Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics
Quantum-electrodynamic processes in a strong nonclassical electromagnetic field
O. B. Prepelitsa
Abstract
Quantum-electrodynamic processes that take place in the presence of a squeezed electromagnetic field are discussed. Integral formulas are derived that make it possible to express the probability of any process in a squeezed electromagnetic field in terms of the probability of the same process in a classical electromagnetic field. The main laws that govern processes of first order in the fine-structure constant as functions of the number of photons involved and the quantum fluctuations are examined. Tunneling formulas for the probability of a photon producing an electron-positron pair in a strong squeezed field are derived. Also, resonant electron-electron scattering is examined and the scattering cross section as a function of the statistical properties of the field (the way the field has been squeezed) is investigated. It is found that the quantum fluctuations of the squeezed electromagnetic field give rise to an increase in the scattering cross section, with the probability of the process in a phase-squeezed electromagnetic field always being higher than the probability of the process in an amplitude-squeezed electromagnetic field.