In electron/photon interactions does the handedness of the photon matter?

Edward Milne
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
In an interaction between a free electron and a photon does the handedness of the photon matter?

For example, does an electron interact more strongly with a left-handed photon or with a right-handed photon (assuming both photons have the same frequency)?

Does the electron spin (left- or right-handed) affect the strength of the interaction?

Or is the interaction strength independent of electron spin and photon spin?

Many thanks for your help.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
MQ, thank you very much for the useful information on magnetic Compton scattering.

EM.
 
Not an expert in QM. AFAIK, Schrödinger's equation is quite different from the classical wave equation. The former is an equation for the dynamics of the state of a (quantum?) system, the latter is an equation for the dynamics of a (classical) degree of freedom. As a matter of fact, Schrödinger's equation is first order in time derivatives, while the classical wave equation is second order. But, AFAIK, Schrödinger's equation is a wave equation; only its interpretation makes it non-classical...
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
Is it possible, and fruitful, to use certain conceptual and technical tools from effective field theory (coarse-graining/integrating-out, power-counting, matching, RG) to think about the relationship between the fundamental (quantum) and the emergent (classical), both to account for the quasi-autonomy of the classical level and to quantify residual quantum corrections? By “emergent,” I mean the following: after integrating out fast/irrelevant quantum degrees of freedom (high-energy modes...

Similar threads

Replies
10
Views
4K
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
3K
Replies
12
Views
2K
Replies
29
Views
3K
Replies
14
Views
2K
Back
Top