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Title: Polarization of photons scattered by electrons in any spectral distribution

Abstract

On the basis of the quantum electrodynamics, we present a generic formalism of the polarization for beamed monochromatic photons scattered by electrons in any spectral distribution. The formulae reduce to the components of the Fano matrix when electrons are at rest. We mainly investigate the polarization in three scenarios, i.e., electrons at rest, isotropic electrons with a power-law spectrum, and thermal electrons. If the incident beam is polarized, the polarization is reduced significantly by isotropic electrons at large viewing angles; the degree of polarization caused by thermal electrons is about half of that caused by power-law electrons. If the incident bean is unpolarized, soft γ-rays can lead to about 15% polarization at viewing angles around π/4. For isotropic electrons, one remarkable feature is that the polarization as a function of the incident photon energy always peaks roughly at 1 MeV; this is valid for both the thermal and power-law cases. This feature can be used to distinguish the model of the inverse Compton scattering from that of the synchrotron radiation.

Authors:
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing (China)
  2. School of Space Science and Physics, Shandong University at Weihai, 264209 Weihai (China)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22348322
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 780; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; BEAMS; COMPTON EFFECT; DISTRIBUTION; ELECTRONS; MEV RANGE; MONOCHROMATIC RADIATION; PHOTON-ELECTRON INTERACTIONS; PHOTONS; POLARIZATION; QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS; SPECTRA

Citation Formats

Chang, Zhe, Lin, Hai-Nan, and Jiang, Yunguo. Polarization of photons scattered by electrons in any spectral distribution. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/780/1/68.
Chang, Zhe, Lin, Hai-Nan, & Jiang, Yunguo. Polarization of photons scattered by electrons in any spectral distribution. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/780/1/68
Chang, Zhe, Lin, Hai-Nan, and Jiang, Yunguo. 2014. "Polarization of photons scattered by electrons in any spectral distribution". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/780/1/68.
@article{osti_22348322,
title = {Polarization of photons scattered by electrons in any spectral distribution},
author = {Chang, Zhe and Lin, Hai-Nan and Jiang, Yunguo},
abstractNote = {On the basis of the quantum electrodynamics, we present a generic formalism of the polarization for beamed monochromatic photons scattered by electrons in any spectral distribution. The formulae reduce to the components of the Fano matrix when electrons are at rest. We mainly investigate the polarization in three scenarios, i.e., electrons at rest, isotropic electrons with a power-law spectrum, and thermal electrons. If the incident beam is polarized, the polarization is reduced significantly by isotropic electrons at large viewing angles; the degree of polarization caused by thermal electrons is about half of that caused by power-law electrons. If the incident bean is unpolarized, soft γ-rays can lead to about 15% polarization at viewing angles around π/4. For isotropic electrons, one remarkable feature is that the polarization as a function of the incident photon energy always peaks roughly at 1 MeV; this is valid for both the thermal and power-law cases. This feature can be used to distinguish the model of the inverse Compton scattering from that of the synchrotron radiation.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/780/1/68},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22348322}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 1,
volume = 780,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}