Intrinsic Nonlocality of Spin- and Polarization-Resolved Probabilities in Strong-Field Quantum Electrodynamics

TL;DR

This paper reveals that current strong-field QED models fail to accurately predict spin- and polarization-resolved particle distributions due to nonlocal effects, leading to significant deviations in predicted polarization patterns.

Contribution

The authors develop a nonlocal, physically consistent model for spin and polarization-resolved emission in strong-field QED, improving upon local differential rate assumptions.

Findings

Predicted angle-dependent circular photon polarization differs from standard models.

Recoil electron helicity bias is identified, absent in previous models.

Simulation results show qualitative differences in polarization patterns.

Abstract

Spin and polarization are central to precision tests of fundamental physics and for interpreting radiation from astrophysical sources and ultraintense laser-matter experiments. Predictive modeling therefore requires not only energy spectra, but also angle-, spin-, and polarization-resolved particle distributions. Here, we demonstrate that a key assumption underlying current strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) models, i.e., that emission can be treated as an instantaneous random event sampled from a local differential rate, breaks down once emission angles, electron spin, and/or photon polarization are resolved. Namely, the resulting fully differential distribution can deviate strongly from the true result and can even yield inconsistent probabilities that take negative values. The physical reason is simple: a photon emission probability builds up over a finite length of the electron trajectory, the formation region, during which the electron direction changes by roughly the same small angle that defines the radiation cone. We therefore integrate over this formation region analytically to obtain a physically consistent electron spin and photon polarization model whose implementation is compatible with existing Monte Carlo and particle-in-cell (PIC) workflows. Simulations of a GeV-class electron-laser collision and of emission in a pulsar-like magnetic field reveal spin and polarization patterns that differ even qualitatively from state-of-the-art local models. In particular, our new model predicts substantial angle-dependent circular photon polarization where the standard approach yields none, and a pronounced helicity bias in the recoiling electrons absent from current predictions. These findings have direct implications for upcoming strong-field QED experiments and for interpreting polarized radiation from extreme astrophysical environments.