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arXiv:2604.13724

Manipulation of Superposed Vortex States of $γ$ Photon via Nonlinear Compton Scattering

Jun-Lin Zhou, Mamutjan Ababekri, Yong-Zheng Ren, Yu Wang, Ren-Tong Guo, Zhao-Hui Chen, Yu-Han Kou, Zhong-Peng Li, Jian-Xing Li

quant-phhep-phphysics.opticsSubmitted Apr 15, 2026• Announced Apr 16, 2026
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Abstract

Vortex $γ$ photons in superposition states have important applications in photonuclear, high-energy, and strong-field physics. However, their controlled generation in the $γ$-ray regime remains a great challenge. Here, we put forward a novel method for the generation of vortex $γ$ photon in superposition states, with controllable orbital angular momentum (OAM) separation $Δ\ell^\prime$ and modal weights, via nonlinear Compton scattering driven by multifrequency circularly polarized laser fields. We develop a strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) framework to reveal the underlying mechanism and calculate the radiation probabilities. In our method, the superposition arises from interference between energy-degenerate multiphoton pathways carrying distinct OAM. For two-frequency fields, the OAM separation follows $Δ\ell'=ν\mp1$ (upper/lower sign for equal/opposite helicities), and modal weights are tunable by laser intensities, with $ν$ the frequency ratio. Vortex $γ$ photons in controllable superposition states from our method have significant applications in strong-field QED and nuclear photonics.

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