Semiclassical radiation spectrum from an electron in an external plane wave field

TL;DR

This paper introduces a semiclassical approach to analyze the radiation spectrum of an electron in a plane wave field, yielding finite energy spectra and linking quantum and classical energy emission rates.

Contribution

It presents a novel semiclassical formulation that produces finite radiation spectra and connects quantum and classical energy emission rates for an electron in a plane wave.

Findings

Semiclassical spectrum is finite, unlike classical spectrum with divergences.

Maximum energy spectrum scales linearly with time or phase.

Correlation established between semiclassical, classical, and quantum energy rates.

Abstract

In this work, we study the electromagnetic energy and energy rate spectra produced by a point particle in the presence of plane wave fields. Our approach is based on a semiclassical formulation, in which the current distribution that generates electromagnetic radiation is treated classically while the radiation field is quantum. Unlike the classical energy spectrum--which exhibits divergences linked to the duration of interaction between the particle and the external field--the semiclassical spectrum is finite because radiation is produced during the quantum transition from an initial state without photons to the final state with photons at time $t$. In our formulation, we find that the maximum energy spectrum emitted by the particle is linearly proportional to time or phase, depending on the external field. This allowed us not only to extract the maximum energy rate spectra emitted by the particle but also to correlate them with energy rates derived in the framework of Classical Electrodynamics and Quantum Electrodynamics.