Compton Scattering of Energetic Photons by Light Atoms in the Presence of a Low-frequency Electromagnetic Field

We consider the influence of a weak low-frequency electromagnetic field on Compton scattering of a high-energy photon by an electron which is initially bound in the ground state of a light atomic target. It is shown that this influence can be very substantial for the Compton scattering with a large (on the target scale) momentum transfer to the target when the electron, as a result of the scattering, makes a transition into a high-energy continuum state. It follows from our consideration that a weak low-frequency field can pronouncedly modify both spectra of emitted electrons and those of outgoing high-frequency photons. The modification of the latter spectra means that in the bound–free Compton scattering on a light target a high-energy photon can be indirectly, but rather effectively, coupled to a weak low-frequency field, using the target electron as a mediator