd. XII, 8 (1933)] have been studied from the dawn of the theory. However what happens in between, when a part of the radiation may be observed, as is the case in many real-life situations, has not been analyzed yet. We present such an analysis for a non-relativistic, point-like charge and thermal radiation. In the dipole approximation, we solve the dynamics and show that there is a regime where, despite of the noise, the observed field carries away almost perfect and hugely redundant information about the charge momentum. We analyze a partial charge-field state and show that it approaches a so called spectrum broadcast structure.

On beam models and their paraxial approximation

We derive focused laser pulse solutions to the electromagnetic wave equation in vacuum. After reproducing beam and pulse expressions for the well-known paraxial Gaussian and axicon cases, we apply the method to analyse a laser beam with Lorentzian transverse momentum distribution. Whilst a paraxial approach has some success close to the focal axis and within a Rayleigh range of the focal spot, we find that it incorrectly predicts the transverse fall-off typical of a Lorentzian. Our vector-potential approach is particularly relevant to calculation of quantum electrodynamical processes in weak laser pulse backgrounds.

Qubit entanglement across ε -near-zero media

Currently, epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials have become important for controlling the propagation of light and enhancing by several orders of magnitude the Kerr and other nonlinearities. Given this advance it is important to examine the quantum electrodynamic processes and information tasks near ENZ materials. We study the entanglement between two two-level systems near ENZ materials and compare our results with the case where the ENZ material is replaced by a metal. It is shown that with ENZ materials substantial entanglement can be achieved over larger distances than for metal films. We show that this entanglement over large distances is due to the fact that one can not only have large emission rates but also large energy transmission rates at the epsilon-near-zero wavelength. This establishes the superiority of ENZ materials for studying processes specifically important for quantum information tasks.

Pulse shape optimization for electron-positron production in rotating fields

We optimize the pulse shape and polarization of time-dependent electric fields to maximize the production of electron-positron pairs via strong field quantum electrodynamics processes. The pulse is parametrized in Fourier space by a B-spline polynomial basis, which results in a relatively low-dimensional parameter space while still allowing for a large number of electric field modes. The optimization is performed by using a parallel implementation of the differential evolution, one of the most efficient metaheuristic algorithms. The computational performance of the numerical method and the results on pair production are compared with a local multistart optimization algorithm. These techniques allow us to determine the pulse shape and field polarization that maximize the number of produced pairs in computationally accessible regimes.

Laser opacity in underdense preplasma of solid targets due to quantum electrodynamics effects.

We investigate how next-generation laser pulses at 10-200PW interact with a solid target in the presence of a relativistically underdense preplasma produced by amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). Laser hole boring and relativistic transparency are strongly restrained due to the generation of electron-positron pairs and γ-ray photons via quantum electrodynamics (QED) processes. A pair plasma with a density above the initial preplasma density is formed, counteracting the electron-free channel produced by hole boring. This pair-dominated plasma can block laser transport and trigger an avalanchelike QED cascade, efficiently transferring the laser energy to the photons. This renders a 1-μm scale-length, underdense preplasma completely opaque to laser pulses at this power level. The QED-induced opacity therefore sets much higher contrast requirements for such a pulse in solid-target experiments than expected by classical plasma physics. Our simulations show, for example, that proton acceleration from the rear of a solid with a preplasma would be strongly impaired.

Implementing quantum electrodynamics with ultracold atomic systems

We discuss the experimental engineering of model systems for the description of quantum electrodynamics (QED) in one spatial dimension via a mixture of bosonic 23Na and fermionic 6Li atoms. The local gauge symmetry is realized in an optical superlattice, using heteronuclear boson–fermion spin-changing interactions which preserve the total spin in every local collision. We consider a large number of bosons residing in the coherent state of a Bose–Einstein condensate on each link between the fermion lattice sites, such that the behavior of lattice QED in the continuum limit can be recovered. The discussion about the range of possible experimental parameters builds, in particular, upon experiences with related setups of fermions interacting with coherent samples of bosonic atoms. We determine the atomic system’s parameters required for the description of fundamental QED processes, such as Schwinger pair production and string breaking. This is achieved by benchmark calculations of the atomic system and of QED itself using functional integral techniques. Our results demonstrate that the dynamics of one-dimensional QED may be realized with ultracold atoms using state-of-the-art experimental resources. The experimental setup proposed may provide a unique access to longstanding open questions for which classical computational methods are no longer applicable.

Relativistically strong electromagnetic radiation in a plasma

Physical processes in a plasma under the action of relativistically strong electromagnetic waves generated by high-power lasers have been briefly reviewed. These processes are of interest in view of the development of new methods for acceleration of charged particles, creation of sources of bright hard electromagnetic radiation, and investigation of macroscopic quantum-electrodynamical processes. Attention is focused on nonlinear waves in a laser plasma for the creation of compact electron accelerators. The acceleration of plasma bunches by the radiation pressure of light is the most efficient regime of ion acceleration. Coherent hard electromagnetic radiation in the relativistic plasma is generated in the form of higher harmonics and/or electromagnetic pulses, which are compressed and intensified after reflection from relativistic mirrors created by nonlinear waves. In the limit of extremely strong electromagnetic waves, radiation friction, which accompanies the conversion of radiation from the optical range to the gamma range, fundamentally changes the behavior of the plasma. This process is accompanied by the production of electron–positron pairs, which is described within quantum electrodynamics theory.

Процессы квантовой электродинамики при взаимодействии частиц высокой энергии с атомами

Процессы квантовой электродинамики при взаимодействии частиц высокой энергии с атомами

Cooperative quantum electrodynamical processes in an ellipsoidal cavity

We investigate spontaneous photon emission and absorption processes of two two- level atoms trapped close to the focal points of an ellipsoidal cavity, thereby taking into account the full multimode scenario. In particular, we calculate the excitation probabilities of the atoms by describing the field modes semiclassically. Based on this approach, we express the excitation probabilities by a semiclassical photon path representation. Due to the special property of an ellipsoidal cavity of having two focal points, we are able to study interesting intermediate instances between well-known quantum-optical scenarios. Furthermore, the semiclassical photon path representation enables us to address the corresponding retardation effects and causality questions in a straightforward manner.

Observation of the competitive double-gamma nuclear decay.

The double-gamma (γγ)-decay of a quantum system in an excited state is a fundamental second-order process of quantum electrodynamics. In contrast to the well-known single-gamma (γ)-decay, the γγ-decay is characterized by the simultaneous emission of two γ quanta, each with a continuous energy spectrum. In nuclear physics, this exotic decay mode has only been observed for transitions between states with spin-parity quantum numbers J(π) = 0(+) (refs 1-3). Single-gamma decays-the main experimental obstacle to observing the γγ-decay-are strictly forbidden for these 0(+) → 0(+) transitions. Here we report the observation of the γγ-decay of an excited nuclear state (J(π) = 11/2(-)) that is directly competing with an allowed γ-decay (to ground state J(π) = 3/2(+)). The branching ratio of the competitive γγ-decay of the 11/2(-) isomer of (137)Ba to the ground state relative to its single γ-decay was determined to be (2.05 ± 0.37) × 10(-6). From the measured angular correlation and the shape of the energy spectra of the individual γ-rays, the contributing combinations of multipolarities of the γ radiation were determined. Transition matrix elements calculated using the quasiparticle-phonon model reproduce our measurements well. The γγ-decay rate gives access to so far unexplored important nuclear structure information, such as the generalized (off-diagonal) nuclear electric polarizabilities and magnetic susceptibilities.

Radiative emission of neutrino pair free of quantum electrodynamic backgrounds

A scheme of quantum electrodynamic (QED) background-free radiative emission of a neutrino pair (RENP) is proposed in order to achieve precision determination of neutrino properties so far not accessible. The important point for the background rejection is the fact that the dispersion relation between the wave vector along the propagating direction in the wave guide (and in a photonic-crystal-type fiber) and the frequency is modified by a discretized non-vanishing effective mass. This effective mass acts as a cutoff of allowed frequencies, and one may select the RENP photon energy region free of all macro-coherently amplified QED processes by choosing the cutoff larger than the mass of neutrinos.

On refractive processes in strong laser field quantum electrodynamics

Refractive processes in strong-field QED are pure quantum processes, which involve only external photons and the background electromagnetic field. We show analytically that such processes occurring in a plane-wave field and involving external real photons are all characterized by a surprisingly modest net exchange of energy and momentum with the laser field, corresponding to a few laser photons, even in the limit of ultra-relativistic laser intensities. We obtain this result by a direct calculation of the transition matrix element of an arbitrary refractive QED process and accounting exactly for the background plane-wave field. A simple physical explanation of this modest net exchange of laser photons is provided, based on the fact that the laser field couples with the external photons only indirectly through virtual electron–positron pairs. For stronger and stronger laser fields, the pairs cover a shorter and shorter distance before they annihilate again, such that the laser can transfer to them an energy corresponding to only a few photons. These results can be relevant for the future experiments aiming to test strong-field QED at present and next-generation facilities.