Wistisen Tobias N, Di Piazza Antonino, Knudsen Helge V, Uggerhøj Ulrik I
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark.
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2018 Feb 23;9(1):795. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03165-4.
Quantum radiation reaction is the influence of multiple photon emissions from a charged particle on the particle's dynamics, characterized by a significant energy-momentum loss per emission. Here we report experimental radiation emission spectra from ultrarelativistic positrons in silicon in a regime where quantum radiation reaction effects dominate the positron's dynamics. Our analysis shows that while the widely used quantum approach is overall the best model, it does not completely describe all the data in this regime. Thus, these experimental findings may prompt seeking more generally valid methods to describe quantum radiation reaction. This experiment is a fundamental test of quantum electrodynamics in a regime where the dynamics of charged particles is strongly influenced not only by the external electromagnetic fields but also by the radiation field generated by the charges themselves and where each photon emission may significantly reduce the energy of the charge.
量子辐射反应是带电粒子多次发射光子对粒子动力学的影响，其特征是每次发射都会有显著的能量 - 动量损失。在此，我们报告了在量子辐射反应效应主导正电子动力学的条件下，超相对论性正电子在硅中的实验辐射发射光谱。我们的分析表明，虽然广泛使用的量子方法总体上是最佳模型，但它并不能完全描述该条件下的所有数据。因此，这些实验结果可能促使人们寻找更普遍有效的方法来描述量子辐射反应。该实验是对量子电动力学的一项基础测试，此条件下带电粒子的动力学不仅受到外部电磁场的强烈影响，还受到电荷自身产生的辐射场的影响，并且每次光子发射都可能显著降低电荷的能量。
