Enhancement of Compton Scattering by an Effective Coupling Constant

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that reducing the effective coupling constant in QED significantly increases Compton scattering cross sections, linking fundamental scales to observable scattering phenomena through thermodynamic and quantum interpretations.

Contribution

It introduces a thermodynamic argument showing the sensitivity of Compton scattering to the effective coupling constant and explores its quantum implications.

Findings

Small reductions in $oldsymbol{ ext{alpha}}$ greatly enhance scattering cross sections.

The Thomson scattering length relates to a fundamental scale $oldsymbol{ ext{lambda}}$.

Quantum interpretation explains the sensitivity to $oldsymbol{ ext{alpha}}$ changes.

Abstract

A robust thermodynamic argument shows that a small reduction of the effective coupling constant $\alpha$ of QED greatly enhances the Compton scattering cross section and that the Thomson scattering length is connected to a fundamental scale $\lambda$. A discussion provides a possible quantum interpretation of this enormous sensitivity to changes in the effective coupling constant $\alpha$.