Resonant Compton scattering of electromagnetic waves in a quantum plasma

Abstract

We consider the resonant scattering of coherent electromagnetic waves by a Raman-like process in the gamma ray range off electrostatic modes in a quantum plasma using a collective Klein-Gordon-Maxwell model. The growth rates for the most unstable modes are calculated theoretically, and the results are found to be more efficient than incoherent Compton scattering off individual electrons above a critical amplitude of the electromagnetic wave. The model does not predict Raman scattering off pair modes that exist in the Klein-Gordon-Maxwell model. The results are relevant for coherent gamma rays created in forthcoming laboratory experiments or in astrophysical objects.