Nondipole effects in laser-assisted electron scattering

Laser-assisted electron scattering is often described using the electric dipole approximation for the interaction between the electron and the assisting electromagnetic field. Within the dipole approximation, theory predicts a vanishing scattering cross section for processes involving exchange of photons in critical geometries, where the electron momentum transfer vector is perpendicular to the linear polarisation of the external field. In a nonrelativistic spin-free treatment, we consider modifications of the scattering cross section by nondipole contributions to the first order in 1/c in the interaction between the laser field and the electron using the nondipole strong-field-approximation Hamiltonian (Jensen et al 2020 Phys. Rev. A 101 043408). The approach allows for an analytical solution for the wave function of a free electron in the laser field with a nondipole contribution. This wave function leads to an analytical formula for the laser-assisted scattering cross section including nondipole effects. The nondipole corrections depend on the propagation direction of the field relative to the electron momentum transfer vector. The approach gives a finite cross section in scattering geometries, where the dipole approach predicts a vanishing cross section. The theory is illustrated by application to scattering geometries similar to those considered in experiments where large deviations between experimental data and predictions based on the dipole approximation have been reported. In these scattering geometries, the nondipole strong-field-approximation approach suggests an increase in the cross section by orders of magnitude compared to results obtained within the dipole approximation. (paper)