Quasiclassical approach to synergic synchrotron–Cherenkov radiation in polarized vacuum

Abstract

Photon emission by an ultrarelativistic charged particle in extremely strong magnetic field is analyzed, with vacuum polarization and photon recoil taken into account. Vacuum polarization is treated phenomenologically via refractive index. The photon emission occurs in the synergic (cooperative) synchrotron–Cherenkov process [J Schwinger et al 1976 Annals of Physics 96 303] which is similar to the synchrotron emission rather than to the Cherenkov one. For electrons, the effect of vacuum polarization on the emission spectrum is not evident at least below the probable onset of non-perturbative quantum electrodynamics (QED). However, the effect of vacuum polarization on the emission spectrum can be observable for muons already at γB / B _S ≈ 30, with γ the muon Lorentz factor, B the magnetic field strength and B _S the critical QED field. Nevertheless, vacuum polarization leads to only 10% enhancement of the maximum of the radiation spectrum.

Keywords

• synchrotron radiation
• Cherenkov radiation
• vacuum polarization
• muons
• quantum electrodynamics